ã€ŠRebirth in the Apocalypse: Third Time&#x27;s a Charmã€‹


 Chapter 1 1

    ?I woke up to the excruciating pain of my limbs being ripped from my body.  The groans and asional screams of pleasureing from the ss 3 zombie horde echoed throughout my head as I try to make sense of what happened.  I remembered answering the door to my apartment in thepound and seeing my best friend, Colin, outside.  I turned around to let hime in and, all of a sudden, there was a cracking sound before I cked out.

    Laying there, I turned my head and, not five feet away, the two hundred-some people of the Phoenix Compound stood on the other side of the wire fence, staring at me as I got eaten alive.  Why? Why would they do this??  Did they not realize that it was me that saved them? That created thepound? That farmed the fields that fed them and drilled the well that gave them water?  All that was me, so why did they push me out into a ss 3 hoard?

    Oh well, toote for regrets now.  It took me ten years to get used to this new world that I found myself in, and I wish them all the best in surviving without my knowledge from Earth. Who knew, maybe now I will find myself back home in Canada, eating my favorite foods and thinking that this second life was all a dream.

    I closed my eyes, trying to block out the sight of the light purple zombies as they continued to feast on my arms and legs.  I knew they liked to keep their victim alive as long as possible.  Apparently fear changed the taste of a human and the ss 3 zombies were intelligent enough to get as much fear into the meat as possible before finishing the kill.  I knew some people that stayed alive for a week before finally being killed off.  The tradition of human pigs continued into this new world as the zombies experimented with their food to see what would provide them with the best taste.  Who knew zombies could be foodies too?

    I sighed as my two previous lives shed before my eyes.  Would I finally be able to rest in peace this time? Or was I destined to constantly wake up in a new ce and a new body?  All I could do was hope and pray that there would be no zombies in the afterlife.  I was tired.

    In my final act of defiance, I looked deep within my body for the pinkish-gold me that lived inside me.  I woke up with this me thest time I died, but I hid it from my friends and those I considered to be family. After all, I didn''t want to be different from the rest. But now, I needed thefort of that me.

    It rose from my body to rest on my chest, right where my heart was slowly beating.  I look onest look at those I thought to be my friends and smiled as the me grew bigger and bigger until it surrounded what was left of my body in a hug.  The me weed me into the security of its warmth.

    "Thank you, my friend," I whispered to it as I let out my final breath and allowed the mes to consume me.

    My name was Li Dai Lu, and I was born and raised in the country of Canada on a called Earth where I lived for 30 some-odd years until I fell sick from a virus that swept the world and died.  I was nothing special on Earth.  I was short, no more than 5''2, with long ck hair, and blue eyes. I had a love of all things Asian and a thirst for knowledge.  I had no family and spent my time in Social Services until I turned 18 and could make my own way. Life was hard, but it was mine.

    I would like to think that I found a path in life when I discovered web novels about transmigration and rebirth. Having that fantasy to take me away from my reality, I spent my days dreaming of going back in time to Ancient China or Ancient Europe and, in my free time, I studied all the old arts of surviving in the dark ages.

    Who knew that my passion for the past would bepletely useless when I died and was sent to another world that was in the middle of a zombie apocalypse?  Knowing how to make sourdough bread from scratch was not as beneficial as I thought it would be when I was on the run from the undead. But at least transmigration was real... right?

    What was useful was knowing how to find water, grow food, and build a home using whatever I could find.  I rescued those that needed help and slowly, my home for one grew and expanded as more and more people came to me for help.

    And, as a good Canadian, I helped all those that I could, until they threw me to the zombies.

    But now that I was dead, I could finally enjoy the peace and quiet of the afterlife.

    ------------

    I woke up to a pounding headache.  "Fuck," I muttered to myself as I raised my hand to massage my forehead.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Fuckity Fuck Fuck," I muttered again as I looked at my hand that was clearly attached to my body.  I guess the Fates really hated me if I managed to be reborn for a third time.

    I slowly open my eyes and looked around the room.  I prayed that it was my home back on Earth, but I knew I was bound to be disappointed.  2020 AD had nothing on my life.

    I looked at the ck covers on my bed and knew that I was back in the other world, most likely before the apocalypse, and the soft,fy bed that I was on was screaming my name. The downfall of the world could wait.  I wanted more sleep.

    I pulled the covers up over my head as I burrow down deep into the warmth andfort of my bed.  Wait¡­ warmth¡­ I quickly sat up and looked deep into myself, trying to see the pinkish-gold me that apanied me in myst life.  And there it was, nestled deep inside, its light flickering in the darkness.

    But this time, it wasn''t alone.  Standing beside the pink me was an ice-blue one.  I watched it as it flickered, almost as if it was waving ''hi'' to me before going back to guard the pink me.  I smiled, content. At least my power was back, and with a new one in tow.

    No longer would I just act passively, hiding who I really was, saving all those who came to me to be saved.  From now on, I would look after me and mine and burn down anyone that thought to use me in the process.

    Deciding that sleep could wait, I sat cross-legged on the bed, trying to see if this life brought me any new surprises besides the ice me.  I was hoping for some type of space pocket or an affinity to earth.  Some people in myst life were blessed with those two mutated powers and they basically ruled the world.  Colin was one of them.

    Taking a slow, steady breath in, I expanded my mind inside my body.  Sure enough, there it was.  It looked like a small, wooden door with a key in the lock.  Just like a secret passageway in Alice In Wondend, well, let''s see where this rabbit hole will go.

    I pushed open the door and found what I had been hoping for, a space of my very own.  In the middle of a vast field stood a red brick, three-story house with a wraparound porch and a white picket fence.  Roses grew from the flower beds around the house and ivy climbed up the walls and framed the windows.  This was my dream home back on Earth, and now here it was.  I climbed the steps of the porch and opened the door.  The entire house was empty, just waiting for me to make it a home.

    I closed the door again and walked around.  I saw fields where I could nt my food, the stream, and the pond that I could swim in or raise fish.  This ce was everything I needed to happily live out the zombie apocalypse that was going to happen in just a short time.  I smiled in contentment; maybe this life wouldn''t be that bad after all.

    I exited my space and looked around the apartment I had woken up in.  The first time I was reborn into this world I was thrown smack dab into the middle of the apocalypse. However, it appeared that this time, fate was on my side and had given me a bit of time to prepare before the world turned to pot.

    I swiped my arm and everything that was once in the apartment now appeared in my space, including the bed and pillows.  I was looking forward to sleeping on thatter.

    I checked the date: November 1st, 2119.  I had exactly one year to prepare for the rest of my life. I better get to it.

    Looking around my empty apartment and walked out the door with a smile on my face.  This time would be different.  This time, I would be prepared. This time I would live the life I was supposed to live.  The life of an apocalypse queen

 Chapter 2 2

    ?I think that I need to make it clear that I know who I was. I know where I came from and where I wanted to go, I know Li Dai Lu.

    Unfortunately, I have no idea who the person that I am currently residing in is.  Nope, not a clue.  This isn''t like a novel where the memories of the person flood my mind and I can easily step into her shoes.  We have already established that the Fates hated me, so I have no clue who I am now.  But you know what? I really don''t care.  I am me, whether I can recognize my face in the mirror or not, I am me.  I have now lived in this body for two lives, it is mine.  I licked it, I own it.  And I have not met anyone that seemed to know this body before. So there¡­

    I stuck my hand in my pants pocket where I put my debit card, their debit card¡­ whoever''s debit card and pulled it out.  Reading the name of the original owner and the bank, I look up the address.  Time to see if I am broke or can afford all the supplies that I could dream of.

    It turns out¡­ this body was loaded.

    I returned to the empty apartment after taking out a few million dors from the bank.  They weren''t impressed, but I definitely was.  Money, right now, was great, but in about a year, it would bepletely worthless.  So might as well spend it while I can.

    It seemed like a no-brainer.  Money might not be able to buy happiness, but it was able to buy food. And nothing made me happier than food.

    Taking out colored pens and paper from my space, I sit down on the floor of my empty apartment to organize my thoughts.

    On a nk piece of paper, I write down: ''Step One to Surviving the End of the World''.

    Then I stopped.  I had done this once before, I had survived for a good long time at the end of the world, a whole 10 years!  I knew what it would take to seed.  And the first thing was to realize that people ruin everything.

    As an extreme introvert, I had long known that people were the problem.  A person? I could deal with a person, but people as a whole were nothing but an issue.  And apparently, saving too many of them could lead to your death.

    I would like to say: ''who knew?'', but I knew, I definitely knew.

    Therefore, step one was for people to go away and die.  There.  Simple.

    First step: don''t bother with people and let as many people die as was needed for me to have a good life.

    Feeling aplished I write down: ''Step Two: Set yourself up for sess''.

    I looked at the title a few times and scrunched my nose.  I was starting to sound like one of those inspirational books.  I jot down a few notes under that step.

    1. Buy supplies, seeds, and animals.

    In thest apocalypse, the animals never mutated, and thend was still safe to live off.  Since zombies were created by a virus (not like the novels told me they would be), only humans were affected. But if you look back at step one, people ruin everything.

    Unfortunately, in the cities, thend was at a premium, and trying to buy a live cow at your local grocery store was just not happening.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    So why stay in the city? It turned out that it was human nature to want to be amongst other humans. For some reason, people felt safer in bigger groups than they did by themselves, so within the first year, the countryside was vacant as people rushed to where they felt safest, the cities.

    The funniest thing was that the cities were so much more dangerous than the countryside could ever be.

    You knew where you stood with zombies¡­ humans? Not so much

    It had taken me years to set up the originalpound, but I didn''t have years to spend on this one.

    Crossing out the first point, I chewed the end of my pen.  Closing my eyes, I pictured what needed to happen.

    1. Buy a farm, somewhere out in the middle of nowhere and build a really, really big fence.  I nodded happily at that one.  Yes, set up a ce and move in well before my life was in danger.  And let''s face it, a good fence made for good neighbors.

    I never knew why people left their original homes in apocalyptic novels to journey to different cities and try to find any safe zones.  Maybe I was too North American in my thinking, but setting myself up to stay put seemed so much more sensible than leaving the safety of a familiar ce.

    If the power goes out? Prepare ahead of time and build sr panels and generators.

    No food? Learn how to store food properly so that you can have a year''s supply on hand. Learn to grow your own food and have seeds to be able to do so.

    Need water? Have some stored and learn to make a well. Have rain barrels to collect the water for both animals and nts.

    Angry mob at your door trying to steal all your stuff?  I smiled at that thought.  Big guns, a big dog, and an even bigger fence.  Why let them in in the first ce?

    I had one year to make my own Fort Knox, fit for a King, or even a Queen.

    Step one was done, but step two needed to be worked on.  I pulled out my phone and started to look for a real estatepany that specialized in farms.

    I didn''t want to live in the same ce as myst life, there were too many bad memories associated with it.  Instead, maybe somece in a valley beside a mountain, or near a body of water.  There were so many possibilities.  I just needed to wait until I found a ce that felt like home.

    All I needed to think about was myself.  No one else mattered. And in case I wavered and wanted to save someone? I could always refer to step one in case I had any doubts.

    And warning other people about what wasing?  Sorry world, I have no more fucks to give.

 Chapter 3 3

    ?I woke up to a bright and sunny morning on the second day of my third rebirth.  Saying good morning to my pink and blue mes, I cooked myself some breakfast before packing up the apartment all over again and heading out.

    One thing about living every day like it was yourst, you developed some really weird habits.  Weird habit number one was that I would always pack up everything if I am going anywhere.  Sure, things were more convenient with the space, but I even packed my backpack filled with what I considered important when I left the door of my apartment in thepound.

    Since nothing was ever guaranteed, making it back to a safe ce a night was never a sure thing.  Therefore, it was always smarter to have whatever you needed on hand, at all times.

    Although I was pretty sure that this body had a car, I had never driven it, nor had I passed a driving test in this world.  As a result, I walked towards the first real estate office that offered farnd for sale.

    Eight hourster, and six farms viewed, I began to think that maybe the second step was not as easy as it sounded.  No ce felt like the ''one''.  Oh sure, the farnds were beautiful, but they were either too close to people or thend was not suitable for both animals and crops. I sighed, realizing that this might take me a bit of time.

    Putting the farm at the forefront of my mind, but on the back burner of my list, I smiled at the poor real estate agent that was hoping to make a quick and easy sale.  She assured me that she would keep looking fornd that met my requirements and I said goodbye for the day. Both food and my bed were calling my name and I hated to disappoint either of them.

    I entered a caf??/dessert shop that was located down the street from my apartment and looked at the offerings.  It had been over ten years since Ist had something sweet, and now, absolutely everything was appealing.  Blueberry crumble pies? Check!  Rich, decadent chocte cake with chocte ganache and fluffy salted caramel buttercream? Check!  Macrons of all colors and vors? Yep!  Had to have those too.

    After ten years of not being able to choose my food, of some nights not even getting enough to eat, this shop was a glimpse of heaven that I had waited three lifetimes to find.  What to choose, what to buy?!

    Well, it was simple.  When you couldn''t choose, buy them all!  Should I feel bad about buying out the ce? Nope!  I didn''t care about the people that woulde after me, wanting, needing that hit of sweetness to make their lives better.  Everything was mine, and I was not sharing.

    Sorry people, my fucks have rh dry.

    I smiled at the cashier as the person lucky enough to be in front of me put in their order and moved to the side, waiting for their slice of rapture.  I stood in front of the cash and waited for the cashier to acknowledge me, and ask for my order.  I vibrated in happiness.

    "Hello, wee to ''Le petite mort'', how may I help you today," the overworked, underpaid cashier asked, as if she hadn''t asked that question a hundred times today.  I had to give her credit, her customer service was right on point.

    "Hi!" I replied cheerfully, my eyes wide with the thought of eating all that delicious goodness. "I would like everything!"

    She looked up at me, startled.  "I''m sorry, I think I misheard," she said, trying to think about where she misheard me and what I actually met.

    I shook my head, the smile on my face never leaving for a second.  Maybe I was bing a viin because the idea that all those people behind me would not get what they wanted made me feel even happier.  "Nope! You heard right!  I would like everything!  Every cake, cookie, square, pie, tart, Napoleon, everything. I mean, it all looks so good!"

    "Oh, you mean you would like one of each! Certainly!  Not a problem!  I will get that for you right now."

    My smile dropped a bit as I looked at her.  I stood up straighter and then slouched again. My head cocked, and I blinked rapidly. "Nope, I mean, I want everyst thing in those disy cases and behind in the kitchen.  Every. Thing. As in, nothing left over, you can close the shop because you have sold everything, everything."<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "But that is going to be hundreds of dors if not thousands!  And what about someone else?  If you take everything, what are they going to have?"

    I shrugged my shoulder and remembered step one: all people should die.  Why should I care about what they want when no one had ever cared about what I wanted?  People always seemed to want to take the moral high ground until it involved them, then their brains stopped, and it bes all about what they wanted.  People are inherently cruel, selfish, and narcissistic.  The apocalypse taught me that in the harshest of ways.

    I wanted everyst one of those desserts in that case, and dammit, I was going to get it.

    Putting on a "customer service smile" of my own, I look at the cashier.  "I do not care about someone else, or even those standing in the line behind me.  You asked for my order, this is it. Are you going to do it or not?"

    She really did seem stunned at my response and even tilted to the side to see the faces of everyone else behind me.  I could guess what they looked like, after all, I could hear the grumblings after I put my order in for the first time.

    Once again, no more fucks to give.

    "Let me check with my manager," the oh-so-stubborn cashier said.  In myst two lives, I would love to say that I had never gotten upset over anything.  Don''t get me wrong, I had a temper, but I always bit my tongue and gave in in the end.  This life was to be my way.  No biting my tongue, no holding back my temper or my thoughts to make other people happy. My way.

    "You do that.  But you might want to hurry, people seem to be getting testy behind me," I said, waving my hand towards the "others" that she seemed so determined to make happy by making me upset.

    Seriously, this was the easiest order in the world.  EVERYTHING!  What was so hard about that?  It''s not like she can get it wrong by giving me a raspberry tart instead of a blueberry one.

    Within seconds, a young man came out, dressed as the manager.  He, once again, smiled at me and asked what I wanted.

    Sighing, I looked him in the eyes and said as slowly as I could.  "I. Want. Every. Thing."

    He looked me back in my eyes and I quickly figured out why he was the manager.  "Of course, Miss.  Will you be paying by cash or credit?"

    Yup, I knew I liked him.

    "Cash," I replied calmly, handing him a stack of bills totaling more than the cost of everything.  I figured a tip was in order given how smart he was.

    "Certainly."

 Chapter 4 4

    ?The goody-two-shoes in me cringed as I walked out of that store, a line of employees following me as there were too many things for me to carry alone.  The new me, the two lives smarter me, reveled in the feeling of power, of doing something for myself without caring about what people thought of me.

    Opening the door to the empty apartment, I showed the people to the kitchen, and they quickly dropped off the sweets before high-tailing it out as fast as their little feet could carry them.  Seriously, they didn''t even bother to shut the door behind them when they left.

    I guess that customer service only took you so far.

    You might ask yourself why I was so adamant that I buy everyst pastry and confection in that store and the answer was simple.  I needed to prove to myself that I could.

    It was not a matter of money, this body had more money than I could spend in a lifetime, let alone a year. It was a matter of throwing off the shackles that I had bound myself in, the mentality that I did not matter as much as the person beside me did.  That I needed to take them into consideration before doing anything on my own.

    I had lived 40-plus years, two lifetimes, thinking that everyone else''s opinion mattered and that their thoughts, beliefs, and actions were more important than mine.  For those years I dealt with the hatefulments of "You need to work harder, my son doesn''t have enough to eat" and "You don''t know what you are talking about, I believe theplete opposite of you, and my opinion is the only thing that matters". After a while, you begin to lose yourself in the quest to make others happy. w

    But in this lifetime, I was on a quest to make myself happy.

    I was always putting everyone else first, to the point that it killed me.  If I truly wanted to start over, to follow my steps to a better life this time around, the first thing that I needed to do was change my attitude, my whole way of thinking.  Buying all the sweets in the caf?? was just a bonus.

    But I did it.  I ignored everyone''s feelings, I ignored the hateful looks and the nastyments.  I made a decision, and I followed through on it, despite all opposition.  I took my first step of putting myself before others. And it felt good.

    It took me 45 minutes to put all the desserts into the kitchen of my space.  I wanted to organize everything so that when I had a craving, I could easily find what I was looking for.  It was one thing to collect things into my space, it was another thing to have it all organized.

    And apparently, my OCD was kicking in.

    Only time would tell if my space had the capability to stop time and keep things fresh. Honestly, I didn''t particrly care either way.  If it did, it would just be icing on the cake. Or more like keeping the icing on the cake

    I took a piece of cherry cheesecake out of the fridge and, with my notes and colored markers in the other hand, I left my space.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Once again, I sat down on the floor, my notes around me, and a fork and cake in my hands. Time to get to work.

    Step two was to buy a farm, and so far, none seemed to be what I wanted.  I would have to put step two on hold for now and think of what step three was going to be.

    I couldn''t start the big fence or buy animals to fill a space that I didn''t yet have... my own space not included.... But I could start collecting shelf-stable food from grocery stores and seeds to nt in the future.

    Still under step two: set yourself up for sess, a second subset was: to buy seeds and pantry items that willst a while.

    This world didn''t have mason jars, the most perfect thing in any ce, but I could live without them... I guess...if I was forced to... still, I would need the supplies to can things, dehydrators to process fruits, veggies, and meats to make themst longer, and all these things I would want for the future as well.

    My list of what I needed seemed to be getting longer and longer the more that I looked at it, but I was fine with that.  Money, right now, was not an issue, and I wanted everything on hand to make my life easierter.

    Canners, dehydrators, freeze dryers, rice, flour, white sugar, brown sugar, icing sugar, vani, fruits, veggies, meats, oils, and sauces all made the list.  Luckily I was filling up on cake so my list of desires, while long, was not as impractical as it could be.

    As it happens, night slowly crept up, nketing the world in a darkness and quiet that could onlye when the sun went to bed.  I walked towards the patio doors, leaning against the ss, and took a deep breath.  There were no stars where I was. Oh sure, without the light pollution of the city and the clouds covering them, I knew there were stars out there, waiting for the world to end so they could shine brightly once again.

    Me, I reveled in the peace and tranquility of the night.  The feeling of a nket surrounding me like a lover''s embrace. I came alive at night in a way that I never did during the day.  The night was my time.

    I stared out into space a little while longer before going back to my notes and ns for tomorrow.  I would start with the supplies and then the food.  I had a n and now all I needed to do was see it through.  Feeling calmer than I had in a while, I took out my nkets and made myself a nest in front of the patio doors.

    In the quiet of the night, I never would have guessed what would happen next and just how much of an impact on my life it would have.

 Chapter 5 5

    ?In the quiet of the night, a lone figure stood in front of an army of soldiers.  Inplete silence, the thousand men stood at attention. They might not have been in fatigues, their country g disyed proudly on their arm, but it made them no less of an army, no less of an intimidating entity.

    No one moved, there was no fidgeting or restlessness, not even the sound of breathing broke the silence of the night. They all stood there, watching, waiting, knowing that when the time came, their life or death would mean nothing in the face of the mission.  They were trained and trained by the best, to be the best. There would be nopromise.  They were trained to kill, and that was what they did best.

    The lone figure looked back at the men hemanded, knowing that their life was in his hands, that his decisions would impact their actions, and that the consequences would rest solely on his shoulders.

    As they trained forbat, he trained formand, and there was no one better than him in this world.

    The silence was broken by the steady, rhythmic footsteps of a man as he made his way toward the lone figure. He walked through the sea of soldiers, following a pathid out for him by their very formation.  A path meant to bring him to their leader as fast as possible.

    "Sir," said the figure to the lone man once he was close enough. "I have found where they are located.  At the base of a mountain, approximately 100 miles southwest of here, there are 1,549 men with enough guns, ammunition, helicopters,  and supplies tost for a few years.  Intelligence says that they are probably using that range as a permanent base and conducting all missions from there.  What are your orders?"

    "Enough ants can take down an elephant.  We need to crush them now before they can be an overwhelming force.  Take five teams and wipe them out. Do it silently, I don''t want anyone else to know about it."

    As if the men were one, they saluted, turned around, and marched out, their footsteps quiet in the darkness of night.  The lone figure waited until everyone was gone before he too turned and disappeared.  There was a lot of work to be done and not a lot of time to do it.

    ---------

    Wang Chao entered his study a few minutes after dismissing his men.  Heading straight towards the solid oak desk he sat down and waited for his personal assistant to close the massive doors to his sanctuary.

    The piles of paperwork did not detract from the feeling of majesty and power that surrounded Wang Chao wherever he went.  Folding his hands, he looked up to where Lui Wei was standing, ready to give him his report.

    "Sir," Lui Wei began, "The acquisition of Sunset Corps. has beenpleted and is awaiting your signature.  As for the current CEO, after the information has been released to the police, he is looking at 10-15 years in prison for fraud, tax evasion, and bribery."

    "Mmh," replied Wang Chao as he opened the first folder presented to him. Quickly reading through the contracts'' terms and conditions, he signed his name at the bottom and sealed the fate of Sunset Corps.

    It was nothing personal.  He didn''t have a grudge or revenge in mind when he set out to take over the multimediapany, he just wanted to have it in order to diversify hispanies.  He might have excelled in the military, bing one of the youngest Generals to ever retire, but theplexities of the business world was where he shined.

    The business world was a lot like a field of war, information was key to a quick and bloodless victory.  However, every so often, Wang Chao missed the blood on his hands.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Lui Wei took the original folder out from under the hand of his Boss and reced it with another.

    "Lui Yi has found the operation base of the Blood Moon Mercenary organization.  As you know, the men left tonight in order to exterminate the threat that they pose to the old Master.  However, it seems like they are just the hands of a long-time operation.  New information suggests that they are working on a ck-ops assignment for the government and the old Master was opposing their involvement.  The assassination order against him is simply a result of him bing a vocal obstacle.  There also seems to be a ndestine operation going on in the North that the government is funding, but more information on that is impossible to get.  We have our team of hackers searching both the ck and white web to find out what General Heung is doing.  The best that we have been able toe up with is Operation: Hydra, but we are unsure of what it might entail."

    "Mmmh," came the deep, raspy voice again.

    "Sir, if I may ask," started Lui Wei.

    "Hurry up and ask."

    "Yes, Sir. What are your ns for the Blood Moon base once the men have taken it over?"

    "I have no need ofnd out in the middle of nowhere. Search every inch of the property, do not miss anything, and bring back what you can. After that, have the men clean it up and put it up for sale. It would be better to make a profit off of it than have it remain useless to us."

    "Understand, Sir. I''ll inform the men of your orders," said Lui Wei.

    "Leave the rest of the information here. You are dismissed."

    Lui Wie bowed and turned around to leave. He knew that it would not be wise to remain when his Boss was in a mood.  After all, it was not like he provided any new information that the Boss did not already know.

    Sometimes being an assistant was very stressful.

    Wang Chao swiveled his chair around to look out the windows behind him.  Framed by the soft maroon curtains, the night sky looked even more peaceful. Unfortunately, Wang Chao knew that that peace would notst long.

    He got up from his desk and walked towards the bookshelves along the side of the room where a decanter of whisky was waiting.  Pouring himself a ss, he returned to the window, trying to see where all the pieces of the puzzle belonged.  However, he only had one question that he was unable to answer:

    What the hell was ''Operation: Hydra"?

 Chapter 6 6

    ?I woke up the next morning to my cell phone ringing. I groaned as my body gave me a long list of reasons why falling asleep in front of the patio doors was not a good idea.

    I blindly stuck my hand out along the ground and tried to pinpoint where the sound wasing from. I was not going to move more than I had to before I was absolutely ready.

    I found the phone on thest ring and picked it up and saw a missed call from the real estate agent. I raised my eyebrows trying to think about what she could possibly want. I practically had her in tears yesterday when I left.

    The phone started to ring again.

    Huh, must be important.

    "Hello?" I said as I answered the phone. I put it on my shoulder as I got up and walked toward the kitchen. I couldn''t stop the jaw-breaking yawn that came out of me if I tried.

    "Ms. Li? Hi! It''s Jenny Wang from Urban Paradise Real Estate. Is now a good time?" Came the cheerful voice from the other side of the phone. I looked at the time on my coffee maker and saw that it was 7:30 in the morning. Who the heck was that cheerful at 7:30 am?!?

    "Yes, of course. What can I do for you, Jenny?" I asked as I stared at the machine. If will alone could make it work faster, I would have been sipping on my cup of freshly brewed coffee two hours ago.

    Yes, I am aware that two hours ago I was still sleeping, I was trying to make a point that I wanted this thing to go faster.

    "It''s not what you can do for me, it''s what I can do for you." I was startled out of my thoughts when I heard Jenny''s answer.

    What she could do for me? Wouldn''t that be letting me sleep for a few more hours or bringing me a cup of coffee from the caf?? down the street? I was pretty sure that I was persona non grata there so I would have to find a source of coffee elsewhere.

    Better add coffee to the things to stock up on. Although the nts did not mutate, the supply chain waspletely cut off. Let me tell you, people without coffee were not people. They were mindless, wide-eyed monsters that were willing to bite your head off without a second thought. Seriously, the zombies had nothing on people without coffee.

    "Then, what can you do for me?" I asked Jenny as thest bit of coffee dripped into the pot.

    I poured myself a cup, added all the milk and sugar that could fit, and took the beverage to the mini bistro set that I had taken out. I sat down and looked out the windows while I waited for Jenny to tell me why she felt the need to wake me up so bloody early.

    "The perfect homestead for you has juste on the market an hour ago. I will send you the pictures, but the listing has not been approved for the public so only agents from my office have the information. Anyways, the property backs onto the bottom of a mountain, it has three good-sized ponds and plenty of fields for both nts and livestock. It is about 100 miles from here, which will be a little over an hour and a half drive."

    My body froze. From what she was saying, although it was a bit closer to the city than I wanted, it seemed perfect.

    "I know you wanted something a bit further away, but I think that it would be worth a look. What do you think?" Came the voice from the phone.

    "When can you pick me up?" I returned with a grin.

    "I''m waiting for you downstairs now. And I have coffee."

    "Be right there."

    And just like that, Jenny redeemed herself for waking me up this morning. If everything worked out, that ce would be more than worth a little less sleep.

    --------------

    The ce was well worth waking up early.

    After about an hour of highway driving, we turned off onto a small path through the woods that just had two tire tracks in the grass.

    As we bumped along, the woods all of a sudden cleared and it was, without a doubt, the most beautiful thing that I had seen in three lifetimes.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    As thendscape opened up, all I could see were green fields, wood fences, and arge red barn off to one side. As we got closer, the tire tracks morphed into a dirt road. After opening the gate, Jenny got back in the car and looked at me.

    "What do you think?" She asked. The excitement in her voice told me that she knew exactly what I thought.

    "You said it hasn''t been made public yet?" I asked, looking around.

    This ce might be less than two hours outside of the city, but when you were on the property itself, you felt like you were in a different worldpletely.

    "Nope," she reassured me. "Urban Paradise is a subsidiary of Wang Enterprises, which is a subsidiary of Phoenix Conglomerate. That is a really roundabout way of saying that it is our parentpany that is looking to sell thend, so they gave it to us first. Keep the money in the family and all that."

    "I''ll buy it," I said, not even bothering to look at the rest. I needed this ce and this ce needed to be mine.

    "You''re not going to ask how much?" Jennyughed. "Or even see the rest of the property?"

    "I''m going to go look around, you will figure out the price, and I will, fingers crossed, own this house within the next two hours. Deal?" I asked, getting out of the car on the other side of the gate.

    "I''ll see what I can do," replied Jenny as she yelled at me with her head sticking out the window.

    Iughed and waved my hand, ready to start on an adventure around thend.

    So, it turned out that what I thought was paradise on earth at the entrance to the ranch was not, in fact, paradise.

    Paradise came with 3,000 acres ofnd that went all the way from the highway to the bottom of the mountain range. It had at least three ponds in various fields and a river that supplied the water.

    Paradise came with the 13,000 square foot home that boasted 10 bedrooms, 12 bathrooms, two entertainment areas, a wrap-around deck, a stone firece, and a chef''s kitchen with four, count them, four pantries.

    There were so many buildings andnd that there was no way possible for me to see everything in a year! Good thing I have the apocalypseing that would give me the time to explore.

    With that muchnd, I could set up my own safe zone and protect all the people thate to me for help.

    Or I can live my own life, away from people and zombies.

    Let''s go with option two.

    I saw Jenny walking up the hill to greet me and I waved at her.

    "What''s the damage?" I asked,ughing. I would be willing to buy it no matter the price. Even if I got a loan from the bank, I''d only have to pay it off for a year.

    "$5,000,000," she said, looking at me.

    Five million? On Earth, something like this would have cost at least 20 million if not more.

    "Sold!" Iughed. I could afford the entire amount, but I was not going to.

    An EMP hit the city, and most of Country K, at the beginning of November, just when news of the zombies got out. All the information anywhere was lost. There was no more inte, no more cell phones, no cars, or anything that relied on electronics. That included the banks that contained, your money, your loans, all of that, were wiped out when that happened. Even after ten years, that information was never retrieved.

    But enough about what was going toe. Now that I thought about the EMP, there was more to add to the list at home.

 Chapter 7 7

    ?Apparently, Phoenix Conglomerate was as willing to make a quick sale as I was to make a quick buy. Within the two hours I had said, everything was signed, sealed, and delivered and I could move into the ranch that day.

    As happy as that made me¡­ and it made me extremely happy¡­ there were still a few things back in the city that I had to do first.

    Jenny drove me back to my old apartment, which I found out today that I owned, (who knew?!?) to be able to sort some things out. I opened the door to my home and took out of my space only what I needed.

    Sitting down on the floor, I looked at my notes and pens. Time to get to work.

    I had over an hour toe up with the next steps and I needed to write them down before I forgot them¡­ because let''s face it¡­ that happens a lot.

    I took out the paper entitled: Steps to Surviving the End of the World

    #1. Let them die¡­simple, easy, and not likely to be forgotten.

    #2. Set yourself up for sess.

    1.      Buy a farm¡­ I took my highlighter and crossed that off the list. Done and done!

    2.      Buy seeds and pantry items¡­would do that tomorrow.

    3.      Buy livestock¡­ might still have to hold off on that one.

    The first two steps were pretty much aplished, or would slowly be aplished over the next few months.  Sometimes I forget that I was not in the apocalypse. I still felt the urgency that all the supplies had to be gathered that day or there was no way to get them ever again.

    I could do step 2.2 slowly¡­ and maybe if I told myself that enough times, I would begin to believe it.

    Ok, now onto the steps that I came up with in the car:

    #3. Sell your old ce¡­ pretty straightforward. No point in keeping the apartment if I had the ranch, and the money would help with supplies.  I''ll contact Jenny in the morning and see what she can do.

    #4. Move into the ranch

    1.      Build a fence¡­ keep in mind that everything electronic is going to go, so what other options were there?

    2.      Make sure fields and barns are able to hold animals¡­ no point in buying them if they aren''t going to stay put.

    a.      How many animals can each field/barn hold?

    b.      How many different types of animals can I get?

    c.      Don''t forget fish!  I have three ponds and a river. I can have fish!

    I paused in my writing.  I had never actually considered getting fish before, but I remembered that ponds were a great way of raising your own so why not try?

    #5.  Organize pantry¡­ maybe I should have written pantries¡­.eek!!!!!! So happy!

    #6.  Fill up the pantries¡­ let''s face it, this was going to be the best part of it all!

    #7.  Learn more about EMPs¡­ because I had never heard about them in my first life and only saw the aftermath in my second¡­ I needed to prepare for it, and knowledge was key.

    #8. Gather guns and weapons¡­ you would think that this one was for defending myself against the zombies, but it was really for the humans. Refer to step one if you have questions.

    And there you had it, my eight-step program for surviving the end of the world.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    I was sure that as I thought of things, there would be more steps added, but for right now, I was happy with this.

    I put my pens and paper back into my space and took out the bed and sheets. I will admit that it did look weird to have a bed in the middle of the living room, but hopefully, my body would be more appreciative with a soft bed to sleep on. I was still feeling the aches and pains fromst night.

    I went to sleep feeling more confident than I had before. Settling the ranch issue has really relieved a lot of stress.

    ----------------

    "Sir." A knock on the door of Wang Chao''s study caused him to look up from thetest stock reports.

    "Enter," he said, putting the reports to the side and watching as the door opened.

    "Sir," said Liu Wei as he walked into the study with a file folder in his hand. "I have received confirmation that the Blood Moon base has been sold this morning. Here is the sale agreement and all relevant documentation on the issue."

    "It sold already?" Ask Wang Chao surprised. He thought that it would take a while for that piece ofnd to be bought simply because it was so massive and out of the way.

    "Yes. I had given the listing to Urban Paradise first, and apparently, they had a buyer looking for a property like that. She put in an offer before even entering the house."

    "How much did you sell it for?"

    "$5 million, Sir."

    "5 million and there were no issues? Who is the person?"

    Liu Wei opened the folder in his hand and looked at the contract. "A Li Dai Lu. 22 years old, single, no parents or immediate family, but a holder of Li Industries. It looks like she is a holder in name only, collecting the dividends but not having any actual power. Her cousin took over the business when her parents died four years ago. They don''t have much to do with each other."

    "She paid for it in cash?" Asked Wang Chao, trying to figure something out in his head.

    "No, she put down 20% and took out a loan from our bank for the remaining amount, a total of $4,000,000."

    "So she didn''t pay for it in cash? Does she not have the money?"

    "Yes, Sir. Her records are showing that she has $10.4 Billion in total assets with us, and $8.9 Billion is in cash."

    "So why didn''t she pay everything all at once? Any business professional would avoid the interest payments. What is the length of time for the loan?"

    "She asked for 25 years."

    "Look into it," Wang Chao said.  He didn''t know what was wrong, but he had a feeling that something wasn''t right.

    "Of course, Sir," said Liu Wei as he turned around to leave the study.

    "Leave her information."

    "Of course, Sir," his assistant said and turned around to deliver the file.

    Anyone that bought that property would be under suspicion. A ranch like that was incredibly rare, so what would a second-generation rich girl know about or even want a working ranch? Did she have a connection with Blood Moon?

    Liu Wei would make sure to dive deeper into things. If Wang Chao was interested enough that he wanted to look over that contract, he would give his boss everything he could on the girl and the situation.

 Chapter 8 8

    ?Although I hate mornings more than anything, my body was a lot happier with me after waking up in a bed than on a pile of nkets.

    Things to note, I guess.

    I was trying to revamp my whole future, so there was no point in getting used to sleeping on the floor on the cold ground. I had my home; my paradise and I would not give it up for anything or anyone.

    Instead of making my bed, I just put the whole thing in my space. Why make it when I was just going to sleep on it again tonight?

    I called Jenny and got my house on the market. I didn''t know how long it would take to sell, but step three was now out of my hands.

    Which mean that I was in for a day of shopping! I got out of bed and took my time getting dressed and decided that this would be a perfect time to see if I could have a piece of chocte cake with fudge icing.

    I entered my space and walked towards the house. I think that the ranch meant so much to me because it was so simr to this ce. Not being as excited about my own space as I thought I would be, I finally understood the saying ''be careful what you ask for''.

    In my second life, I would have given anything to be like Colin and have my very own space. Mind you, how he described his space was nothing like what I had. He imed that it was like a warehouse. It started off small, but the more that he put stuff in and took it out, the bigger it got. Not what I was expecting, but sure...

    I would have to say that the first time I came here, I was really confused as to what was going on. Once again, I really, REALLY loved to read web novels and since I was obsessed with transmigration, I think I had read everything that I could get my hands on.  That included transmigrating into the end of the world.

    Yes, even I could chuckle over the irony of it all.  That being said, I would have preferred Ancient China if I could have had a say in the matter...

    But I digress.  I thought that I would be ahead of the game, understanding how supernatural powers worked, about the nucleus in the zombie''s heads that could be used to increase your own power, about leveling up and bing an unstoppable force with someone that had lightning powers and/or a space power.

    My reality was nothing like that. So, did I mention that nothing went the way I was ''promised'' in those novels? Let''s start with the zombies, shall we?

    The original ''zombie'' as the world here thinks of them were created in Country M as part of an experiment to improve the power and performance of the Navy. The volunteers were given an injection of genes and a retrovirus that would enhance the desired characteristics of certain... species.

    Each dosage contained the gene sequence for both blue and mako sharks, starfish as well as a little-known organism called a hydra.

    Now, if you are like me and hear the word hydra, you automatically think of a mythical creature that looks like a dragon with, like, nine heads. Something that Hercules would be proud to fight.

    This was not it. This hydra was about the size of a child''s finger when fully grown with a base stem and a flower-type head. So, why add this weird, alien creature into the mix? It turns out that they are the secret to eternal life... or the ability to not die.

    Yeah, I wasn''t impressed when I heard it for the first time either. One of the scientists that I saved in the third year that I was there told me that these hydras have stem cells with an infinite capacity for self-renewal. This came in the gene form of fox O... so, the scientists in their infinite wisdom added an overabundance of that gene. Self-renewal would be important for any respectable soldier, right?<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Then came the starfish genome.  They (the ones that were supposed to be smart), took the gene that allowed the starfish to reproduce asexually and regrow limbs.  Seriously, they had a starfish that was able topletely regrow from just an arm.  Imagine what that did to the zombies.

    The sharks I think were the guys in the group deciding that if they were going to add genes to the Navy, then sharks would be a great ce to go.  The blue shark and the mako shark are less well known than let''s say a Great White or Tiger shark, but the blue shark was known for its aggressive behavior while the mako was considered highly intelligent withrger brains and extreme speed and agility.

    Want to know how those four creatures put together with a dude would work out? Nightmareish... really really... not.... Yeah...

    Remember, forget everything you knew about zombies, cause these weren''t them. They had no crystal nucleus to dig out, they didn''t start off slow and gain speed and intelligence with every level that they upgraded to...

    These zombies were highly, like extremely, intelligent. They started out fast and agile and never slowed down.  I guess it is also a blessing that they didn''t speed up either.

    Some had light purple skin while others had a bluer hue to them. They were organized, followed a hierarchy, and preyed on humans to the point where they would and could sneak into the safe zones to take humans away to eat at ater time. Heck, they could even decide who would turn into a zombie and who would just end up as food.

    I feel like I need to stress that as much as most novels talk about humans bing more powerful anding out on top... this was not what happened.

    We were considered to be THE food source for the newest apex predator. I had even heard rumors that they were farming us, bringing us to their bases, and keeping us terrified until our fear had reached a level that they considered our meat delicious.

    Yeah, those were the zombies that we were dealing with. All the intelligence of highly trained men and women with the aggression, stealth, agility, and immunity that the new genes afforded them.

    And if Country M thought that they would maintain control over these creatures, they quickly learned otherwise.

    So, how did the genes spread? ... A retrovirus was added to the mix in the hopes that it would give the scientists some level of control. This retrovirus would attack the immune system, ideally killing these super soldiers in about ten years or so. But once again, the bestid ns of mice and men... By destroying the immune system, it allowed the genes that should not have been that dominant toe take control.

    And, as all other viruses, it could be passed through blood, bodily fluids, and from mother to child.

    In other words, the scientists seeded in creating a superhuman, indestructible creature that liked the taste of humans and can regrow its head if necessary.

    Oh, did I forget that part? Yeah, cutting off their heads was not enough to keep them dead. You would need to burn the corpse to ashes in order to be assured ofplete victory. But the triggers were so quick that simply setting them on fire would not work. The fire needed time to destroy their genes so that they couldn''t regenerate... thus having to cut off their heads.

    Give me the zombies that my world came up with any day. It seemed like it would be so much easier.

 Chapter 9 9

    ?I shook my body, trying to dislodge the images of those zombies from my head. I should be far enough out of the way for them to nevere looking for me at the ranch.

    And it wasn''t like I was going to go looking for them. Nope, not a chance in hell.

    I grabbed my purse with my list of what I wanted to buy and left the apartment. It was vacant, so if Jenny needed to show it at thest minute, she could.

    The first ce that I went to was a seed store. As I walked in, reality once again gave me a p upside my head. It was November 4th, and as much as I was expecting it to be snowing at this point in time, the mild weather made me forget that seeds would not be that popr right now. Who knew that City A didn''t experience snow until December?

    I smiled at the cashier that looked at me in surprise. Well, I guess most people would not be walking into a nursery at this time of the year.

    "Sorry about this," I said as I approached him. "I was just hoping to get a head start on the growing season, but Ipletely forgot that winter was approaching here."

    "Not from around here then?" He asked as he looked me up and down.

    "Nope, I am from City H, just moved here for a job. I wanted to grow a few things on my balcony to make it feel like home," I said, the lies flowing smoothly. I still adhered to the principle that you catch more flies with honey. Might as well tell him what he wanted to hear.

    Besides, he must be bored stupid being in the store alone all day.

    "Ah, yeah, it is easier to grow things all year round down there. It has a more tropical climate than what we normally get."

    "So I am learning," Iughed. I left him at the counter and walked around to see what he had in stock.

    I was impressed with the selection and found several packets of seeds that I would like to grow. They had most of the herbs that I was looking for, but I would need to go to a few other ces to look for the peppers. I wanted more than just bell and jpeno peppers.

    Of course, they offered like fifteen different varieties of tomatoes to keep me happy. I would have toe back in the spring to see what they had when they were all stocked up.

    "I''ll grab these for today and thene back in a few months to grab some other fruit and veggie seeds," I said as I put my choices on the counter.  I was not going to pull another bakery episode, don''t worry.

    "What are you looking for? I can add them to the order to make sure we have them," said, the man I can only assume was the owner.

    "You might regret saying that!" Iughed. "I am hoping to find a house with a good-sized backyard so I can grow a lot of stuff."

    "It''s all good. Let me know and the worst-case scenario is I can''t get it for you."

    "Well, standard things I guess: strawberries, cantaloupe, watermelons, pumpkins, zhinis," I started to name off. A lot of these I grew in Canada, so I didn''t know if they would have them here, or even by those names.

    "Alright," he said as he wrote down my list. He didn''t seem confused, so I could only assume that they were standard here as well.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Any kind of peppers you can find, corn, rice, potatoes, sweet potatoes," Iughed, enjoying myself.

    "Did you want any saplings? I can do apple, pear, orange, and cherry."

    "Oooh, those sound great! How about some blueberry and raspberry bushes? Goji too, if you can find it! Can you get your hands on a couple of maple trees? The ones with the sap?"

    "I''ll talk to my supplier," the owner smiled in return. "Leave your name and number and I''ll give you a call if they have something that we didn''t mention. Did you want any flowers?"

    "Yeah, sunflowers, nasturtiums, marigolds¡­"

    Now I had the ownerughing out loud.  "So, you actually know what you are doing. I''ll get you somepanion nts. What about ginger, turmeric, echinacea, and chamomile?"

    "If I didn''t know better, I would think that you were just trying to increase your sales for the year. I''ll take all those too." I paid for my purchase and promised to return in February when he would have the rest of my order in.

    I wasn''t in a hurry, I could afford to take my time now.  I was just d that I returned when I did so I would have this time to prepare.

    --------

    Liu Wei looked at thetest information on Li Dai Lu and wondered if he should give it to Wang Chao with his regr report.

    "You seem to be thinking hard, just spit it out," said Wang Chao as he sat on the couch of his office in Phoenix Conglomerate.

    "Apparently, Li Dai Lu has been purchasing several different types of seeds. She has also put in an order for several fruit trees to be picked up in the spring," said Liu Wei, not sure how this information was important.

    "So, she bought a 3,000-acre ranch and is buying a bunch of seeds?" Asked Wang Chao, trying to think of what could be happening. Could it really be as innocent as she bought a farm to¡­ farm? Or was this a plot from M government to rebuild Blood Moon without suspicion?

    And what would a rich girl like her know about farming? Why would she want to farm? What did she know that would lead her to do something like that?

    He had researched her past and there was nothing about her knowing or liking nts or even food. It was as if she woke up one morning and just decided on this path. She has even stopped contacting her friends and family.

    If she had gotten in contact with Blood Moon and was working with the M government, it would exin a lot of things.

    "Keep your eyes open. If she is part of Blood Moon then she will slip up sometime. I will not let that organization regroup and be a threat to us again."

    "Yes, Sir. Understood," said Liu Wei as he bowed and walked away.

 Chapter 10 10

    ?Once again, I woke up in an amazing mood. I could feel my body start to rx, the constant vignce that I felt in myst life slowly leaving me.  You never knew how hard on your body always being ready at any second was until you could stop doing it.

    I mean, it wasn''t instantaneous, it took me a few days to realize that the zombies weren''t lurking in the dark alleyways, that they were not waiting for me to let down my guard enough to rush out and grab me.

    But on the flip side, as I watched all these people going about their daily business, the smiles on their faces, thepleteck of fear, I almost felt bad about the shock they would be experiencing in a year.

    It was a lot to adjust to, knowing that you were no longer the top predator in the world.

    So, back to my day.  The other reason why I woke up in such a phenomenal mood was that this was the day that I decided to move into the ranch permanently. I would have to grab some food and daily necessities that I had not been able to consider a necessity before¡­ like shampoo, body wash, and a frigging toothbrush!

    Ah¡­ the luxuries of a pre-apocalyptic world.

    Iughed out loud in the empty apartment and enjoyed the sound echo around me. After getting ready and making sure everything was tucked away in my space, I shut the door behind me and locked it.

    This apartment was not mine; I had no emotional attachment to it. I had no idea if the previous body loved it, but it was not for me.

    Give me arge patch ofnd and an open sky any day¡­ and I was heading to the one ce in this world that I could say without a doubt¡­ was mine.

    I was slowly building my own ce again, and this time, I would not allow outsiders in to ruin it.

    I spent a few hours shopping for the basics and, of course, I would need a vehicle (or four) to get me to and from the ranch as well as around it.

    I found a ce that sold 4x4s, I would have called them a Jeep back in Canada, but I found the top-of-the-line ''jeep wrangler'' or whatever they called it here. I purchased two of them and got each one detailed to my liking. While I am iming that I did it to my liking, I mean, I got them colored and changed to allow for some type of safety from zombies.  It turned out, and you would be surprised at how long it took us humans to figure it out, that sharks did not really see colors, they saw in contrasts. And, since one of the dominant genes in the zombies was a shark, they gained their eyesight.

    This meant that the zombies hunted in a simr way to sharks. If you were driving a white car at night, the zombies could spot you from a mile away and ring the dinner bell.  The same was with driving a bright-colored car, if the background added too much of a contrast, then you became dinner. Had too much silver or chrome on your car to reflect any type of light¡­no matter how dim, then yeah, same problem.

    So my first car was done in a light blue color that should be able to blend in with the day. I got them to matte any of the visible metals and bought the second one in ck for the night. They looked at me like I was crazy, but I waspletely fine with that.  As far as I was concerned, the majority of these people would be chum in the next year or so, so why worry about their opinion of me?

    After driving the blue car out of the shop and having them promise to deliver the ck one to the ranch, I went to a second dealership that dealt more with off-roading vehicles than the standard car you would see on the road.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    I bought one ''standard'' atv, with the four wheels, andpletely open¡­ think a motorcycle on four wheels, but that was just for use around the ranch.  After much hush hush conversations, secret handshakes, and a meeting with the manager/owner, I was led to the back warehouse where they kept the vehicles that I was looking for.

    It''s hard to exin exactly what I was looking for¡­ I guess the best way to picture it would be a military amphibious vehicle that would be able to take on the end of the world¡­ and pretend that the world was not actually ending.

    Yup, I''m crazy like a fox¡­ muahahaha¡­.

    So anyways¡­ the first atv that I was looking at was called a Shaman 8-wheel atv, and, as you would assume, it had eight wheels, the seating area waspletely enclosed and could move on bothnd and water. The body could be reinforced to my specifications and there was an additional rack on the roof, and it also came with two floodlights at the front.

    When I thought of apocalyptic vehicles in Canada, this was the image in my mind.  Too bad it was slower than msses going uphill on a cold day. (Canadian way of saying really, really slow).  It would be easy for the zombies to catch up, and, given enough time, no matter how reinforced the metal exterior was, they would eventually be able to break through. It would more be like opening canned foods instead of having them out in the open.

    I bought it anyways.

    The second one that I had my eye on was a Ripsaw EV2. It was military grade, fast, with a dual track, and looked like what would happen if a tank and a sports car had a baby.  I needed to have it. In matte ck, of course.

    Me, being me, I walked into a car dealership to buy a 4x4 to take me from the ranch to the city and back again and ended up buying an additional four vehicles.  But, don''t I get a pat on the back for not buying them all out of stock? I felt like I should be praised for my control.

    My bank ount was not as happy to see mytest purchases, but when I saw all the zeros still in the ount (and I don''t mean a bnce of $0.00) I still felt like I was in a good position.

    Once again, I scheduled delivery for a few months from now. After all, it would take time to outfit the EOW vehicles (end-of-the-world vehicles) to my specifications. I wanted stealth, strength, and security. Not something that screamed I was tuna in a can if they only had the opener.

    Storing the cars? I would figure that outter.

    I jumped into my sky-blue jeep and took off down the highway, ready to settle into my paradise.

    Huh, I would have toe up with a name for my ranch... I can''t just keep calling it ''the ranch'' inside my head now can I?

 Chapter 11 11

    ?"Thetest report for Li Dai Lu has arrived, Sir," said Liu Wei as he handed over the report.

    Wang Chao took it from him and put it to the side. "What does it say?" He asked his assistant, not bothering to read it.

    "She spent $10 million on five vehicles today, two of them military grade that she has requested modifications to bepleted before delivery, two other off-road vehicles, one blue and one ck, and finally a recreational atv," said Liu Wei, already having memorized the information in the folder.

    "10 million?" Asked Wang Chao looking up from his desk. "Did she take out a loan for it?"

    "No, Sir. The dealerships for three of the vehicles requested to be paid in cash and she was fine with that."

    "So why would she take out a loan for the ranch, but not the vehicles?" Wang Chao wondered out loud. The more he learned about this second-generation princess, the more he became confused. It was like she was twopletely different people. One that was spoiled and never worked a day in her life and another who, clearly, had some serious ns.

    Could she have been a sleeper for Blood Moon and, now that their base and operations were almostpletely wiped out, she was called in to restart everything?

    "Maybe the ranch is for her own use while the vehicles are meant for Blood Moon?" Said Liu Wei thoughtfully. "She could be expecting a lot of that cash back if that was the case and the government of Country M was ordering her to do these things."

    "Mmmm," Wang Chao hummed. "But where could she have even been in contact with Blood Moon in the first ce? Not even mentioning Country M. After her parent''s death, she pretty much stayed in her apartment, going out asionally to shop or to meet with her friends. There is nothing here to suggest that this is a recent thing."

    "Maybe that is the point, Sir," said Liu Wei, following his boss'' train of thought. "She is 20 years old this year, maybe they met her earlier when she was attending the parties with her parents. A 16-year-old is much easier to manipte than a 20-year-old."

    "We will have to ask her that one day. See what her excuse is and why she is so willing to betray her country," replied Wang Chao signaling Liu Wei to leave.

    His assistant bowed and quickly left the office, leaving Wang Chao to his thoughts.

    He picked up the file he had set aside and opened it to the first page. There was a picture of a young woman, her ck hair hanging down to the small of her back and her blue eyes sparkling at whoever had taken the picture. She had to be short, but everything about her screamed of the privilege that she had growing up. Her skin was white and wless, her nails perfectly done in a neutral color and her dress was clearly designer.

    How could Blood Moon be able to approach her, and what did they tempt her with to work for them? Wang Chao guessed that the best spies were those that you never expected. But he now expected her, and he would never let her seed with her ns, whatever they were.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    ------

    My n for the rest of the day was to explore my new home ande up with a name for it. As I turned off the highway and through the seemingly dense forest, I thought about what I would call it.

    The trees parted and once again the absolutely stunning view of sprawling green fields and majestic mountains greeted me. I sighed, the smile on my face never leaving as I passed by the first two red barns and continued down the gravel road toward the house itself.

    The first time I explored here, I wasn''t able to see too much, but what I did notice was that the previous owners must have left in a hurry. I was not sure why, but they left absolutely everything from the farming equipment to the beds in each one of the rooms.  Hopefully, they didn''t leave any food, because it probably would be smelly by now.

    I stopped the Jeep in front of the garage and just sat there for a second. It had been three lifetimes, but I finally had my own home¡­the thought alone gave me goosebumps. I would make this everything that I ever wanted and dreamed of, and I would make it for me alone.

    Still on the high of having my own slice ofnd, I got out of the car and walked up the cobblestone path to the front door. There were pirs every five feet on the wrap-around deck, the look of them gave off that quintessential ranch feeling that made my smile widen.  I could see myselfing out here in the morning with my cup of coffee, enjoying the air and the scenery.

    But a ce like this needed a name, and the word paradise screamed at me to pick it. However, I felt that that name was too overdone. Heck, even the Real Estate office that I was dealing with was called Urban Paradise. Paradise, heaven, all these names represented this stretch ofnd, but at the same time, they were used so much that the very words had lost their meaning.

    I walked up the two steps onto the deck and ced my hand on the door, ready to open it and start my new life¡­ was that a good name? Something to do with a fresh start? The bird, phoenix, meant rebirth, right? But that was also way overdone¡­ I wanted something to be mine alone¡­

    Hey, we have already covered the fact that deep inside I don''t share well¡­

    I had an idea, but I didn''t think that the concept was here in this world.  I took out my cell phone and looked up ''Elysian Fields''. No results. I had found something that belonged to me and me alone.

    Elysian Fields was the Greek concept of heaven, a ce where when heroes died and went to see Hades, they would be sent to the Elysian Fields as a reward for all their hard work and for helping people in their life. If I remember correctly, it was described as a peaceful, beautiful region with sunlight and fresh air.

    That was it¡­ This was my Elysian Fields.

 Chapter 12 12

    ?I spent my first night in my new house in the most beautiful four-poster bed that I had ever seen. Well, maybe I should say that the entire room looked like something out of a magazine. The bed was a king-sized monstrosity with a ck metal frame facing a wooden firece. The ceiling was done in reimed barn wood and the window overlooked the mountains in the back. The walk-in closet was huge and empty, which I took as a good sign seeing as there were clothes in almost every other room in the ce.

    I took out the bed sheets that I had picked up earlier, all white withvender and pink cherry blossoms, and made the bed before I fell asleep.

    That was the end of my fifth day of rebirth.

    Now that I was home, and my list was made, I started knocking down things one after another, using the inte to do most of the work.

    The first thing, I looked up was fencingpanies.  I wanted the biggest and the best fence, and I wanted it topletely surround the 3,000 acres of my property.  I knew that this would be a major expense, but it was worth it in the long run.  Nothing worse than people trying to escape to the city and thinking my house would be a good ce to stay.

    Simply searching fences did not give me what I wanted, and even looking at ''security fences'' didn''t give me the results that I wanted. I did not want a fence made of metal, rods, or otherwise, that allowed people to see through. That was only begging them to try and get in.

    I settled on apany that did concrete fencing of all different styles¡­ and I will fully admit to being surprised that there was more than one type of concrete fencing¡­ called Dragon Fencing.  I rolled my eyes at the name. First, there was Urban Paradise, then Wang Enterprises, Phoenix Conglomerate, and now Dragon Fencing. I sensed a theme, but if they were as good as they imed, then I would hire them.

    I filled in the report requesting a free estimate and then moved on to the next thing on my list: EMP survival.  Ok, fine, it was not the next, next step on my list, it might have been seventh, but I was greatly enjoying my lemon crumble pie (yes, my space did preserve the sweets from the bakery) and I didn''t want to leave my dining room table¡­ and if you saw how beautiful it was, made all out of oak and seating for like 20 people, you would understand why.

    Anyways, back to the lists.  I figured that I needed to check the barns and pens before ordering the animals, so the next thing that did not require me to move was EMPs.

    From what I could gather from my past life, the EMP that struck could, or could not, have been an attack by another country or a sr re. Well, when facing something that was trying to season you to improve your taste, things like what caused the EMP were not high on my list of cares.

    And before you ask, yes, I have a list for pretty much everything.

    So, EMP¡­ could be the result of war or the environment, no one could say for sure, but what we did know was that it wiped out everything electric, from cell phones to light bulbs to fridges and¡­ bank loans. The only cars that would work were the really only fashioned ones that did not rely on a chip or electricity to run. Unfortunately for this world, 95% of the cars were electric cars. Sucks to be them.

    The five that I just bought were not the case, and if they were, removing anything chip rted or electric was part of the modifications that I insisted on. You would think that the owner would believe that I was crazy for insisting that that was done, but he simply nodded his head like hepletely agreed with me and anyone that did not request that modification was the crazy one instead.

    Gotta love like-minded people. Maybe he will survive what was toe.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    I did a general inte search for what an EMP was, it was not like I needed to know how to build one, how to use one, or even how to set one off. All I wanted was the information on how to save what I wanted to be saved from the effects of the EMP¡­ in other words, how do I protect my fridge, air conditioner, stove, appliances, freezers, and everything else with electricity that I considered a necessity of life.

    On a side note, when the inte went out, how would I watch any shows or movies? Maybe I should invest in a Blu-ray or DVD yer and a few TVs to watch it on. Do they still make Blu-rays and DVDs? Add that to the list to researchter.

    I focused my attention back on EMPs and started the long process of learning exactly what they were and how to protect my stuff from them.

    ------

    "Sir, I have today''s report, she is looking up some unusual things and had requested ourpany Dragon Fencing to go to the ranch and provide her with a quote for concrete fencing," said Liu Wei as he handed the daily report to the CEO. It was going to feel weird when he didn''t include a report of Li Dai Lu.

    "What is she looking up?" Asked Wang Chao, his gaze on the contract in his hand.

    "EMPs," came his assistant''s quick reply.

    Wang Chao put down the paperwork and stared at Liu Wei. "EMPs?" He said, his tone unchanging, but the very air in the office became electric. "What about EMPs?"

    "Everything, Sir. How they are created, both the man-made and environmental kind, what area of impact they have, what needs to be done to have the most impact, how to reduce the impact, and how to protect against them."

    "Could Blood Moon be nning an EMP attack?" Asked Wang Chao as he looked at Liu Wei.

    "Honestly, Sir, we have not had any chatter about Blood Moon since we raided their basest week. We have no way of knowing what they are nning besides what Li Dai Lu is doing."

    "Understood. Get one of the men to conduct his own research on EMPs. And contact Dragon Fencing to arrange to go with them for the estimate. Do not leave that ce without getting the contract for it. I don''t care what you have to do. Do you understand?"

    "Of course, Sir," said Liu Wei as he bowed and left Wang Chao''s office, already contacting Dragon Fencing and sending an email to the science division of Phoenix.

 Chapter 13 13

    ?The next morning, I stood on my deck, coffee in hand, and looked out at everything. I needed to get over how amazing this ce was while still understanding how lucky I am¡­ it was a fine line.

    And I''m sure that once all the chores start, the newness would wear off.

    I was really surprised yesterday when I received a prompt reply from Dragon Fencing that they would be able toe by this morning to give me a quote on what I wanted. Like seriously, things back home never seemed to work that fast.

    But anyways, I was on my deck, coffee cup in hand, waiting for the fencing guys when I heard a soft little mew.  I looked down at my feet and there stood the tiniest, cutest little ck kitten ever.  He (I defaulted to ''he'' I will fully admit) rubbed his little head against my leg seeming to beg me to pick him up.

    And how could I not?!?

    Coffee in one hand, cause that thing was not being put down until I emptied it a few times, and a kitten in my other, I wished for an Adirondack chair to be able to sink into. Unfortunately for me, I only had a space and not a magical wishing well. No chair popped up, so I sat on the step instead.

    I ced the kitten on myp and started to pet him. (This time I checked and confirmed it was a him). He purred under my hand and I just had to smile. Of course, I was keeping him. Even if the farm didn''t need a mouse catcher, he was too cute not to keep.

    "How about Hades?" I asked looking down at him. When he replied with his own little meow, he had now cemented his ce here in the Elysian Fields.

    -----

    I heard the rumbling of a car before I saw it. Putting Hades down, I stood up to wee my guests.

    I watched as three men got out of the car, one very clearly overdressed for the asion.

    "Hello, Ms. Li," said the very pleasant voice of the man who came to a stop in front of me. He was tall, with ck hair and grey eyes. The rim of his gold sses sparkled off the sun as he looked down at me. His ck three-piece suit, perfectly pressed white dress shirt, and his impable blue tie set my warning bells off. The reflection of his sses in the sun, set my heart racing. I was still getting over my fear of shiny metal.

    If you think it is a dumb fear, please refer to the chapters before where I very clearly exined that shiny things and contrasting colors were the best way to be dinner.

    This man did not look like he worked at a fencingpany, and I did not see the need for an owner toe and give an estimate himself. In fact, I have yet to see the owner of a fencing, gardening or any type of physicalborpanye to a client''s house in a three-piece suit.

    "Hello," I replied, not getting down from the deck to greet thepany. "Who are you?"

    OK, so ten years in an apocalypse had really made me forget all the manners beaten into me by my foster parents, sue me.

    "Ah, sorry for not introducing myself. My name is Liu Wei and am the assistant to the CEO of Phoenix Conglomerate," he said, extending his hand to shake mine. I did not return the gesture.

    "How is it that the assistant to the CEO of a huge conglomerate has the time to give me a fencing quote? Is business that slow?" I like to think that I was highly fluent in thenguage of sarcasm¡­ whether it came out as such or not, I was not entirely sure.

    Liu Weiughed at my response and withdrew his hand. He indicated to the two men behind him to step forward. "This is Liu Hong Tao and Liu Ming Jie. They are from Dragon Fencing and will be more than happy to help you out."

    "And the reason why you are here?" I asked, my eyebrow raised.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    He looked startled when I asked that question like he never suspected me to wonder why such a higher-up was invested in my fence.

    "Ah," he said as if he just came up with the answer. "You bought thisnd through Urban Paradise from Phoenix Conglomerate, and now are using our fencingpany. I am just here to see if you are satisfied with our services or not."

    I wanted to look down at my hair to see if it had turned blonde in the past hour without me noticing it. Nope? Yeah, I didn''t think so.

    "Sure," I replied, really not believing his exnation. I looked at the other two men who were clearly here to do their job. "Let''s get started, shall we?" I asked as I went down the two steps to the men that were waiting. Coffee still in hand, cause coffee is life.

    I exined everything that I wanted, a somewhat decorative concrete wall; after all, I would have to look at it too, and at least ten feet tall.

    They looked at me kind of weirdly when I said that, but frankly, it was the story of my life... well, lives, so I just ignored it.

    "A standard fence is six feet tall," said Liu Ming Jie. "Studies have shown that even adding extra height does not deter someone from trying to climb it and it is just a waste of money."

    Awe, how sweet¡­ "Thanks. You are right, let''s go 15 feet and call it a day."

    "Fifteen feet?!?" Asked Liu Hong Tao, wondering how a rmendation from six feet was more than doubled in just a sentence.

    "Should I go higher?" I asked, looking at them confused. Yes, I was ying with them, but I didn''t ask them to save me money, no matter how sweet that idea was. And with their professionalism, I was willing to work with theirpany, even if it was attached to the creepy guy following us from behind.

    I had to smirk at the look on his face every time he stepped into a puddle or¡­ other farm-type patties¡­ in his patent leather shoes. Meh, who invited him here anyways?

    Back to the guys here to do actual work. I smiled at the look on their face.

    "I want this ce to be as safe and secure from the outside world as I can make it," I said. "I don''t want to spend my time stressing that I should have, could have made the fence higher. Besides, not everything that would try to climb the fence would be human."

    "You''re right," said Liu Ming Jie. "There are a lot of bears around here, as well as deer and wolves. Each one would be attracted to your property for different reasons. It would make sense to build something that they cannot get over. The beauty of concrete fencing as opposed to something like chain link is that bears cannot use any part of it as a handhold to boost themselves up.  However, for aesthetic purposes, I suggest no higher than ten feet as it."

    I thought about what he said, but honestly, wolves, deer, and bears were the least of my worries. "Alright, ten feet. Now, my biggest problem is the gate entrances and exits. I would want three major ones, north, east, and west, and another six smaller ones, simr to a door. The back part of the property backs onto the mountain range and I don''t see a need to fence that off.  The doors I would like to look invisible from the outside, if at all possible. But I have no idea how I want the three major gates to look and there is an even bigger problem of how to lock them securely."

    Since I had no idea outside of an electronic lock, I would have to ask the experts. Unfortunately for me, they let me down.

    "The best and most secure way to enter and exit from a gate is through an electronic lock that you would have to either input a code or have a signal for," said Liu Hong Tao.

    "And what would happen if the electricity would go out?" I asked, looking at the man.

 Chapter 14 14

    ?"And what would happen if the electricity did go out?" I asked, looking at Liu Hong Tao.

    "Well, one of the greatest misunderstandings about electronic locks is that they would fail in a power outage. This is simply not true. Each lock would operate on a battery until such time that the power was restored."

    I nodded my head at his answer. Ten points for professionalism, and another ten points for what I said going right over his head.

    "And if there is a power surge that fried all of the electronicponents?" I asked, a fake smile on my face.

    "The chances of something like that happening are less that 0.05%," replied Liu Ming Jie, the look on his face suggesting that he was talking to a paranoid child.

    The joke was on him; I was neither paranoid nor a child. But he would learn the hard way.

    Apparently, we had given Liu Wei enough time to join the conversation because he looked at me strangely when I started to talk about a power surge.

    "How about for right now, we install the power locks on all the gates and doors, and the research department at Phoenix can start developing a secure lock that would be able to withstand any power surge. Would that be eptable to you, Miss. Li?"

    I turned to look at the man, and for the first time since we met, he showed promise. "Of course, but when might you be able toe up with something like that?" I asked, my head tilted to the side.

    "It is not like we would be trying to reinvent the wheel, so it should be within an eptable amount of time. When were you thinking?"

    "Within nine months," I said, quickly doing the math in my head. I have only been reborn for six days, even though it felt like longer, so I had about one year before the apocalypse should happen.

    But if web novels had taught me anything, it was that every time someone was reborn then the timeline would be off. But, on the flip side, those novels also assured me that killing zombies would be a fun activity to go out and do with your friends.

    Clearly, they couldn''t be relied on. However, better to be safe than sorry.

    "Within nine months?" Asked Liu Wei, making a note of it on his tablet. "Shouldn''t be a problem. Can I get a phone number to be able to contact you if we have any questions?"

    "Sure," I said. It sounded reasonable seeing as I was going to have a VERY particr specification for what I needed. "But, there are a few more things to cover."

    "And what would those be?" Asked Liu Wei.

    "About the gates themselves, I don''t want bars, I want something sold that will swing open from the inside out," I said, as I tried to describe what was in my head. I wanted the gates to swing towards the outside world, so if you weren''t expecting it, they would smack you. I also wanted it that way so that when I left my ranch, it would be quicker and easier to escape.

    Don''t get me wrong. I am nning on hunkering down here when the end of the worldes, but a smart rabbit had more than one hole.  That was also the point for the other two main gates to the east and west. If I needed to take a vehicle out that way, then I wanted something quick and simple. The six smaller doors were to let me out on foot if I wasn''t able to get to a car on time.

    Plus, a small door would be a lot less noticeable opening than arge gate... wait a sec... I forgot one point.

    "I don''t suppose you have color-changing concrete, do you?" I asked, knowing it was probably impossible, but figured it never hurts to ask.

    "No, can''t say we have ever heard of it," replied Liu Ming Jie.

    "Any chance of being able to create it?" I asked, turning my attention to Liu Wei.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "I am sure our tech department could think up something, but it would take at least a year or two and we wouldn''t be able to start the fence before then."

    I was shaking my head before he could even finish the sentence.  If they did a grey or white color of concrete for the fence, then the contrast at night would be obvious and any zombies around the area would easily be able to see it.  If they did it in a dark grey or ck then it would be the same problem during the day.

    Now, I think that I have made it perfectly clear that these zombies were not normal. Instead of being inactive during the day, they were still a danger to humans, maintaining their speed. In fact, they were able to hunt better during the day as it took humans a while to understand that bright colors and dark colors were very easily seen. Not to mention dark hair.  Yeah, it sucked.

    At night was almost worse... If that was possible. Since they were originally military trained, they tended to be a lot more... sessful in their hunts at night. They could slip into any ce where humans slept and carried them away. No one would even hear anything... they would just wake up to the bed beside them being empty.

    Yeah, the stuff of nightmares...

    I looked around the property, trying to think of a way around thistest hurdle.

    "May I ask what you are thinking about?" Asked Liu Wei as he came up beside me.  Since his presence was invisible and his steps quiet, it was not enough to snap me out of my thoughts and I automatically replied.

    "Contrasting colors," I said, still staring out. "White or light grey would be too obvious in the dark and ck or dark grey would be too obvious in the light. If I can''t have the material change based on the time of day, I would need a color that can blend in with the scenery no matter the time."

    He looked thoughtful and looked around. "Why not forest green?" He asked, looking at the thick woods in front of us.

    "Yeah, I was thinking that, but when winter came and the majority of these trees lost their leaves, then the forest green would stand out too much against the snow."

    "Which is why you wanted color-changing cement," he said, still thoughtful.

    "Exactly," I said, racking my head trying to find a solution.

    "Leave it with me," Liu Wei said as he looked down at me.

    "As the assistant of a super important CEO, I think you have bigger things on your te than trying to help me figure out the color of my fence."

    He chuckled at my answer, a smile appearing on his face. It was a lot more real than the first one I saw him with.  "Leave it with me, I will figure it out. After all, being the assistant of a super important CEO means that I am great at problem-solving."

    I nodded my head, willing to delegate this matter to him. I had enough on my te. "But the entire fence, locks, and backup locks have to bepleted in nine months."

    "Nine months," he said, looking at me seriously. "It will be done."

    "Thanks," I said smiling. This time it was me that reached out my hand to shake his.  He took my hand in his and pumped it one.

    The deal was done and the Dragon Fencing employees took their specifications and dimensions and went back to their office, promising a quote within a few days.

    Liu Wei went back with them, and I was left alone with Hades, desperately needing a cup of coffee.

    I would really, REALLY, have to stock up on that particr luxury. Maybe add some cases of energy drinks as well. Carrying my new little bundle of joy, I went back to the dining room table and continued on my list of supplies.

 Chapter 15 15

    ?Liu Wei nodded to the two guards standing outside the door to Wang Chao''s office at Phoenix. Knocking on the door, he waited for an acknowledgment before opening the door and letting himself in.

    "How did it go?" Asked Wang Chao, looking up from behind his desk. Normally it would have been impossible to pull him away from the business reports, contracts, or stock reports, but this time it seemed that he was waiting for him.

    "Honestly?" Asked Liu Wei, trying to get his thoughts together.  He had been at the ranch for several hours and he still could not organize his thoughts to make a report. The whole thing had him reeling.

    "Would I bother to ask you to lie?" Replied Wang Chao, looking at his normallyposed secretary and wondered what was going on in his head.

    "Sorry, Sir," said Liu Wei as he took a seat across from his boss and made himselffortable. "Honestly, Chao, it was nothing that we expected, but there is something definitely going on."

    Surprised that his friend would drop the honorifics at work, Wang Chao leaned back in his chair and prepared himself for what was toe next. "How do you mean?"

    "Exactly as I said, it was nothing that we expected. There were no indications of anyone else on the property, she was not being cagey or suspicious. Mind you, you can tell that she really does not like people at first. She acted like a lone woman on a ranch and wanted a secure fence to keep herself safe from the animals around."

    "Okay," said Wang Chao as he listened to his right-hand man in both the business world and the Wang family army. "If that was the case, then why would you say that something was definitely going on?"

    "It was the little hints that she dropped without realizing it," continued Liu Wei as he got up and grabbed himself a ss of whiskey. He was hoping that the drink would help him pinpoint what had set him off.

    "She asked if there was a top-of-the-line lock for her gates that was not electric. One of the men said that even if the power went out, the lock would still work and that it was her best option, and the look she gave him was¡­ as if he was stupid. She then specifically asked what would happen if there was an electrical surge."

    "His response?"

    "He said that the chances of that happening was less than 0.05%. That time, she had an almost pitying look on her face. I said that I was willing to see if our tech department coulde up with something and if she had a timeline that she was looking at."

    "I assume she did."

    "Nine months," replied Liu Wei shooting the rest of the liquor before pouring himself another ss.

    Wang Chao looked at his friend concerned. He had never seen him drinking like this. "You okay?" He asked.

    "You know what? I don''t know if I am. I cannot figure out what it was about our meeting, but now I''m on edge... like something is going to happen."

    "You are sure that it has nothing to do with Blood Moon?"<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "No, I am almost certain that she has nothing to do with Blood Moon. Hell, if I were to guess, I would say that she has nothing to do with Li Dai Lu. Nothing about her screamed second-generation wealth at all."

    "Why do you think that?" Asked Wang Chao, now leaning forward to hear what Liu Wei had to say.

    "Contrasting colors," came the reply.

    Wang Chao was surprised. "What do contrasting colors have to do with anything?"

    "Exactly my point!" Eximed Liu Wei, pping his hand on the armrest of his chair. "Why would she care about contrasting colors so much that she would ask me if there was anyway our techs could invent it and have it set up in nine months¡­ and what the Hell is with nine months!?"

    "Did she say anything other than contrasting colors?"

    "She said that white concrete at night would be too noticeable and so would ck during the day. I replied that if she wanted the fencing to blend in, then maybe go with a forest green."

    "That would be a good option if she wanted to blend in with the forest," said Wang Chao, also thinking of a potential solution. His mind loved problems like this and it would be all that he could think about until it was solved.

    "Except that in winter, when most of the trees would lose their leaves, then forest green would contrast with the white of the snow."

    "So, what are you thinking?"

    "I think that we need to look into electric locks that can withstand an EMP and how to blend in with the environment. Because she is certain that something ising in nine months and I think that she is preparing for whatever it is," said Liu Wei, absolutely sure about that one fact.

    "Understood," replied Wang Chao, going back to the papers on his desk. "Then make it happen."

    -------

    Days flew by and weeks turned into months. I got what I considered to be standard things; water bath canners, pressure canners, dehydrators, and freeze dryers.  I figured that I could put all of the electrical appliances that I wanted to keep in my space to use after the EMP went off.

    After all, it was not like there would be no electricity, it just wasn''t as high of a priority since the things that used it were all fried. With that in mind, I added more than a few generators to my online shopping cart, to be picked up in-store. They would use gas to create electricity, but I could once again store them in my space to protect them. Given everything on the ranch that would need electricity, I opted to buy ten of them, wondering if maybe I should have picked up a couple more. I added fifteen to the list, just to be on the safe side.

    I closed my eyes and tried to imagine what else I would need. I was limited in terms of food right now, as I couldn''t grow anything and I already bought six grocery stores out of their coffee. I picked up tea leaves as well, but let''s face it, coffee was life.

 Chapter 16 16

    ?I ordered a herd of 200 cattle, 30 horses, 20 pigs, God only knows how many different types of fish for the ponds, shrimps, and prawns were also purchased at the rmendation of the supplier, and 250 chickens. I think I was good on the livestock front.

    Parts of the order had been delivered and the animals set up in their barns and pens. I was right, I would like to point out, the awe of this ce faded when I was mucking out barns, feeding cows, chickens, pigs, and horses.

    The concrete fence would have to wait to be installed until April when the frost melted.  I was told that it would take about 15 to 20 days to get everything installed. Liu Wei and I had been emailing and calling back and forth trying to figure out the color and locking mechanism.

    I guess the techs suggested a reflective material like a mirror or something, but I vetoed that idea. If the zombies approaching the fence could see themselves in the mirror, then they would know that something was up. Come on, they were zombies, they weren''t stupid.

    Liu Wei suggested painting the walls forest green for the spring, summer, and fall, and covering it in white fabric for the winter months. I thought about it and agreed. It was my best option right now, and we were getting close enough to the big bang that I was starting to feel the stress.

    Well, it was only March, so we weren''t that close, but I was paying attention to the news from Country M and saw that we were on schedule for the November 1st unveiling. Seven months, seven months was all we had and as much as I would normally think that seven months was a long time, I was really feeling stressed. I think it was made worse by it being winter and I wasn''t able to do much but slowly buy food.

    I looked back at my lists and rechecked my stock. I had 50 lbs of flour, but that felt like too little. Maybe I should increase that to 100 lbs until I could grow my own wheat¡­ wheat! I forgot wheat seeds. Need to add that to the list too.

    I kept going through my lists over and over again.  Trying to see what I was missing. I only had one chance to get this right and I didn''t want to blow it.

    -----

    Liu Wei was sitting in the middle of a meeting with the heads of the different subsidiaries of Phoenix when his cell phone went off. Surprised, he looked at Wang Chao and then at his phone. Normally there was a rule that all electronic devices had to be turned off during these meetings, but he and Wang Chao were the exceptions to the rule.

    Seeing that it was Li Dai Lu, he showed the caller ID to Wang Chao and, upon his nod, stood up and answered the phone.

    -----

    "Hey, is it a good time right now?" I asked when Liu Wei answered the phone. I was really stuck trying to figure out how to aplish step eight on my list.  It was now July and I was really feeling the pinch. The newsing out of Country M and that was being delivered by Country K was not promising.  But maybe this is what happened in the past, but because I didn''t transmigrate until a few years after the start of the apocalypse I didn''t know these things.

    "Of course," came the smooth reply.

    "Since I am pretty sure that you guys own everything in City A, do you know where I can buy guns? Like a lot of guns?" I knew that that question was going toe out wrong, no matter how long I spent trying to word it. But I needed guns, and a lot, and ammunition, and grenades? What else was on my list?

    As my brain was going a hundred miles an hour, I didn''t realize how long Liu Wei remained silent on the other end.

    "You want guns?" He asked, his voice going from friendly to stone-cold in seconds. Me, being me, didn''t notice.

    "Yeah, I have no idea where to buy them, but I am running out of time. I was hoping that if anyone knew where to get them it might be you."

    Once again there were a few minutes of silence on the phone and I heard a door open and close.

    "Do you want legal or illegal ones?" Asked Liu Wei.  It sounded like I was on speakerphone, but I had worked enough with the man to not overly care about small things like that.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "By November, it won''t matter whether I got them legally or illegally. It will only matter that I have them."

    "Who are you nning to kill?" He asked, his voice soft.

    "Humans," I replied, closing my eyes. "Humans are scarier than anything that ising our way," I continued, willing to trust Liu Wei.

    "And what exactly ising our way?" Came a deep voice from the phone. I could feel my body react, the hairs on my arms standing at attention. I didn''t know who just spoke, but I definitely had a reaction.

    "Would you be willing to believe the end of the world?" I asked, my own voice soft. I understood that with rule number one I was not supposed to help people, but just this one, I wanted to warn him.

    "If you said it, yes," replied the deep voice.

    "I will give you whatever information you need. I just need the guns in return."

    "Deal, we''ll meet at your ranch this afternoon."

    I nodded my head, knowing that he would not be able to see. Maybe, just maybe trying to save a couple of people wouldn''t be going against my grand n¡­ right?

    ----

    It had taken only about two hours for Deep Voice and Liu Wei to show up at my newlypleted gate. I let them in (electronically¡­ I was not happy) and waited on my deck until they reached my house. Now, if I was expecting only one car with two people in it, I was caughtpletely off guard when a whole convoy of ten vehicles showed up.

    Like seriously, ten cked-out SUVs?!? Were they driving the President or Royalty?!?

    Every time Liu Wei came it was only him in a four-door, normal car. And I say normal cause outside of the vehicles I bought, I knew absolutely nothing about cars.

    The doors all seemed to open in sync and two armed men rushed around to SUV number four and opened the back door. Lui Wei stepped out first, followed by the most attractive man I had ever seen. Like seriously, even the dark cloud over his head couldn''t detract from his looks. I knew just by looking at him that he was Deep Voice.

    "Wee to Elysian Fields," I said, opening the front door and gesturing for them to enter. "May this be the first,st, and only time you are ever here."

    "I did warn you she wasn''t a fan of strangers," said Liu Wei as he led the men behind Deep Voice into the house.

    I raised my eyebrows but didn''t say a word.

    He was right¡­ I really hated strangers.

 Chapter 17 17

    ?The three of us sat down at my dining room table while the thirty-eight guards that came with him spread out around my house. That really did not impress me.

    "Call them back or our deal is done," I said, sure that the anger in my tone was enough to warn the men sitting across from me about the seriousness of the matter. Or at least Liu Wei should have caught on.

    With a brief wave of his hand, Deep Voice summoned his men back, and this time they stationed themselves around the dining room.

    "I thought that you would not want them to overhear, my apologies," said Deep Voice. Now that I was more rxed, I took the time to study him. He wasrge, and I mean one of thergest men that I had ever seen. He dwarfed me and I would guess him to be around 6''6 in height, no idea about his weight, but even under the ck three-piece suit and the overcoat that hung from his shoulders, you could tell that he was all muscle. His ck hair shined in the sun in a way that I would have killed for in Canada. The short cut to it screamed military, but I didn''t think he was a soldier. Something about him screamed ''in charge'' and I was not going to mess with him... unless he messed with me first.

    Apparently, three-piece suits were the dress code for the CEO and his assistant. I looked at Liu Wei and noticed something different. "You took your sses off," I said with a smile.

    "I did. You seemed very ufortable when I had them on thest few times I was here. I figured that if you were going to be dealing with all of us, I should at least make you a bit morefortable."

    I chuckled at that idea. Well, I guess he was right about one thing. Without the reflection from his sses, I was much more rxed.

    "This is Wang Chao, the CEO of Phoenix and my boss," continued Liu Wei as he gestured to Deep Voice. Nice to put a face to the name¡­ and a name to the voice.

    Wang Chao just nodded, not speaking again.

    "What can you tell us?" Asked Liu Wei, starting the conversation and the negotiation.

    "Ah,e on WeiWei, I thought we knew each other better than that," Iughed as I got up from the table and went into the kitchen. One of the guards followed; I guess worried that I was somehow going to kill his boss.

    I just wanted a cup of coffee, if the guard really wants a death on his hands, he can try to take it away from me.

    "Sorry," said Liu Weiing in after me. As I said, he knew me well enough to know that I was not going to be hosting them in any way. He made two cups of coffee and followed behind me until we reached the table. He gave one cup to his boss and kept the other for himself.

    "You''re right, I do know you better than that," he continued, watching as I took a sip from my cup. This was my favorite cup so he was well used to it by now. He could appreciate the fact that it was the size of my head and said ''Coffee is vital for survival. Your survival.''.

    "So, what can you give me?" I ask as the fifth coffee of the day hit its mark.

    "Guns, ammo, and men," came Wang Chao''s reply as he too took a sip of his drink.

    "I''ll take the guns and ammo, as much as you can spare. But keep the men for yourself. I don''t want anyone here but me," I replied, looking Wang Chao in the eyes, wondering what his game was.

    "Without my men, you will get nothing. You said that you were using it to kill humans. I will not have my guns killing the citizens of K Country without my approval."<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "That''s nice. I said it before and I will say it again. Pay attention this time: no one, other than me, will be living on this ranch. There is no discussion, no negotiation, nada. This ce is for me and me alone. Understood?" I replied, ready to stand up and show these men out of my house. Thest time there were so many people in front of me was when I was tossed out to the horde.

    To say that I was ufortable was an understatement¡­ Liu Wei''s sses aside.

    "Alright, let''s have everyone take a step back," said Liu Wei and I turned my attention from the giant to a man that I somewhat, considered to be a friend. On the good days, of course.

    "Let''s start with the basics. I assume that you would want them by August, correct? That would be nine months sincest November," he said, looking at me.

    I was the first one to look away. "As long as I had everything I need by October 31st, I would be satisfied."

    "What is happening on November 1st then?" Asked Wang Chao, his eyes never leaving me.

    "I told you, the end of the world," I said, returning his look.

    That''s when I heard it, one of the top three sounds that were guaranteed to set me off.

    One of the guards in the room snickered when I spoke about the oing apocalypse like I was some crazy person that thought the world was ending.

    Remember that temper I spoke about? Yeah¡­

    Without warning, I reached into my space, took out one of the daggers that I had specially made for me, and threw it at the man. Too bad the fucker was wearing a bulletproof vest. Oh well, at least the snickering stopped.

    Actually, it seemed that everything stopped after I flung the dagger. I snarled, the right side of my liping up in an unmistakable look. Taking a sip of my coffee, Iposed myself again.

    Putting down the oversized cup I looked at Wang Chao. "Are you also nning onughing?" I asked him, my fingers drumming in agitation. "Or do you want to know what you need to do to save those that you care about?"

    Wang Chao looked at another one of his guards, and two went over to the snickering one and started to drag him away. I kept my eyes on Wang Chao as I waved my hand, bringing the dagger back into my space. That thing was too bloody expensive to leave behind.

    "I am sorry about that, he will be punished," assured Liu Wei as his gaze followed the three guards out of the room. The remaining men stood still, their gazes in front of them like statues.

    "Whether he is or is not has nothing to do with me," I said, looking at Liu Wie. "But I never want him in my house again."

    "Of course, LuLu," said Liu Wei smiling. "Now, please tell us what we need to know."

 Chapter 18 18

    ?Iughed out loud at Liu Wei and replied, "How much time do you have?"

    "All the time in the world," replied Wang Chao looking at me. The serious expression on his face told me that at least he took me seriously.

    If he felt that I was being serious, then I could only respond as such.

    "It would take days to get you up to date on what you need to know, but I will try to keep the information as condensed as possible to get you off mynd, as soon as possible." I smiled, my gaze going between the two men in front of me.

    "I am not sure if you have been paying attention to what is going on with Country M right now," I started, trying to figure out how to best do this.

    "You mean the epidemic?" Asked Wang Chao, taking another sip of his coffee.

    Mmmm, coffee, good idea. I picked up my cup and took a big gulp. It had cooled down a lot, but it was still coffee¡­

    "Sure, let''s go with that," I said, "And do you know how our country is reacting to it?"

    "They are trying to get everyone vinated to prevent a pandemic," replied Liu Wei.

    I looked back and for between the two of them, trying to get a read. Were they being serious? Was that all they knew?

    "And?" I asked, tilting my head to the side.

    "And what?" Asked Wang Chao, a brief look of confusion on his face.

    "Is that truly what you know?" I asked, somewhat frustrated. Both sides needed to bepletely honest with each other if this was going to work.

    "I promise you, LuLu, this is all the information on the issue that we have. Things like illnesses, diseases, that sort of thing is not on our radar," said Liu Wei.

    I smiled sadly. Maybe that was part of the problem. Like all apocalypses, no one was able to see iting.

    "It''s not an epidemic, it''s not going to be a pandemic, at most, it can be considered a retrovirus¡­ but even that is a stretch," I said, watching their reactions. When the confusion was still on WeiWei''s face I toned it down a notch.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Country M is known for its military force," I said. "But they themselves felt like they werecking. Army and Air Forces were great, but their Navy was underperforming. I don''t know whose idea it was, and where I am from we have six movies clearly stating why it was going to blow up in everyone''s faces, but someone thought ofbining the genes and DNA from a few sea creatures with volunteers from the Navy to create a super soldier."

    Hopefully they got up to that part. When I saw Liu Wei looking at me in confusion, I sighed. "Seriously?!? Aren''t you supposed to be all brains Mr. Assistant to the CEO?"

    Heughed at me. "If I was all brains, wouldn''t I be the CEO and not just the assistant?"

    Ok, he had me there. I looked at Wang Chao and saw that he was on the way to understanding it, but not connecting it to the end of the world.

    "Ok, stay with me," I said as I took a deep breath. "In order to strengthen their Navy, Country M took the gene sequences of four aquatic creatures; the hydra, the starfish, the blue shark, and the mako shark, and put it into its volunteers." I looked at both men. "Still good?" I asked. I had noticed Wang Chao stiffening when I said hydra so something must have clicked.

    They both nodded their heads but chose to remain silent, so I continued. "Each one of the species chosen was chosen for a particr trait or traits. The hydra is an extremely small, predatory animal that has the ability to never die. Not the most scientific term, but there it is. Thanks to their foxO genes, they have an overabundance of stem cells which makes them impossible to kill. Seriously, cut one in half and you are just producing two. Handy trait for any military I guess."

    "The starfish," I continued, wanting to the this over as fast as possible. "Like the hydra can produce asexually, cut off a limb, create two, cut off five limbs create five. I think you get the idea, they can also produce sexually, and, due to a chemical in their genes can scent food in their environment through their skin. Great for them, not so good for us."

    "What do you mean, not so good for us?" Asked Liu Wei. I held up a hand, not taking questions at this point. We hadn''t even gotten to the end of the world shit yet.

    "The blue shark is not as beneficial as the previous two, but they do add ayer of aggression and an impressive set of teeth to the gene milkshake. The mako shark is where it bes really scary. Mako sharks are highly intelligent, aggressive, fast, and agile. Their biggest downside is that sharks can only see in contrast, not in colors." I looked at Liu Wei to see if he was understanding it.

    "I don''t get it," he said, "sharks are only found in the water. What''s the point of worrying about contrasting colors onnd?"

    "You''re right, sharks are supposed to be in the water," I said, turning my attention to Wang Chao to see if he was understanding what I was saying.

    "They are in the water, but their genes are not. Is that what you are trying to say?" He asked, returning my look.

    "Atst, intelligence," I said smirking at Liu Wei.  This issue was heavy enough for me. I would like to add in a lightness where I could.

    "So, they injected volunteer soldiers with the genes of four species designed to make them aggressive and able to regenerate," said Wang Chao¡­ understanding the first part, but still not seeing the whole picture.

    "Exactly," I confirmed. "But the scientists were smart, they knew that they would need a kill switch to be able to control these men and women. So, they added in a retrovirus that was designed to slowly break down the genes of those infected with it, leaving them prone to sickness and death within ten years."

 Chapter 19 19

    ?I closed my eyes because this is where shit went downhill fast. "The retrovirus was the worst thing that they could have done. Men and women with animal DNA in them? Sure, very doable¡­ but adding something that can be passed through blood and bodily fluid, from mother to infant and from husband to wife is a little much."

    I took another sip of my coffee, only to realize that at some point in time, someone had changed out my giant cup of coffee for a hot one.

    "I hope you didn''t waste that," I said, not looking up from my cup. "In under a year, there won''t be any more coffee in Country K."

    "So, a retrovirus that degenerates genes. Does anyone in the ss want to take a guess at what genes got broken down first? That''s right, the human genes."  I sighed and wondered how I could exin this.

    "The retrovirus weakened the genes of the volunteers, leaving the four genes of the aquatic creatures to take over. The result is what we called a zombie. But it wasn''t like any zombie anyone had ever seen or imagined." I closed my eyes and pictured them.

    "Their skin was either a light blue, a light purple, or some color in between. It was believed that the shark genes had taken over that aspect. Their teeth were elongated and sharp, and their nails turned into sharp points with a serrated edge to them as well. The shark DNA also provided them with an unlimited number of teeth, so, you know, they would never have to take a break from hunting. The mako genes increased their intelligence and speed, and of course, the two types of sharks give them an extra burst of aggression." I took a breath, not wanting to look at the two men.

    "The hydra and starfish had made thempletely immune to any weapon. Hack off a limb and you just created a second zombie, hack it to pieces and you have just created its own horde. But that was not the only way that zombies could be created. They could decide who they would eat and who would be an asset to their horde. A simple blood exchange would turn any human into a zombie."

    "Any questions?" I asked, now taking the chance to look at Liu Wei

    "What about my sses?" he asked, looking back at me.

    "Sharks not only need contrast to be able to find prey, but any type of metallic shine would also attract them. Something about it looking like fish scales in the sunlight."

    Liu Wei nodded his head and we both turned to Wang Chao, seeing where he stood on everything.

    "If that is what is happening in Country M, then why does Country K want to follow them?" Wang Chao asked the million-dor question.

    "Because they don''t know what is actually going on. They just know what Country M is releasing, and invincible super soldiers seem like a great idea. They have no idea that it is creating a zombie."

    "What about the vine?"

    "The vine is in fact, the gene enhancer. Country M and K are both seeing if they can turn the average person into a soldier. It would expand their armies by infinite numbers."

    "So, everyone that gets the vine will be a zombie? I will make sure to tell Grandfather not to let any of our men take it."<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Not at all," I said, surprising them. "Make sure that all of your men get the vine, but as soon as they receive it, have them locked in separate rooms until 48 hours have passed."

    "I don''t understand," said Wang Chao. "You said that it was the vine that is creating the zombies."

    "Yes, the vine is responsible for creating the zombies, but it doesn''t only create them." This was the biggest secret that the scientist told me. "Every person will be infected with the retrovirus within the next three years, but there are four oues of the virus. The first is that some people be zombies, I just told you all about them. The second oue is those people that are asymptomatic; meaning they have the ability to create zombies but don''t show any symptoms. They are the most dangerous because they could look and act perfectly normal, but will produce a zombie offspring, or their husband or wife might turn into a zombie after a night of passion. They will be the most hated section of the poption because they are the most unknown."

    Another sip of coffee and I am ready to continue; "The third group is made up of those that call themselves the power users. They have had a dormant gene in them, that when exposed to the retrovirus, gave them a power of some kind or other.  I can go into thatter because it will take a long time to exin.  The fourth a final path of humanity is the normals; those that had a superpower but decided to not use it and eventually lost it."

    "What do you mean by that?" Asked Liu Wei, clearly confused.

    I opened my right hand and my pink fame erupted onto it, startling both Wang Chao and Liu Wei. "One''s power is a lot like a muscle. The more you use it, the stronger you be. But if you were to ignore it¡­" I closed my fist, extinguishing the pink me. "You will lose it."

    "So the best way to be powerful is to use it as much as you can, to constantly train," said Wang Chao, staring at my hand. Leave it to him to figure out that the power needs to be trained and exercised. The man looked like he never missed a day in the gym.

    "Exactly," I said, this time I filled the table with sweets from my space.

    "Have you had the vine?" Asked Liu Wie, reaching out to grab a cookie.

    "No," I replied picking up a lemon square. "The vines will start October 1st here and it will take 31 days to supply each and every individual with a dose."

    "What about those that don''t want the vine?" Asked Wang Chao, his attention on me and not the desserts.

    "People have a choice in the matter?" I asked, not saying anything one way or the other.

    "Then what about November 1st?"

    "November 1st at 5:00 pm our Country, and perhaps the world, is struck with an EMP. Whether it was an act of war or the result of a sr re no one knows, but the result is the same. Everything electronic dies and our world as we know it is plunged into the Dark Ages,plete with a predator with a taste for humans. Any other questions?" I asked, waiting for them to say no and leave.

    "Yes, just one more," said Wang Chao, his ck eyes staring deep into mine like he wanted to see my very soul.  "How do you know all this?"

 Chapter 20 20

    ?I have to admit, I was not expecting that question. Although now that I am thinking about it, how would I know all this stuff? What am I supposed to tell someone that looks like a human lie detector?

    "I died thirteen years into the end of the world by the very people that I tried to save. Now my vengeful soul has been reborn with enough time to have me prepare for what is to happen and take revenge on those that killed me," I deadpan, looking Wang Chao in the eyes.

    "If you didn''t want to tell us, that is fine. Just next time, don''t feel the need to lie to us," said Liu Wei rolling his eyes. I nced over at him and gave him a half smile.

    "Sure," I replied. "Now, about my guns?"

    "We''ll have them delivered to you on November 2nd," said Wang Chao as he adjusted the wrist cuffs on his suit jacket.

    "That''s bullshit," I grumbled standing up from the table. "Ipleted my end of the bargain, now it is time to uphold yours."

    "Ah, but that is based on you telling us the truth, now isn''t it? And there is no way for us to confirm the truth until after this has alle to pass. You will get your weapons on November 2nd," replied Wang Chao calmly.

    Well, if that is what he wants¡­

    "Do you really think that I have told you everything I know?" I smiled; my head tilted. I was willing to work with him because I had been getting along with Liu Wei. But just because I was willing to make friends, did not mean that I wouldpletely ignore my rules.

    Nothing in it for him? That''s fine, let the world burn and him with it.  "Liu Wei knows where the door is, please see yourselves out." I was done with peopling today. I would go to the greenhouse where I had my seeds started and hopefully be able to rx there.

    "You know more? There is more to know?" Asked Liu Wei, not getting up from the table. Wang Chao had also yet to move. Did these men think that because they were all-powerful in their world that that had any trantion into what was toe?

    "There is always more to know," I said not bothering with them anymore. "And if you want to know just how the Zhao family became the number one family in City A, get me my weapons."

    With that final word, cause what girl did not like to have the final word¡­ I left the dining room and let them find their own way out.

    ----

    "How does she know about the Zhao''s?" Asked Wang Chao, turning to look at his assistant and best friend. They were still in the dining room, not prepared to leave for a while. The guards maintained their positions, not a single emotion on their faces. But that didn''t mean that they were not reeling about the information they just overheard.

    Could the world really being to an end in just a few months? It was currently the middle of March, and if what that girl said was right, then they only had six and a half months to get everything in order. Although no part of their bodies move, each guard directed their eyes to Wang Chao, trying to see what was going on in his head. They would follow his orders, that was what they were trained to do, but they were still human and needed some sense of security.

    "What are you thinking?" Asked Liu Wei, also turning to look at his boss. "Do you really think she is lying?"

    "Then can you look me in the eyes and say that without a doubt she is telling the truth?" Returned Wang Chao. He had the weight of many lives on his shoulders and his very actions and decisions had to be made with utmost care if his family was to survive.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Liu Wei ran his hand through his hair, causing it toe out of its perfectly jelled style. The length of it managed to brush his forehead. You would think that the tousled look would have made him softer, and more approachable, but in fact, it was the opposite. An aura came out of him as if he was shedding all sense of civility. He might not be as broad as Wang Chao, but as his second inmand, he did not lose out to the man at all.

    "Are you asking what I would do if it were me?" He asked, picking up his and Li Dai Lu''s coffee cup and bringing them to the kitchen. After a quick wash, he let them dry on the drying rack and returned to the man that he trusted more than anyone else in the world.

    "Mmmm," hummed Wang Chao, still sipping from his own cup.

    "I would prepare for the end of the world, because in a few months, everything that we know will be nothing more than a puff of smoke," said Liu Wei sitting back down. He rotated his neck a few times, allowing it to loosen up. "And in some way, shape, or form, the Zhao family will take over City A. We need to stop them before that can happen."

    "And what about Blood Moon? Are you satisfied that Li Dai Lu is not part of their organization?"

    Liu Wei looked at his friend with a smile and took a bite from a butter tart that was still on the table.  Apparently, Li Dai Lu was too cranky to bring them with her. Oh well, his gain. "She has as much of a chance being part of the Blood Moon mercenary group as I do. Do you want to suspect me as well?"

    "Then why did she buy this ce the day after we put it up for sale, why was she researching EMPs, and why was she buying so much stuff?" Asked Wang Chao, needing to close the chapter on this issue.

    Now it was Liu Wei''s turn to look at him like he was stupid. "Because she is preparing for the end of the world, and this ce was empty at just the perfect time."

    "Mmmmm," hummed Wang Chao again, this time willing to concede that he was jumping at shadows earlier. Still, it was better to be safe than sorry.

    Besides, how could ''preparing for the end of the world'' really factor into their thinking?

    Getting up, he signaled to his men to get back into the SUVs and return home. "Onest thing," he said as he and Liu Wei sat in the back seat of the car.

    "Yes, Sir?" Liu Wei responded, his hair back in order and his aura suppressed.

    "Find out what is going on with the Zhao family. If nothing seems suspicious, ask Li Dai Lu."

    "Do you really think she is going to respond to any questions from us before getting her weapons?"

    "I don''t know ''WeiWei'', what do you think?"

    "I think you should start preparing those weapons for her, and another batch for us. Even with six months out, the timeline is going to be tight for the amount that we need¡­ Sir."

 Chapter 21 21

    ?It took Liu Wei another month after our meeting to call me again. Well¡­ calling is stretching it a bit. It took him a month to text me; ''got what you need, there is a condition''.

    I know, men generally are not the most articte, and apparently Liu Wei is less so than most. I can only imagine how a conversation between him and Wang Chao would go. There''s got to be a lot of grunting and tipping heads.

    Anyways, when he said that he has what I needed, I figured that he discovered absolutely zero on the Zhao''s and was now trying to bribe me with weapons to figure out what they missed. I told him that he knew my address, and he showed up at my front door 30 minutester¡­ He had to be in my driveway when he texted me because my driveway is 35 minutes from the highway to my front door. I did the math¡­ and I wasn''t impressed.

    "Hello, LuLu," he said as he got out of a silver car that looked like a Corvette but didn''t have that weird thing on the trunk that made it look like a grocery cart. I''m sure you can picture exactly what I am talking about.

    "Seriously Wei, a silver electric car? Are you nning on being part of the menu? If so, I can give you some pointers to attract their attention even more," I said as I leaned against one of the posts on the deck. "And that''s a really small car for everything that I need and asked for."

    He chuckled, took off his sses, and started cleaning them with the handkerchief from his front pocket. Seriously, the man was putting my stress levels through the roof.

    "I warned you that there was a condition, we have to deal with that before you get all the shiny guns."

    My lip curled into a snarl when he said shiny guns. This man seemed to love pushing my buttons.

    I turned around and went into the house to leave him to follow me. He did and I led him straight to the living room. As one of my many favorite rooms in the house, this one had vaulted cathedral ceilings with exposed wood on it, a metal chandler hung down in the middle and there was another stone firece. This house was perfect at satisfying my desire to have a firece in every room.

    I sat on one of two of the light grey oversized chairs that had their back to the firece and waited for him to pick his spot. He chose the couch across from me that matched the chairs and put a bunch of documents that I had never noticed before on the coffee table between us.

    "I am not a big fan of conditions," I told him bluntly, he seemed more rxed for this visit than he had before, but he was still wearing his ck three-piece suit. This time he had on a white shirt underneath and a red tie. Still, something was off.

    "How about it put it this way, it is a favor for me, but a condition for Wang Chao," he said, rxing into the cushions and putting one arm on the armrest. After crossing his legs, he looked veryfortable in my living room, maybe a bit toofortable.

    "Favors or conditions, I am not a fan," I repeated, wondering where he was going with this.

    "Wang Chao has me investigating the Zhao family, but I can''t find anything that we didn''t already know."

    I nodded my head, expecting this, but hey, it was not my fault. "Do you want me to tell you everything about the Zhao''s that you don''t know?"

    "No¡­ well, yes, simply because that will make my life easier, but that is not the condition that Wang Chao has asked."

    "Spit it out, you are not doing yourself any favors by dodging," I said. No matter what, I still considered Liu Wei to be one of the first friends that I have ever made in this lifetime. Might as well hear the man out.

    "We would like the Old Master toe and live here, starting in October, of course."

    I looked at the man as if he just asked for my right arm. He might as well have asked for that, I would have been more willing to amodate him.  "No," I said.

    "I understand that you don''t want any outsiders here, but it would only be the Old Master. We just need to know that he is in a ce that can keep him safe."<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    I looked at Liu Wei sitting right in front of me, his position had changed and he was now leaning forward, toward me. If this had been my first life, I would have said yes in a second. The fact that he and Wang Chao were my ideal type had nothing to do with it. If this had been my second life, I would have said yes, knowing that even though I found the two men attractive, the idea of saving one more soul would have demanded I take him in and look after him. Unfortunately for all of us, this is my third time at this and I was not going to be as nice.

    "Wei, I consider you a friend, so I would like for you to listen to me closely," I started copying his posture. The width of the coffee table was the only thing between us. "It will not be ONLY the Old Master. It will be the Old Master, his assistant, his bodyguards, his butler for all I know, and anyone else that you and Wang Chao determine to be essential personnel to keeping him safe. So at the end of the day, there will be at least fifteen to twenty people that will be living in my house, eating my supplies and taking orders from someone else."

    I closed my eyes as pain streaked across my face. To this day I could still feel their hands as they held me down, their teeth as they ripped into me¡­ I could still see their smile as they swarmed over top of me. I shuddered trying to break free from the past.

    I leaned away from Liu Wei in front of me and collected myself. The whole time he just sat there, watching my every move, my every expression.

    "I am sorry, Sweetheart," he started, his voice softer than anything I had ever heard from him before. "I know that this idea is ufortable for you, I can see it in every fiber of your being. But that man means a lot to us, and the only way that the Zhao family could take over City A is if he is dead."

    "He doesn''t die," I said, trying to give him some hope. "He simply stopped caring about it and let Zhao Jun Jie take over."

    That stopped him. His eyes widened and he came around the coffee table to sit on it right in front of me. He took both my hands and held them in his. "Zhao Jun Jie took over?" He asked.

    I nodded. "I need those weapons," I whispered to him. I couldn''t sacrifice my paradise by having other people here, but the information that I could give him would keep the Old Master safe.

    "I know, Sweets, but Chao does nothing without some profit in it for him."

    "I can give you information that will save the lives of everyone associated with the Wang family."

    He reared back as if I hit him and the grip that he had on my hands tightened. "I will make sure that you have the guns and ammo," he reassured me. "Tell me what you know," he continued, looking deep into my eyes.

    "I don''t have the details, all I know is what wasmon knowledge at the time, you have to understand that," I stressed and he nodded in return.

    "Something happened in Country S, I can only assume that it was something important as Wang Chao ended up taking the majority of his private forces leaving only the cousins from his second family, his sister, and the Old Master. I am sure that there were some bodyguards, but I don''t know their names, numbers, or anything like that. I would assume that you would know that info better than me. Anyways, you guys flew out on October 29th, four days before the end of the world. When the world went to pot, there was no way of contacting anyone or finding out any information about you. Wang Shu Lan and Zhang Hui Fen took over the family, but the Old Master was determined that Wang Chao was still alive and woulde back."

    I looked at Liu Wei and this time it was my turn to grip his hands. "Even if you think that everything that I said is crazy, is shit, is never going to happen, I beg you, kill Wang Zi Mo now. For the sake of the Wang family, and humanity as a whole, kill him as soon as you possibly can. Do not wait," I stressed, looking into his eyes as if trying to convince him of my honesty. There were still some secrets that I would keep, but Wang Zi Mo had to die.

    He stiffened when I started begging, but I refused to let go of his hands. "Why?" He asked, his entire body freezing as he waited for my answer.

    "Wang Zi Mo hated the Old Master for putting a woman and an outsider as head of the family while everyone waited for word from Wang Chao. After two years, his patience ran out and he used his power to kill Wang Shu Lan and her husband. He killed his brother for objecting to him and continued to kill until all that remained of the Wang family was him and the Old Master. The Old Master refused to have him as head of the family, and instead, allowed the Zhao family to take over City A so that Wang Zi Mo could not have more power."

    ''He would get his power anyways, he just didn''t need to go through the Wang family to get it,'' I thought to myself.

    "What was Zi Mo''s power?" Lui Wei asked as he slowly digested the bomb I just dropped on him.

    "Poison," I replied with a small smile.

 Chapter 22 22

    ?"I think that you and I need to have a little talk about what powers are going to develop, but that will have to be saved for some time when Chao is here," said Liu Wei.

    I chuckled. "Chao?" I said and he just shrugged his shoulders.

    "He might be my boss, but I''ve been with that man since I was 9 years old and he was 10. We went to school together, and boot camp together. We have been through thick and thin... together. I think that gives me the ability to call him by name among friends."

    "Are you among friends?" I ask, my head tilted. He was still sitting on the coffee table in front of me, holding my hands in his.

    "Well, I am pretty sure that I don''t hold my friends'' hands like this, but yes, I consider you a good friend,"

    I nodded my head in reply. Maybe step one could be somewhat adjusted... just a little. But I still think that the majority of people needed to burn.

    "Let me meet the Old Master first, and anyone that would be living here with him. I get the final say over who moves in," I said, willing to realize that step one was to protect me, not to iste me. I wanted this life to be all about MY freedom, the freedom to be and do what I wanted. Limiting myself through step one would not give me the freedom I desired.

    "When is good for you?" Asked Liu Wei, withdrawing his hands and moving to sit back on the couch. "I assume that you would prefer to meet everyone here rather than at the Wang family mansion."

    I looked at Liu Wei with a great deal of suspicion in my eyes. "He isn''t currently sitting in my driveway right now, is he?"

    He shook his head andughed at my question. "No, I promise you he isn''t sitting in your driveway right now... he is down the street."

    I threw the decorative pillow on my chair at his head but the fucker dodged it.  Does he not realize that if a woman throws a pillow at you, you are honor bound to be hit by it?!?

    Stupid men.

    "But seriously, when do you want to set up a meeting?" asked Liu Wei, taking my pillow and putting it beside him.

    "Whenever works best for you, I guess. It''s not like I am really going anywhere," I said sullenly. Stupid pillow and stupid Liu Wei.

    "I''ll go back to the house and talk to the Old Master and Wang Chao," he said as he got up and started to the front door.

    "Fine, just give me more of a heads up than you in my driveway," I replied, picking up the pillow off the couch and once again throwing it at his head.

    Once again... he ducked.

    He looked over his shoulder at me, trying to contain hisughter.  "You might want to work on your aim there, Dai Lu."

    I rolled my eyes and went into the kitchen, determined to work on steps five and six. Organizing and filling the pantry was a great way to reduce stress. Or at least it was for me. There were a lot of times that I didn''t have anything to eat just so I could make sure that someone else in thepound did. Knowing that I had enough food stored for a couple of years made me rx, just a bit.

    But if anyone thought that they would get their stinky hands on my desserts, they had another thinging.

    ------

    "What did she say?" Asked Wang Chao as Liu Wei walked in the front door of the Wang family mansion. There was a group of five people seated around the living room, looking at Liu Wei. No one would know who ''she'' was besides Wang Chao and his grandfather.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Sitting in a chair at the head of the arrangement was the Old Master, Wang Yi Chen, while Wang Chao and Wang Shu Lan were seated to his left and right. Beside Wang Shu Lan was Zhang Hui Fen, both of them sitting on a loveseat so as to prevent the other two men in the room from sitting beside them.

    No one dared to sit next to Wang Chao without his permission.

    Those two men were stuck loitering around the room next to the bodyguards, their ce in the family clearly stated without a word needing to be said.

    "A lot," said Liu Wei, taking a seat beside Wang Chao. "But not all of it is worth repeating."

    Wang Chao nodded his head as if that was to be expected and continued on with the conversation that they were having before Liu Wei arrived.

    "So, I think that we need to expand Sunset Multimedia Corporation into international markets," suggested Wang Zi Hao, "Specifically, Country S. They arecking a saturation in the market that other countries like Country M have, and it would be good to get our foot in the door with them sooner rather thanter."

    The Old Master was nodding his head in agreement with his grandson''s suggestion. Although the second family did not have much going for it, Wang Zi Hao was willing to work hard to ensure a bright future for himself.  As a grandfather, there was nothing better than a grandson that did not expect handouts.

    "It is a good suggestion," said Wang Chao, noticing a subtle signal from Liu Wei. "I will have to do more research into that market before making a final decision."

    Wang Zi Hao walked over from his ce against the wall and handed Wang Chao a folder. "This is all the preliminary information I was able to gather, including a rough budget of what it would cost and any unforeseen circumstances that might arise as a result."

    Wang Chao took the information with a grateful nod and then excused himself and Liu Wei to the study to discuss some other matters.

    "Alright, what happened?" Asked Wang Chao as soon as Liu Wei had closed the door behind himself. "You are on edge, and it seems to be a lot worse than normal."

    "What happened depends a lot on your impression of Li Dai Lu," said Liu Wei, not willing tomit to anything at that moment. He was trying to feel out how Wang Chao felt about Dai Lu and if he even believed what she was saying. If he didn''t, then there was no point bringing it up.

    Liu Wei could take the information given to him and make the best possible ns behind Wang Chao''s back. The Wang family was just as much his family as the Liu''s were, maybe even more, and he would protect them until his dying breath.

    "My impression?" Asked Wang Chao, somewhat confused. "My impression does not need to be brought into the matter. I just wanted to know what happened in your meeting with her. Did she agree to take the Old Master in?"

    "She would like to meet with him first, as well as anyone that we considered ''essential personnel to the Old Master''s safety'' that would be staying with him. I can organize a time when the Old Master is free to take him to the ranch."

    "Why take him to the ranch? She cane here," said Wang Chao with a wave of his hand, dismissing the idea of taking the Old Master to an unknown location.

    "I wish you the best of luck on that," smiled Liu Wei, once again running his fingers through his hair and getting morefortable on the chair.  "And I will be giving her some of my personal weapons, so you don''t need to worry about supplying her with anything anymore."

    "And what did she give you in return that is worth those weapons?" Asked Wang Chao, raising an eyebrow.  Liu Wei''s personal collection of weapons could rival that of any country. The man was absolutely obsessed with them and wouldn''t let anyone see them, let alone touch them. The fact that he was willing to supply Li Dai Lu with weapons spoke volumes about what she had given him in return.

    "I guess the worth would be determined by whether you ept her prediction for the future or not," countered Liu Wei, not budging an inch on the issue.

    What she had said, the names that she should not have known, and the fact that there was an offer to extend Phoenix Conglomerate into Country S at this point in time, made what she said earlier all that more usible.

    And Liu Wei was not one to look a gift horse in the mouth.

 Chapter 23 23

    ?"Would you be willing to have Wang Zi Mo killed?" Asked Liu Wei suddenly.

    Wang Chao looked at him and tried to figure out where this wasing from. "No," he said simply.

    "Not even if it means protecting the rest of your family?"

    "He has not done anything to warrant being killed. I might not like the man, but he is family," Wang Chao said, putting the issue to rest. "Did she say something?"

    Liu Wei smiled. "Does it matter if she did or not? You have spoken and the man will not be killed."

    "What did she say?" Asked Wang Chao, now curious about Li Dai Lu''s next n.

    "If you refuse to believe her, then there is no point in talking about it," responded Liu Wei standing up. "I''m going to go. I''ll see you tomorrow."

    Wang Chao nodded his head as he watched his long-time friend leave. He, too, would need to take some time and think about things.

    ----

    Liu Wei called me a few days after saying that he was bringing a few people for a visit that afternoon. I was a bit peeved that he didn''t give me more of a heads-up, but I guess three hours was better than thirty minutes by any stretch of the imagination. I still left the gate open for them to get through when they came though.

    It was mid-April and all of my nts had been put in the ground. The nights were still cold so I would just cover them up, but the days were so warm that it would be a shame not to use the sun to its full advantage.

    The owner of the seed store had even thrown in a few other things that he thought I might like so, apart from my vegetables, I now had a whole section ofnd as a dedicated orchard.

    I will fully admit that the wannabe farm girl in me screamed over the idea of having my own orchard, and so, when the workers left after nting all the different types of fruit trees, I did do my own happy dance,plete with singing at the top of my lungs.

    I was now the proud owner of cherry, apple, orange, lemon, and lime trees. I wanted to see if I could get some banana trees, but apparently, City A was not conducive to growing bananas.  That was fine. I had a whole freezer filled with the fruit so I could make banana bread on demand.

    Did I pick up enough peanut butter? If you have not tried peanut butter banana bread, you are really missing out.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    As my mind once again ran through all the possible things that I might want for the rest of my life, I heard the convoy of carsing down my driveway.

    I met them on the deck and waited until everyone got out of the SUVs. I will fully admit that it looked simr to a clown car, but I wasn''t going to point that out to one of the most powerful families in City A. I figured that might be an issue in the future if I was topare them to clowns.

    Wang Chao and an older gentleman that I could only think to be the Old Master stepped forward first, followed by Liu Wei.

    "Brace yourself," he whispered to me as he led the other two men into my house.  It took me a couple of seconds to see why he thought it best to give me advance warning; there, at one of the cars in the back, was Wang Zi Mo stepping out of the vehicle, his brothering out behind him.

    I might not be able to identify a lot of people by sight alone, but Wang Zi Mo was most definitely one of them. Now, all I had to do was figure out how I was going to kill him before November 1st.

    Maybe I should have been nice and given him that additional year, maybe, just maybe he would not turn out to be the same man as in my previous life. And maybe, he would be much worse... and Wang Chao and Liu Wei just gave him aplete set of directions to my house.

    Not bothering to wait for the others toe in, I quickly followed behind Liu Wei. "You, with me," I hissed at him when I entered the same living room that we had been in a few days ago. The Old Master was startled when he heard me talking, but Wang Chao remained impassive.

    "Whatever you have to say to my assistant, you can say in front of us," said Wang Chao as the rest of his party filled the room.

    I looked at him... and I froze. Part of me wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt, that he didn''t just let someone I begged his assistant to kill into my house. The other part of me wanted to let everyone in this room burn.  I debated back and forth, wondering which way I would go when I felt the presence of someone behind me. The familiar smell let me know that it was Liu Wei, but I was not in a forgiving enough mood to acknowledge him.

    "I''m sorry," he said, whispering in my ear so that no one else could hear him. The raised eyebrows of a lot of people in the room said that even if they couldn''t hear him, his gesture did not go unnoticed.  "I will exin."

    I turned my head, my lips barely missing his cheek, and returned the gesture. "You two have signed the death warrant of everyone in this room, I hope you realize that. And as of right now, neither one of you has the power to take me down before I do it."

    "You brought us to Liu''s girlfriend''s house?" came the soothing voice of a man that I wished I could forget. I shuddered at the sound and my left hand kept twitching, lighting the pink me in my hand. As if he could sense what I was doing, Liu Wei''s hand glided down my arm to my hand, entwining our fingers together. I don''t know if he didn''t feel the pink me or if he just had a high tolerance for pain, but he did not move his hand from mine.

    The only question that popped into my head was: who was he trying to protect? Me or them?

 Chapter 24 24

    ?"And if I did bring you to my girlfriends? It''s not like I invited you, Wang Zi Mo," said Liu Wei from behind me. The joyful hint that his voice always had came out this time, but he still did not rx his grip on my hand.

    "You invited the Old Master and Wang Chao, why wouldn''t Ie?" replied Wang Zi Mo.

    I rxed a bit at that statement. At least he forced himself to be here, Wang Chao and Liu Wei didn''t invite him. I knew that Liu Wie could feel me rxing, but instead of letting go, he maintained his position.

    Centering himself more behind me, as if to offer protection orfort I didn''t know, he introduced me to everyone around. "You''ve already met Wang Chao, but this is the Old Master, Wang Yi Chen, the oldest young master of the Wang family, Wang Zi Mo, and the third young master, Wang Zi Hao." I nodded my head in the direction of all of them and then once again, smiled up at Liu Wei.

    "Can I speak to you in the kitchen... Sweetheart?" I asked, my voice dripping with honey.  He simply smiled at me and led me towards my own kitchen leaving the Wang family and their bodyguards alone in my living room. To say that my skin wasn''t burning in stress would be an understatement.

    "Why is he here and what are you hoping to happen?" I demanded in a harsh whisper as soon as we entered the kitchen.

    "Rx, Sweetheart," Liu Wei said with that easygoing smile of his. "The four of us will go into another room to discuss matters and the rest will stay in the living room."

    "I am not leaving that man alone in my house unattended. It is bad enough that he now knows about this ce, but he cannot have free reign to look around."

    Liu Wei looked down at me, a serious look on his face. "You are really upset about this," he said, somewhat surprised.

    "You just brought one of the men that I want to watch burn to ashes in my own mes into my house. To say that I am upset is an understatement. I am closer to killing every one of you and using your ashes aspost for my nts."

    He reared back in shock, the sun from the kitchen windows reflecting off his sses. The sensory overload was too much for me and pink and blue mes shot out of my whole body,pletely encasing me in their protection.

    It was probably a good thing that I had removed the fire rm in this section of the house or I would be in trouble.

    "Ok, Sweetheart," Liu Wei said as he cautiously held out his hand to my arm. "Just take a breath. I can create a situation with Sunset Corporation and have him called out," he continued as he frantically typed on his cell phone with one hand while still looking at me. Despite my anger, I was actually impressed by that feat.

    I couldn''t even text and walk at the same time in my first life.

    "What about Wang Zi Hao, how do you want me to deal with him?" He asked, still staring at me. His hand had finally managed to touch my shoulder. But instead of being burned like I expected him to be, my pink fame wrapped itself around his hand, adding that small part of him to the protection it felt I needed.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Wang Zi Hao has to go too," I said, taking a deep breath. I managed to tame back the blue me, but the pink one was not ready to obey yet. "I don''t know anything about him, but that means that he is not strong enough to stand on his own two feet. He can feed his older brother information if asked and I don''t want him to have that information on me."

    "Alright, I can do that," Lui Wei said, still trying to help get my emotions under control. "What else can I do?"

    "Nothing, but those two need to leave," I said looking away from where my me had engulfed his hand to his face. "I cannot deal with anything until that happens."

    "Done," he said.

    A few minutester Wang Chao entered the kitchen, his eyes going to the two of us.  I had managed to get the pink me extinguished, but Liu Wei''s hand was still on my arm. "You will exin your actions to me," he said, fully expecting a quick reply.

    "Well, Bless your heart," I said with my best smile.  I might be Canadian, but I could use ''bless your heart'' like the best of them. "I will do no such thing to the man that brought uninvited guests into my house."

    "They''re gone now," he replied, not understanding what ''bless your heart'' meant.  It sounded like a good thing, but the expression on my face must have given it away. "Something about there being an issue with Sunset Corporation and the move to Country S." He looked at Liu Wei as if knowing that he had something to do with it.

    Liu Wei simply shrugged his shoulders and escorted me back into the living room. Wang Chao followed after us.

    "Does someone want to tell me what is going on?" Demanded the Old Master as soon as the three of us entered the room.

    I raised my eyebrows looking at the man and then nced around the room to see who had remained. Seeing no familiar faces, I looked back at Liu Wei.

    "They are the same ones that were herest time for our little talk. I didn''t think that what we needed to say should be done in front of a new audience."

    I nodded my head happy at his consideration. If all assistants were like this, I might have to get my own.  But then again, at the end of the world, there wasn''t really a need for assistants anyways. I wonder how he was with a gun?

    "I do not enjoy repeating myself," came the voice of a very ticked-off Old Master. Apparently, he was not used to fading in the background.

    This might not work out after all.

 Chapter 25 25

    ?"And I do not enjoy uninvited guests in my home," I said, replying to the Old Master''sment.

    "As far as I was aware, I was invited here," he snapped in return.  Oh Lordy, why couldn''t he be one of those cute old men that just want to garden and gossip with his friends? I would have kept him then.

    "You were brought here as a condition to me getting something that I want. However, I was under the impression that the information that I provided would be enough payment and you could spend your time happily in your own home and not mine." I turned to Liu Wei. I was willing to work with him, to put his mind at ease, but I really did not want someone that cranky in my home.  Only I was allowed to be cranky here.

    "Would someone please tell me what is going on?" The Old Master asked, looking at the younger generation. He had served his country with honor, and his sons served their country and became martyrs. Their children should have the respect granted to them by that action alone.

    I looked at Wang Chao, wondering exactly what he was going to say to the old man, and to my surprise, he told him the truth. "The end of the world ising in about six months. This will probably be the safest ce to be and I don''t want anything to happen to you."

    Huh, the man could show some human emotion, I''m surprised.

    The Old Master continued to look at his grandson as if he was expecting him to keep going.  When he did not, he turned to look at me instead, assuming that I would provide him with what his grandson did not.

    I shrugged my shoulders and went to sit down on the couch across from the firece. Wang Yi Chen and Wang Chao took their seats opposite me and Lui Wei, thest to sit down, chose the seat beside me. Once again, the guards took their spots and everyone rxed for a moment.

    Feeling a slight chill, I looked at the firece and threw out the pink me, lighting the fire within seconds. Some days, being a fire user was a great thing.  Unfortunately, I forgot who was in the room with me.

    The Old Master stood up startled and the guards pulled their guns out and pointed them at me as a result. "Seriously, people?!?" I asked, exasperation evident in my tone. "You are going to have to get used to this. Muscle, remember, need to be using it to keep it."

    The Old Master sat back down after noticing that neither Wang Chao nor Liu Wei seemed to react to it. "Alright, youngdy, you have my attention now. Do you mind telling me what is going on?"

    "First, I would like to point out that I neither wanted nor needed your attention. I was cold, so I started a fire. I am pretty sure that that is what most people would do when they became cold. It''s not my fault I don''t need a lighter to do it," I said, sounding perfectly reasonable in my own head.

    Liu Wei''s coughugh suggested that I was not as reasonable as I thought I was.  I wave him off and let him take the lead.

    "Li Dai Lu came to our attention when she purchased this ranch from us after the Blood Moon mercenaries were wiped out. Wang Chao had some concerns and asked me to look into it. After a while, we found out that our concerns were misguided and, after a conversation with Li Dai Lu, discovered that the end of the world wasing on November 1st."

    Wow, when Liu Wei decided to be precise, he could do it quite well¡­ but we were going to have a little talk about this Blood Moon thing. Whelp. Time to take over, I guess.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "I am in need of weapons, a lot of weapons, and enough ammo tost at least ten years, longer if possible. I knew that Wang Chao had his hands in a lot of pockets and thought that he might be able to get me some."

    The Old Master nodded his head that he had understood up to that point.  Yay for me, I beat out the other two.

    "They asked me why I needed the weapons and I replied to kill people with them. I am not sure why they expected another answer, but they apparently did.  They asked for a meeting, my knowledge in exchange for their guns. So, I told them what I knew."

    "And what exactly do you know?" Asked the Old Master.

    "I know that starting on October 1st of this year, every man, woman, and child is going to get a vine. In thirty days, that vine is going to mutate them into something else. As to exactly what that something is is determined by their gic make-up."

    "I hope my boys told you that you were crazy and that they would not be providing you with guns."

    "Something along those lines, but closer to ''you won''t get the guns until November 2nd to prove what you are saying is true''," I grumbled, knowing full well that neither man trusted what I had said that day. Liu Wei might havee around to my side, but Wang Chao was firmly in the ''seeing is believing'' camp.

    Sucks to be me.

    "Then if we all know you are crazy, what am I doing here?" Asked the Old Master, looking from me to Wang Chao to Liu Wei.

    "Ah, but that''s the problem," Iughed, "Can you prove that I am crazy and that the world will definitely not end on November 1st? Cause they can''t, and they are not willing to take any chances after I mentioned Zhao Jun Jie bing the head of City A after you gave him the position."

    "It would be a cold day in Hell before I gave any member of the Zhao familyplete control of City A," snarled Wang Yi Chen, hitting the armrest of the chair in anger.

    "I guess a few months without electricity and heat would make it a cold day in City A," I smirked. "But I am pretty sure that it had more to do with the disappearance of Wang Chao and 90% of the Wang family military¡­ coupled with the death of your daughter and her husband, and your third grandson. Would that count as a cold day in Hell?" I asked as I raised my eyebrow at the old man.

    His attitude was starting to grow on me. At least I knew that I wouldn''t be stabbed in the back by him.

 Chapter 26 26

    ?Both Wang Yi Chen and Wang Chao looked at me startled when I gave them that piece of information. And by the looks on their faces, I could tell that Liu Wei didn''t share that juicy bit of gossip either. I looked over at him and he just smiled at me, gettingfortable as if about to watch a show.

    "You didn''t tell them," I said to him, my head tilted. I thought that they would have had hisplete loyalty. Apparently not.

    "Wang Chao does not believe you 100% and has refused to kill Wang Zi Mo. I figured not knowing the details about the future would not hurt him," he replied shrugging his shoulder.

    "Huh," I said, nodding my head in approval. "Let''s go with your n.  I won''t tell them anything more and they can figure things out as you go.  I assume though, that you will be staying in City A in October?"

    "Yeah," Liu Wei replied, the two of uspletely ignoring the men from the Wang family.  "I don''t suppose you have any more of those butter tarts, do you?"

    "Of course! I emptied out an entire bakery a while back. I probably should go do it again sometime soon. There are just some things that they can make better than me," I said as I waved my hand. A te of butter tarts appeared on the coffee table and I grabbed it before Wang Chao could. I red at him, knowing that he was wanting my butter tarts.

    Liu Wei picked up his tart and put it in his mouth just as the Old Master demanded an exnation. Indicating that his mouth was full and he would not be able to answer, I rolled my eyes and opened my mouth.

    "You are going to have to be a bit more specific," I said, trying to be understanding, but I was falling back into the step one category with the Wang family. Especially after I saw Wang Zi Mo''s face.

    "How do I die?" Asked Wang Chao, opening his mouth for the first time in a while.

    I rolled my eyes at his question. "No idea, next?"

    "What do you mean you have no idea, you just said that Wang Chao and 90% of the Wang family---" started the Old Master, only to be cut off by me.

    "Disappeared. I have no idea if they died or not. They were just not in City A for at least thirteen years after the apocalypse."

    "If I was away from the city for more than thirteen years, I was probably dead," said Wang Chao, as if he was not discussing his death.

    "Not necessarily," I replied, munching on a tart. If I wasn''t fast Liu Wei would take them away from me and they were mine! Mine I tell you!... Okay, so I might need to get over my addiction to butter tarts.

    All three men looked at me this time. "What?" I asked confused. "You took a ne to Country S four days before the EMP went off. If you were not in the air when it did, there would be a chance that you could have lived. And Country S is a pretty big country. Keep in mind that there would be no vehicles of any kind, you would have had to walk the entire distance.  Add on the zombies and it ispletely possible that you were still alive thirteen years after the start and still not able to make it back to City A. Not probable, but definitely possible."

    I thought about what I just said and then added, "But if you were on a ne, then there would have been no chance as you would have fallen out of the sky and died a fiery death."

    The three men continued to look at me. I simply rolled my eyes and continued eating my snacks.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Alright, let''s get back to the topic," said the old man, looking at my te of butter tarts. Was everyone after those things?!?

    "We had a topic?" I asked in return, genuinely not remembering what we were talking about in the first ce.

    "The entire Wang family dying and the Zhao family taking over," reminded Wang Chao.

    "The entire Wang family didn''t die, the Old Master was still alive¡­ and Wang Zi Mo," I rified. I was getting tired and we had yet toe to a conclusion about whether the Old Master staying here or not.

    "How did my sister and her fianc¨¦ die?" asked Wang Chao.

    "Poison," I replied.

    "Who poisoned them?"

    "Wang Zi Mo."

    "Impossible! He would never hurt a member of our family. Now I know that you are lying through your teeth to get something from us!" yelled the Old Master as he stood up. Once again, the guns of the bodyguards were pointed at me. And once again, I was remembering my first step. If I burned everyone, would my house burn down at the same time? I used to be strong enough that I could concentrate my me just on certain areas, but I didn''t know if I could do that anymore.

    I guess there was only one way to find out.

    I flexed my right hand and my pink me came to life.  I had learned, by identst week that the blue me burned a lot hotter than my pink one. The poor field that I was in will recover in a little while¡­ I hope. I didn''t know if I should practice it now or wait until the zombies came.  I figured that in order to see the true effect of that me I would have to wait to experiment on the zombies. They were harder to kill than humans.

    Trying to hide my pink me from Liu Wei, who clearly wasn''t smart enough to stay away from it, I didn''t take into ount Wang Chao standing up and grasping my right hand. I was startled but didn''t let go of the me.

    This man didn''t believe me, and to a certain extent, I didn''t expect him to. So if he happened to be burned, maybe that was the only way for him to learn.

    "You will not touch my grandfather," he growled, looking down at me.

    In return, I smiled and looked up at him. "Who said that I would touch your grandfather? I can reach him just fine from here¡­ no touching needed. Now, if you don''t want to have more problems, I highly suggest that you tell your men to stop pointing their guns at me. If you don''t want to hear my truth, then you still have a few months to change it. The ball is in your court. You can see yourselves out."

    I increased the strength of the me until Wang Chao flinched and dropped his hand. I didn''t owe him or his family anything¡­ if nothing else, it was they who owed me. They would learn the hard way, just like I had to, or they would die.

 Chapter 27 27

    ?Time seemed to pass by both too quickly and not quickly enough. It was that feeling of impending doom where you have waited for it for so long that you just wanted it to hurry up and get here, but at the same time, you wanted more time before it did. Ipared it to exam time. You wanted it to just be over with so you could move on from it, but you wanted more time to study.

    April turned into May and May into June, and soon enough, it was time for me to harvest from the fields, process my meat, and get ready for the next step of my life.

    All of my ATVs arrived in the middle of July and I had a barn prepared especially for them. I drove them around the ranch as much as I could just so I could be ustomed to the handling. Nothing was worse than being caught in the middle of a horde and not knowing how to drive the escape vehicle. I saw that happen a few times and it wasn''t a pretty sight.

    My night car also showed up a few weekster, and I was extremely happy to see that in addition to matting all of the metal details on it, they also matted the paint. Now the light seemed to sink into the ck paint instead of reflecting off of it. Maybe I should have done that to the day car as well, but I needed a vehicle at the time.

    August was winding to a close and I took an evening to just sit on my deck swing with a cup of coffee and check off my list of things to do. I have organized and stocked my pantry, although I still had a lot of crops in the field that weren''t ready for harvest yet. As long as I had that all done before the end of November it would be fine. I got the old-school DVDs, Blu-rays, and their yers stored away in my space until after the EMP. There would be enough for me to worry about collecting on October 31st that I didn''t want to add to my pile of worries.

    I continued to go through my list when I heard the buzz from my front gate, letting me know that someone was there. I opened the camera app on my phone and saw a convoy of military-grade vehicles waiting for me on the other side of the fence. I could easily recognize the Corvette in front, but I was happy to see that the silver color had be more of a matted grey. Apparently, you can teach an old dog new tricks.

    Chuckling to myself, I opened the gate and waited for the thirty minutes it would take for them to get to my house.

    "I haven''t seen you in a while, WeiWei," Iughed as Liu Wei got out of his car. Ten military supply trucks stopped behind his car and fanned out in a semicircle.

    "Well, I''ve been preparing for the end of the world... you know how it is," heughed as two men from each of the trucks came down and walked up to me. I stiffened. I trusted Liu Wei, but the people around him were debatable.

    "They are my men, here to add to your supplies," he said, watching my every move.

    I nodded in return and waited for them to grab the first batch of weapons before leading them deep into my house, into the basement, and through the hidden door. "Everything can go in there," I said, pointing to the massive warehouse-sized room built under my house. I guess I should thank the Blood Moon mercenaries for thinking about it. I didn''t feelfortable with the bulk of my weapons being in a barn far away from where I might need them.

    "I have onest surprise for you," Liu Wei said as he put his hand on the small of my back and guided me back through the house and out the front door. There was one more supply truck that hadn''t been touched. Standing beside it, I saw Liu Hong Tao and Liu Ming Jie from Dragon Fencing.

    "These two are also mine," he continued as we walked around to the back of the truck. "I have been trying to think of a way for those gates to be secured, but not require electricity. This is the best solution I coulde up with."

    In the back were three giant beams that looked like they would weigh a hundred pounds each. He motioned to each man and they got back into the car and drove to the gates to install the drawbar on each one.

    Then, Liu Wei turned to me, his voice serious. "I am going to send everyone back, but then you and I need to talk."

    I nodded curious about what he was thinking and went back inside to the kitchen to wait for him. Making two cups of coffee, I automatically started thinking about the coffee ground supply and if it would be enough. I bought coffee bushes to grow my own coffee, so I was hoping that it would be enough.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    In less than five minutes, Liu Wei was back and sipping from his mug of coffee. The silence stretched on until I couldn''t take it anymore. "Whatever you did, just spit it out. I''ll help if I can," I said, putting my giant mug beside the sink and looking at him.

    "Wang Chao and I got our hands on the vine from Country M," he started, looking at me and trying to figure out my reaction.

    "Are you trying to have all your men exposed first? Or are you trying to put the whole timeline forward to see if I was telling the truth?" I asked, looking at him.

    "Neither," he responded. "We have two doses, one for me and one for Wang Chao. But we want to take them here at the ranch. We thought that it would be safest for everyone that way. And we would know what to expect before giving it to our men."

    I nodded, understanding where he wasing from. Technically, it was the most logical thing to do. But it didn''t mean that I approved.

    "And what are you expecting from me?" I asked.

    He looked startled like he didn''t expect that answer or understood where it wasing from.

    "75% of the people who take the vine, on average, be a zombie. Of the remaining 25%, 15% be a power user, and 10% be asymptomatic. Or at least that is what the scientists could best figure out. So, what are you expecting from me?" I asked again, picking up my cup of coffee and for the first time in a while, wished it was stronger. I had a lot of alcohol on hand, but I was saving that to use for bartering with the other humans. Even when it all goes to pot, people still had their vices.

    I looked at the expression on his face and had tough. "You didn''t take into ount that you would be anything other than power users. I expected better of you, boyo," I said, my Canadianing out.

    "Kill us," he said after some pause. "If we are not a power user in the end, then kill us."

    "Ahh," I said nodding, "so you have no problem putting the burden on me for killing a friend."

    Liu Wei got up from the table and walked towards me. Crowding me between the counter and his body, he put both hands on the counter on each side of me and leaned in. "Does that mean you consider me a friend?" He asked, his voice taking on a husky tone to it.

    I raised my eyebrow. The culture that I was originally born into was a lot different than the one that I was in now, and truth be told, it sometimes caught me off guard the differences. Whereas to someone born and raised here, being in this type of position would cause them to maybe panic or assume that he was flirting. To me, this was simply a sign of a close friend. I took the index finger of my right hand and poked him in the head, pushing him back.

    "If you weren''t a friend, you wouldn''t be here right now," I said, creating distance and escaping from his hold. "And if you were trying to flirt, you need to work on it more," I continued as I walked out of the kitchen.

    If Liu Wei and Wang Chao wanted to take the vine here, then I would have to figure out the best rooms to put them in. As much as I wasn''t that close to Wang Chao, I knew that he was Liu Wei''s best friend, so I had to look after him to the best of my ability. Otherwise, I would not be able to look Liu Wei in the eyes if I had to kill Wang Chao.

 Chapter 28 28

    ?Liu Wei stood still in her kitchen, everything that just urred going through his head at lightning speed. There was no way that she could be the second-generation wealthy socialite Li Dai Lu. Her reactions to everything were not like someone that had lived in this country for their whole life.  If anything, she seemed to be more of a native to Country M than to Country K.

    Liu Wei shook his head. None of that mattered. He would trust what he saw and not what he had read. The Li Dai Lu of today was much better than the one in his files, so he would stand firmly in her court until she did something concrete that would put them on opposite sides.

    He shook his head, putting those thoughts to the back of his mind. He was in no way less than Wang Chao in terms of power or family. Just because he preferred to be in the background was not a reason to overlook him. After all, the knife that cuts best was the one that you never seeing.

    He quickly left the kitchen to figure out where the mysterious girl went.  Finding her in the basement, looking in between two rooms, he cleared his throat.

    Watching her jump in surprise made him chuckle a bit. She was so strong when it came to nning for this apocalypse that she even made him believe¡­ but every so often he would get a glimpse of a softer side to her that always made him smile.

    "What are you thinking about?" he asked her.

    ----

    I jumped a foot in the air when I heard Liu Wei clear his throat behind me.  I swore to God I should put a bell on that man, just so he couldn''t sneak up on me.

    "I am trying to figure out where the safest ce is for you to take the vine," I replied, answering his question.

    "You look so serious," he said,ing up right behind me.  I hummed and leaned back against him. I suppose I should have mentioned that I am a touchy-feely type of girl. Something my psychologist told me was a response to growing up in Children''s Services. And if I had to be honest, I haven''t been able to rx enough to be touched since Colin, and look at how that went.

    On a side note, did you know that for the average person to be denied touch of some kind is considered a type of torture? And that less than eight to ten meaningful touches can result in an increase in anxiety, depression, and stress. I''m not kidding!

    That was my excuse and I was going with it. It had nothing to do with how good it felt to be in his arms, or how good he smelled, or how solid he was. Nope, nothing to do with any of that.

    I sighed, feeling a bit of the stress leaving me. Given the circumstances, the only thing that I could do was bepletely honest. "I''m stressed about you two taking the vine at the same time. There are numerous side effects including fever, vomiting, and violent shaking even before the oue is decided. Plus, if you both turn into zombies, I won''t win a fight of two against one. Especially since you have been together for so long."

    He slowly put his chin on my head as if that movement would call attention to the fact that I was leaning against his chest¡­ new sh, I couldn''t miss it¡­before he started to speak.

    "What do you mean by that?" He asked, trying to figure out where my brain was going.  If he could figure that out then I would give him a dull gold star.

    "Zombies are not the mindless creatures that they show in movies. They... this is hard to describe until you see it yourself¡­ they maintain what makes them human; loyalty, any military training, love. They just have the added drive of an animal," I said, trying to exin it the best I can.

    "So, a person''s memory is still there. Is that what you are saying?"

    "Yes, it is just a person''s genes that arepromised. So, all the memories are intact, but the drive for the three basics of life takes over to a certain extent."

    "Three basics of life?" He asked, but I could hear the smile in his voice.  I rolled my eyes before giving him a half-answer.

    "The three basics of life that everything living thing on this needs to live."<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "And those are?" he chucked into my ear.

    I am pretty sure that if I roll my eyes again they are going to get stuck that way.  But my battery had been recharged, so I spin out of his arms and stuck my tongue out at him. "The three f''s; feed, fight and¡­"

    Leaving things at that, I went into the two rooms that I thought would be best.  I could put locks on the outside of the door until 48 hours had passed. If I let them out one at a time, then I should be able to handle it. Besides, it would give me a chance to see if my blue me was hot enough to kill a zombie without having to behead it first.  It would take a lot less time and effort if that was the case.

    "About what you were saying," started Liu Wei as he followed behind me. "Would it be easier for you if we went one at a time or both at the same time?"

    "I guess that would depend on your schedule. I could just leave one of you in each room and lock the door behind you from the outside. That would give me more control over when you came out.  If we went one at a time, then we would be looking at a minimum of four days, and I don''t know if the amazing CEO of Phoenix Conglomerate can afford to take at least four days off.  Thepany might go out of business two months ahead of schedule."

    "I''ll head back and talk to Wang Chao about it," Liu Wei said as he ran his fingers threw his hair. There is something extremely sexy about that move, I don''t care who does it. As if he knew what I was thinking, he smirked at me before seeing himself out.  I could only shake my head. It was nice to have a friend that I could rx around.

    ----

    "You''re back, how did it go?" asked Wang Chao when Liu Wei entered his office at Phoenix. Since he seemed so rxed, Wang Chao automatically assumed that everything went ording to n.

    "Not horrible, but she did bring up some points that we didn''t consider before," replied Liu Wei as he gotfortable on the couch.

    "Like what?"

    "Like what do we expect to happen if we do not get a superpower at the end of all this," Liu Wei said as he studied his nails. "ording to her, there is only a 15% chance of that happening."

    "What is the chance of us turning into a zombie then?" Wang Chao asked, making sure to have all the information on hand before making a final decision. It might only be a matter of a couple of months, but he could still aplish a lot in that time if necessary.

    "75%. However, she did say something interesting that we had no idea about."

    "And what is that?" responded Wang Chao, leaning back in his chair and listening to what his friend had to say.

    "That the zombies aren''t what we have been led to believe."

    "She does seem to be stressing that but hasn''t given us details."

    "She gave some today but mentioned that they were hard to exin unless you had a chance to see them for yourself. However, ording to her, they maintain their memories and personalities of their¡­ human¡­ life, it''s just that the animal genes take over and stress food, fight and fuck more than what she considered a normal human would think about, which canceled out any personality that an individual would have before the transformation. Our loyalty would still remain as would our fighting skills and ability to strategize."

    "That means that Country M has created the perfect, indestructible soldier, but did not instill loyalty to the higher-ups as much as they should have. That is why when the human genes were killed off, the animal part of the zombie was able to take control better and they didn''t care about who the Alpha was before."

 Chapter 29 29

    ?"Pretty much," replied Liu Weizily, looking at the schedule on his phone. "And do you know what that means for us?"

    "An indestructible army of both zombies and power users. Not many would be able to stand against us," said Wang Chao, not as worried anymore about the possible oues.

    "As long as we have made sure that deep down in their subconscious, they arepletely loyal to us and each other."

    Wang Chao hummed in agreement and sat forward to look at his schedule on theputer.  "I will get my assistant to move things around so that we can start the process tomorrow. How long did she say it would take?"

    "Two to four days, depending if we go under at the same time or one after another," said Liu Wei, already making preparations on who will head the meetings and internal reviews.  He was thinking of giving Wang Zi Mo some additional work, but with how Li Dai Lu was reacting to him, he didn''t think that that was a good idea.

    "Let''s n for a week, make things easy. Just tell everyone that we are going to check out sites in Country S for possible expansion."

    "Done. I''ll send Lu a message letting her know to expect us tomorrow morning."

    Wang Chao grunted in reply. "Just don''t get too close to her," he warned.

    Liu Wei smirked at that warning. "And if I do?" he asked.

    "Don''t." replied Wang Chao.

    "Why? Are you dering sovereignty?"

    Silence was his only reply.

    "If you are, you should be warned. Li Dai Lu is not someone that you can dere sovereignty over. She is the sovereign.  If you are not prepared to bow down, make sure you at least bow out. I would hate to see the great Wang Chao; Prince of City A being defeated by a little slip of a girl."

    "And would the Prince of the Liu family of City H be willing to bow down?"

    The smile on Liu Wei''s face was his only answer.

    -----

    I got Liu Wei''s text in the early evening saying that they nned to be at the ranch by 10 am. While I had bitched before about hisck of advance notice, this time he gave me too much.

    Yes, I will admit it... I am never happy, no matter how much notice I do or do not get.

    Spending the night pacing and stressing did not leave me in a good mood in the morning. Even my morning offering of coffee did not put me in a good enough, or awake enough mood. I waited on the deck after opening the gate for the guys, trying to figure out if I was actually ok with this or not.

    If I hadn''t had some practice killing zombies in my past life, I didn''t think that I would be so calm right now. I wonder what option they chose about the vine. Besides when they would arrive, Liu Wei was not forting with the other information.

    I had expected a long convoy of SUVs filled to the brim with bodyguards, so when a lone grey Corvette parked in front of my garage, I thought that maybe Liu Wei had arrived first, and we would have to wait on His Royal Highness. Imagine my surprise when Wang Chao opened his own door and stepped out of the passenger side of the car. Liu Wei was not long after him, getting out of the driver''s side, the typical smile on his face.

    "You look like crap," he said as he approached me on the deck.  "Did you get any sleepst night?"<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    I red at him in response. Ignoring his sickening cheerfulness this early in the morning, and yes, 10 am was early when you didn''t sleep the night before, I turned around and went into the house. I knew they would follow, but I wasn''t waiting around for them.

    "So, how are we going to do this?" I asked before I held up my hand, stopping Liu Wei from saying whatever it was on his mind.  His smirk was enough to let me know that my brain was too much in a fog to put up with whatever came out of his mouth next.

    "You know, no matter what I say, it''s going toe out wrong," chuckled Liu Wei.  Seriously, this man looked like he could take out someone that looked at him side-eyed, but his brain reverted to a 13-year-old boy when in a good mood.  Just my luck.

    "Not putting up with this.  You two decide, send Wang Chao to tell me, I''m going to my room to watch something and hopefully fall asleep," I said, rolling my eyes and leaving the two men to help themselves to my basement.

    I had it all set up for them. Two rooms, both with a bolt on the outside of the door so I could control who went in and out, a rec room so that if they decided to go one at a time, the other would have something to do while he waited, and a fully functional mini kitchen. I even stocked it with food.

    See, I could be nice.

    I hadn''t even made it to the stairs when Wang Chao slid in front of me, effectively causing me to crash into him. My head on his chest, I let out a deep sigh and took a step back. Looking up at him, I rubbed my eyebrow and waited for whatever His Royal Highness would say next. At least it would be more to the point than the court jester, Liu Wei.

    "We will be going one at a time, and I will go in first," he said, his voice vibrating from his chest. I stared at his chest, trying to see the actual vibrations. I guess it was out of it for too long because I could see the next rumble. "You ok?"

    See, straight and to the point. I looked over my shoulder at Liu Wei, who was standing there watching us, the smirk somehow absent from his face. I raised my hand to indicate Wang Chao and said, "See? Right to the point. Small words and short sentences are going to be key tomunicating with me today."

    The smirk quickly returned to his face. "Small words, short sentences. Got it," he replied. I nodded my head and looked back at Wang Chao.

    Now it was Wang Chao''s turn to smirk at me.  Was I missing something?  I shook my head.  I was probably missing a lot, but I didn''t care. "Do you have the vines?" I asked.

    Liu Wei held up a small temperature-controlled box that I could only assume held the aforementioned vines.  I nodded my head and then looked back at Wang Chao.  "Do you need me to administer it or can you guys handle that yourselves?"

    "Liu Wei can do mine," said Wang Chao, looking down at me. "Is there anything that I can expect?"

    "Besides potentially turning into a zombie and me experimenting on you?" I asked. I med my tiredness on my brain''s inability to control my mouth.  Thinking before I spoke would have been beneficial if I could, in fact, think.

    Wang Chao just raised an eyebrow, notmenting on myck of filter.

    "Do I even want to know?" asked Liu Wei.  I turned around to look at him and let out a very embarrassing squeak when I realized that I hadn''t heard hime up behind me.

    "I am going to put a fucking bell on you, boyo," I grumbled. Looking back at Wang Chao I realized that I was caught in the middle of the two men. My brain would sort that thought outter.

    "What were you saying?" I asked.

    "What. Can. I. Expect?" He said slowing, stopping at every word to give me a chance. "And no experimenting," he added.

    "Then no turning into a zombie," I snapped back at him. "For the first 48 hours after exposure to the vine, you will experience fever, vomiting, and extreme shaking. After the 48 hours are up, you will wake up, hopefully with a power. If not, it would be better for you to die."

 Chapter 30 30

    ?

    "If it only takes 48 hours before the oue is decided, why did it take a month before the world figured out what was going on?" asked Liu Wei.

    I tilted my head back and banged it off his chest. Was he always that close? I continued to look at him as I answered his question. "The vines were administered in special buildings that contained the people. Since they could site the side effects of the vine, the public thought that it was best that they stayed in the facility after they got it. After all, they would be monitored by doctors and nurses at all times. It took a full month before the facilities were overrun by zombies and power users and the people got out."

    "Makes sense," said Wang Chao. "Now, it''s my turn."

    I left the basement to let the boys settle in and went to my room. Although it was still quite warm at the end of August, I still put on a fire in my bedroom firece. To me, there was nothing moreforting than a roaring fire.  That might be why I developed the ability to start fires. It was always in my genes.

    Iid down in bed and turned on the tv on top of the firece.  Scrolling through the movie and tv show offerings, I picked a monster movie that I knew but somehow got a different spin on it in this world. I was slowly closing my eyes when I heard a gentle knock on my door.

    "Come in," I saidzily. It had to be Liu Wei, there was no other possibility.

    He opened the door and looked around the room before he spotted my head poking out from under a pile of nkets. Chuckling, he walked over to my bed and sat down on one side. "Took me a while to find you. This house is huge."

    "It is," I replied, turning over to look at him. "And it is all mine. You snooze, you lose," I continued, ring at him like he might try to take it away from me.

    "Yes, yes, yes," he said, the smile a seemingly permanent fixture on his face. "It''s yours, we wouldn''t dream of taking it back."

    "That''s right," I said, nodding in approval of his words.

    "So," he started, making himselffortable on my king-sized bed, his back leaning against the headboard, his legs stretched out over the covers. "Are you going to tell me who you are?"

    I looked at him, confused. It had been almost a year now; he didn''t know who I was?

    "Li Dai Lu," I replied looking at him. "Did you hit your head or something?"

    He chuckled and shook his head. "No," he said. "I want to know who you are."

    I paused, thinking through that statement. There were so many possible ways that I could answer that question, but what would be the right one?

    Knowing that he might be dead in three days, I opted to tell him the truth and see if he would believe me. "I am someone from a different world that died and woke up here, three years after the start of the apocalypse. After starting my ownpound, the Phoenix Compound would you believe it, I was killed by someone I considered to be my best friend, and the over two hundred people I had saved and fed for ten years watched as I was torn apart by a ss 3 horde. I woke up in this body once again, a year before the apocalypse this time. Hopefully, the third time''s a charm or I am going to be cranky going through all this again for a fourth time."

    I knew I didn''t make sense, my brain was too much in a fog to be able to speak clearly, but he should be able to get the gist of it.

    He looked at me¡­ and the silence between us went on for a few minutes. The sound of an oversized lizard throwing a temper tantrum came from the tv, breaking up what could have been an awkward atmosphere. The silence continued until my eyes started to drift shut. The stress of the unknown having left my body.

    Maybe, just maybe there was some aspect of relief that I had told someone my story, as unbelievable as it might be.

    I always annoyed me in transmigration novels where the main character never told anyone that they came from another world. As if the fear of being considered a demon was a major factor in that decision.  I thought it would have more to do with not trusting anyone with such a huge secret.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    I mean, the most they might think was that I was crazy, and I could live with that.

    In my second life, I never told anyone.  I pretended to be someone that I was not. There were no merging two souls into the same body or getting all the memories of the previous soul to integrate perfectly into the new setting. People who should have been strangers to the new soul were treated like family in a matter of minutes.

    I didn''t get that. I was in apletely different world, with no memories that might have helped me, smack dab in what I considered the middle of an apocalypse, alone. With no one around me.

    This time, I would be free to be who I was, unapologetically. I would not tiptoe around, saving people and secretly hoping that memories woulde flooding back to me. I would no longer hope toe across the long lost family of this body, and for the first time in all my lives experienced that love and joy that only they could give me.

    My name was Li Dai Lu, and I would live like the Li Dai Lu that I always wanted to be, not the one that I thought I should be.

    ----

    Liu Wei looked down at the girl slowly falling asleep beside him. The story that she had said was too far-fetched to be the truth, but the look in her eyes when she said it¡­

    He shook his head and the lead back more into the headboard, letting it take the weight of his head as if it would also take the weight off his shoulders. He was the head of his family back in City H, and if there really was an apocalypseing, then it was his duty to go there and look after his family. Not to mention, there were several othermitments, both legal and illegal that he would have to look after at the same time.

    But that wasn''t what called to him, it wasn''t what he wanted to do. He had always made the excuse to his family that he couldn''t take over the industries under his name because he needed to be beside Wang Chao in case the country needed them.  He stressed that he couldn''t take over the darker organization that had looked to his family for generations for guidance because the Liu''s would need a public face to cement their legitimacy.

    Then they started to push for marriage and he really had no ns to return.  Should he go home after getting the vine?

    He sighed and looked down again at the small little girl that barely made a bump under all those covers. She was a mystery that fascinated him and unfortunately seemed to fascinate Wang Chao at the same time. Should he step aside and let Wang Chao get what he wanted? He had done it all his life simply because he never cared about the oue¡­

    But he cared now.

    He was the type of man that went all in for what he wanted, and this time would be nothing less.  She truly believed that the end of the world would happen on November 1st so he would do whatever he could to get her what she wanted for when it did.

    But transmigration? Was such a thing truly possible?

    He closed his eyes again as his thoughts whirled around his head. Only to be brought to an abrupt halt when a tiny arm reached across the distance and wrapped itself around his waist.

    There was no way that the Li Dai Lu who spent her entire life as a second-generation socialite would drop everything and buy a ranch. There was no way that that Li Dai Lu would know how to raise cattle, or make jams, or do any number of things that the girlying next to him did. And there was no way possible for the Li Dai Lu of City A to fall asleep next to him without a care.

    If he believed in the apocalypse for her, he would believe in transmigration too.

    With his thoughts sorted out, Liu Wei fell asleep, rxed and content for the first time in a while.

 Chapter 31 31

    ?

    While the two upstairs opted for a mid-morning nap, Wang Chao was not as rxed. Gripped in a nightmare that he couldn''t get out of, he could only wait and watch as scenes flooded his mind.

    He dreamt that he had received a phone call on October 29th that a private militia in Country S was trying to take over thend the Phoenix Corporation had purchased for their multimedia expansion. Since neither Wang Zi Mo nor Wang Zi Hao was able to givemands to the Wang family army, it was up to Wang Chao to go and sort things out. He took the majority of his soldiers as well as Liu Wei and left that very night.

    It took them a few days of going back and forth, but the Wang family army finally got rid of the militia and, after an agreement with the government for a percentage of Sunset Corps profits, they were getting ready to leave the country.

    They had just boarded the private ne when a shock wave sted through them. Shaken, Wang Chao realized that whatever that shock wave was, it had destroyed all the electronics, including the ne and sat phone.

    The rest of the nightmare was them fighting their way through the zombies, of his men either turning into zombies or being taken by them.

    He dreamt of a fear that he had never experienced in his 29 years, the fear of failure. For the first time ever, he experienced being hunted, of being prey. He experienced the anguish and heartache of not bringing his men home. And he experienced watching Liu Wie being turned by the zombies, knowing that they would turn him next.

    In those nightmares, he experienced the constant hunger, and the need to find prey and eat. He fought the other zombies to be the leader of a ss 1 horde, one of the scariest types of hordes possible. He experienced never being able to die, no matter how much his brain called out to him to end it all. For endless years, all he felt was the need to feed and to fight, with Liu Wei by his side. But as much as he wanted nothing more than to die¡­ even as a zombie, he understood that something was missing.

    Forcing himself out of the nightmare, Wang Chao stagged off the bed and to his feet. Knowing that the door was locked from the outside, he went to the ensuite and got himself a ss of water.

    Bracing his hands on either side of the sink, he hung his head as the nightmares came with him, the visions ying in a non-stop loop in his head. He looked at the mirror, expecting to see the light blue skin of a ss 1 zombie. Instead, he saw his own reflection, his sweat-dampened hair, the corner of his eyes red as the tears fell freely.

    With a shaking hand, he raised it to his cheek, the reflection in the mirror doing the same. He was still him, still Wang Chao.

    What the little girl had said was right, she was right about everything.

    He sighed and dropped his hand back to the sink. Straightening up, he pushed himself away from the mirror and staggered back to the bed. His body needed rest, even if his mind refused to shut down.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Heid his head on the pillow and prayed for a dreamless sleep. Unfortunately, his prayers would not be answered.

    This time, when he closed his eyes, he was back at the Wang family mansion. Seeing his grandfather sitting in front of him, he called out to the Old Master. But he couldn''t make a sound.  He realized that he would be forced to watch everything, not being able to interact with his family.

    He watched as his grandfather seemed to age a decade overnight when he heard the news of Wang Chao''s disappearance. He watched as his older sister took over as head of the family. A position that she fought so hard not to have.

    He watched for two years as his family searched for him while trying to survive being unprepared for the end of the world. He watched as the cousin he swore would never hurt the family poisoned his own brother, then his cousin, and her husband. He watched as Wang Zi Mo, denied the position of head of the City A safe zone took matters into his own hand and joined forces with a ss 3 zombie horde. He watched as the man he had once called brother offered up humans to the zombies to save his own life. And he watched a familiar face being ripped apart by that same horde.

    Wang Chao fought through the dreams and nightmares, he screamed and yelled and did everything he could to wake himself up, to not let this possibility be the future for him and those he considered family. He never stopped fighting, even though it was only in his mind, until, atst, he woke up in a familiar room.

    No longer in the grips of the fever and the nightmares, he once again staggered to the ensuite, desperate for a shower to wash off all the things that he did and saw. Taking a quick glimpse in the mirror, he did a double-take and stared at his reflection. His skin was still the same color, not blue like a zombie, but the same color it had always been. Maybe a bit paler, but he still looked like himself.

    Letting out a huge sigh of relief, he slumped to the ground and leaned back against the tub, allowing the cold from the ceramics to help soothe his hot skin. He was still a human.

    Whether he was a power user or asymptomatic, he did not care. He was a human, and he owed the little girl an apology¡­ and apparently, a bunch of guns¡­

    But first, a shower, a long, hot shower.

    And then food, a lot of food.

    Then he would get her her weapons and whatever else she wanted. It was the least he could do.

 Chapter 32 32

    ?

    Liu Wei and I were sitting on the couch in the basement watching a superhero movie this time. I tried to exin to him that aliens from another could not be considered a superhero, because superheroes needed to be human. Aliens were not human.

    He, in turn, pointed out that having more money than God to invent your own toys didn''t make you a superhero either. Rolling my eyes I agreed, simply because as far as I was concerned, a blond pigtailed girl was the best hero¡­or viin¡­ around.

    Too bad they didn''t have her movies here.

    I was trying to not touch my DVD collection, so pretty much everything that we had been watching for the past two days had been through streaming. It has been the mostid back that I have been since this rebirth, and I have to admit, I''ve enjoyed it.

    The need to constantly be stocking up had lessened when I hadpany. I guess it was because I was not in my own head as much.

    The only thing that caused tension with Liu Wei and I was waiting for Wang Chao toe out of his room.

    I heard the sound of a knocking from Wang Chao''s room.

    Speak of the Devil.

    I looked at Liu Wei and saw that he heard the same thing.

    "I guess it turned out well," he remarked, looking at the door but not making a move to get up.

    "Yeah," I replied, "The zombies never seemed to be one to knock on a door."

    I sighed and stood up. Here goes nothing.

    I unlocked the deadbolt from the outside and let Wang Chao open the door on his own. Just in case I was wrong about zombies and doors, I let the blue mee out.

    Slowly the door opened and Wang Chao stood there on the other side, staring at me as if he had never seen me before. Seeing as he wasn''t blue or purple I let out the breath I just realized that I was holding and extinguished my me. "So¡­ how''d it go?" I asked as I turned my back on him and started to walk over to the couch where Liu Wei sat looking at Wang Chao, a concerned look on his face.

    What I did not seeing was the rushing of air behind me. I stiffened, not expecting an attack, and was caught off guard. I felt my eyes widen and was about to call my me back when I felt arms wrap around me and a face burry itself in my neck.

    Have to admit, I did not see thating.

    I looked at Liu Wei, wide-eyed, a ''what the fuck'' look on my face. He shrugged his shoulder as if he didn''t know either and got off the couch.

    "You okay there?" He asked Wang Chao, who still refused to let me go. Coming from a man that was so stoic I thought he didn''t have emotions, this was so out of left field that I was beginning to wonder if he transmigrated too.

    "Wang Chao?" I asked, hesitant.

    He hummed in reply, still refusing to remove his face from my neck. Given how tall he was and how short I was, this position could not have beenfortable for him.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "When did you first meet Liu Wei?" I asked, thinking that this would be the best question to determine if it was still the Wang Chao I knew in his body.

    "When I was 10," came the muffled reply.

    I looked at Liu Wei to confirm. When he nodded his head that that was the correct answer, I shrugged my shoulder and let myself be a human body pillow for a while. I had never experienced the vine, this body had already gotten it before I transmigrated the first time, but I knew that it was a rough experience. I was willing to give Wang Chao some time to regroup before I hounded him with questions.

    "Any reason why you asked that question?" Asked Liu Wei as he prepared to give himself the vine.

    "I didn''te with memories, and with what I had read, most memories when they came back were current ones, not from a long time before. If he wasn''t him, there would be no way for him to remember what happened when he was 10. Or at least, not this early."

    Liu Wei nodded his head and gave himself the injection. I watch the process, not taking my eyes off him for a second.

    Once he was done, he disposed of the needle in the lockbox and then walked over to where I stood with Wang Chao at my back. His steps were slow and measured, his eyes never broke contact with mine. "I will see you in two days," he said, his voice making a promise that I could tell he was determined to keep. He bent down to give me a soft kiss on my forehead before walking to the room that I had prepared for him.

    I nodded to him, tears in the corner of my eyes. I refused to shed them. He woulde out in two days, just like Wang Chao did, and just like him, he would be perfectly fine.

    And I would tell myself that as many times as I needed to until I started to believe it.

    He reached the door of his room and turned around again to look at me. He briefly nced at Wang Chao who had finally raised his face from my neck, only to rest his chin on my shoulder. The two exchanged a look and I could feel Wang Chao nod his head.

    Men.

    "Make sure to lock the door behind me," said Liu Wei as he stepped inside and shut the door behind him.

    Now it was his turn to face the future. Hopefully, he woulde out the other end still him.

    "All right, big man," I said tapping Wang Chao on the forearm. Seeing as it was still wrapped around my waist, it was the easiest thing to reach. He squeezed me one more time before letting me go andposing himself.

    I turned around and watched as he straightened up, standing as tall and proud as the first time I saw him. He looked at me, studying my face and my body as if he was remembering something.

    "You were right," he said slowly, as if he had never said those words before in his life. And I was pretty sure that he never had.

    I nodded, "I tend to be," I replied. "Now, let''s go to one of the fireproof buildings away from my house and see what type of power you got."

    It turned out that a man like Wang Chao would not be someone with an average power in the apocalypse. I guess in this case, the novels were right. The CEO-military character would always be exceptional. I just didn''t expect him to have three fucking powers.

 Chapter 33 33

    ?

    Liu Wei stepped into the room that Li Dai Lu had prepared for him and looked around.  It was a very standard room, not too over the top, but was obvious that she did try to make themfortable.

    The narrow window at the top of the wall was just enough to allow natural light in, but not big enough to let a human out. There was a queen-sized bed with very practical navy-blue sheets, a desk, a chair, and an ensuite. It wasn''t a four-star hotel, but it did beat some of the ces that he had slept in while in the army.

    He took off his sses and put them on the desk and went to sit down on the bed. He pinched the bridge of his nose and rotated his neck, trying to fight the feeling rushing through his body.

    As soon as he took the vine, he could feel it coursing through his veins, like an army of thousands of ants crawling across his skin. His discipline prevented him from scratching his arms until they bled, but suppressing it was taking a lot of effort.

    He ran his fingers through his hair and removed his suit jacket, tie, and vest.  If he was going to go through Hell, he might as well befortable while doing it.  Heid down on the bed, his legs crossed at the ankles, and folded his hands over his stomach.  Staring at the ceiling, he had to smile when he saw the little happy face sticker stuck to it, right above where his head would be.

    He would have to thank her for that when he came out.

    His eyes drifted closed as the ants crawling inside of him had taken over every muscle, bone, and fiber of his being.

    When he opened his eyes, he saw a Wang Chao that he had never seen before.  Normally meticulously put together, Wang Chao was wearing his normal ckbat uniform, but it had been ripped in numerous ces and both red and blue blood poured out of the shes. Liu Wei could see his mouth moving, seemingly screaming at him, but he couldn''t hear a sound.

    He could feel though. He could feel sharp fingers holding him down, of teeth ripping out chunks of flesh. He could see the smiling faces over top of him as a light blue human with an inhuman mouth stood over him.

    One foot nted on each side of Liu Wei, the zombie put his own wrist into his mouth and ripped out a chunk. Blue blood flowed from the wound and dripped down onto Liu Wei''s face and into his mouth. Any cut that he had was also infected with the blue blood.

    He could feel himself giving up, of losing all hope. Liu Wei screamed at himself to keep fighting, to not let whatever it was that the zombie was doing to him win. He knew that if he gave up the fight¡­ there would be nothing left.

    He turned his head to the side and watched as Wang Chao underwent the same treatment, and he watched as Wang Chao also seemed to give up hope.  He felt his eyes close and the next thing he knew was the hunger.

    Somewhere in the back of his brain, he knew what was going on. Was sick to his stomach with every bite of a human that he took.  The need to feed and fight took overpletely until that was all that he knew. He followed the Alpha, knowing that he could take over if he wanted, but there was nothing driving him to havepletemand. That was his brother and he would always protect his brother.

    His life was a constant circle of feeding and fighting until time itself seemed to have stopped. He didn''t notice the sun rising and falling or of the days of extreme heat transforming into extreme cold. Nothing registered to him. Follow Wang Chao, fight for Wang Chao, feed to gather strength, and live another day.  <novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    But there was somethingcking, something that Liu Wei could not put a finger on, but knew without a doubt that he needed it.

    Inside the zombie body, Liu Wei looked at the world, knowing that this was not his reality, but it was still real. He could feel all the drives of the zombies, the way they thought, the way they responded, and realized that Li Dai Lu was right.  They were still themselves, trapped within the body of an animal. Never to die, but also never to live. It was a cruel fate¡­ and one that wasing.

    The scene changed and he saw himself standing next to Wang Chao after they followed the scent of something to this location. They watched from the side as a ss 3 horde waited outside of aplex like sharks waiting for a ship to finally sink.

    He saw the body of an unconscious woman being dragged out of the protective chain link fence by a figure that looked somewhat familiar and dumped just outside the gates. Liu Wei watched as the woman regained her consciousness only for the horde to fall upon her and feed, the rest of the humans safe on the other side of the fence.

    The eyes that seemed to look straight at him would be something that he would never forget.  As a giant pink and blue fireball engulfed the horde and the woman within, that feeling of something missing intensified until he let out a roar of pain. He never heard the roar of Wang Chao joining his.

    Liu Wei sat bolt upright in bed, gasping for breath. Growing in a low tone, he went to the washroom to ssh water on his face, never bothering to look at the mirror before him.

    Once he cooled off enough to befortable, he made his way back to the bed. Incapable of doing anything else, hey down and stared at the ceiling¡­ the happy face looking back at him.

    This time, he dreamed of his family¡­ of his grandfather and younger brother.  He dreamed of the Organization and all the brothers that he had grown up with¡­ and the woman he was supposed to marry.

    While he was busy fighting for survival in Country S and all the way down to City A, they were living the life of luxury. His grandfather and the woman that was chosen for him decided that they did not need any type of superhuman power and simply stayed at home, letting everything they needede to them.

    His brother, however, got stronger and stronger. He developed a strength that came only through bloody battles, trying to protect his family and men.

    Liu Wei watched as his brother constantly looked for information about him. How he rebuiltmunication towers throughout Country K in hopes of getting some word about him, never giving up the idea that Liu Wei would still be out there, alive and well.

    This time, when Liu Wei opened his eyes, his vision was clear and he could see a sliver of sunshineing in through the small window of his room.  The smiley face was still there, looking down at him.

    Grabbing a shower, Liu Wei knocked on the door to see his best friend and his¡­ a smile appeared on his face as he hurried up and got ready...

 Chapter 34 34

    ?

    I will fully admit to being cranky with Wang Chao¡­ but seriously! The majority of the people that were lucky enough to unlock a gene that caused powers only got one. One power¡­ that was the rule¡­ no one ever said that there were freaks out there with more than one power!! It wasn''t fair.

    I sat on the couch, still pouting, and waited for Liu Wei to be ready toe out of his room. There was no second guessing, no wondering. Liu Wei was going to be perfectly fine, and probablye out like a freak¡­ just like Wang Chao. I would ept no other way.

    Three frigging powers! What the fuck!! It was so not fair!!!

    I could feel the couch move as Wang Chao sat down beside me. Our rtionship got a lot better when it was just the two of us. His attitude when he came out of his room was such night and day that I still think that someone might have taken over his body.

    When I confronted him about that fact, he tilted his head back and burst outughing. The sound enveloped me in a hug and I couldn''t stop smiling¡­ damn him and his voice.  He simply reassured me that this was his normal, I had just met the CEO first.

    I was still on the fence about whether he was him or not¡­ but frankly, I liked this side of him, so I wasn''tining¡­ too much.

    He put his arm behind my back and pulled me in for a side hug.  He had learned over two days that the best way to get me out of stressed-out bitchy mode was a hug.  I had no idea that that was even possible, but this was also one of the first times I have been able to be stressed-out bitchy so it was a learning experience for everyone.

    Cuddling up into his side I asked in a small voice, "What is taking so long? Shouldn''t he be out by now?"

    He squeezed a bit harder and then rxed his arm. "He''ll be fine. He is probably just taking a long, hot shower and doing his hair. Heaven forbids that his hair is not perfect."

    Iughed, realizing that what he said was true¡­ but there was something about Liu Wei with messy hair that I seemed to like.

    I heard the knocking on the door and quickly jumped out of Wang Chao''s arms, running to get to Liu Wei''s room.  I stopped outside of the door, trying to catch my breath and frantically trying to unlock the deadbolt that kept him on the other side of the door.

    Before I couldpletely unlock it, Wang Chao appeared behind me and wrapped an arm around my waist. He picked me up and spun me around beforepletely unlocking the door and calling a lightning bolt to his hand.

    His arm still around me, and him between me and the door, he waited for whatever was going toe out of it.

    I am sure that that was the best course of action¡­ but that was Liu Wei. How could he be a zombie?!?

    "Not the best wee you have ever given me, but also not the worse," said Liu Wei as he walked out of the room, dressed impably in his white dress shirt, ck pants, and a ck vest. Even his tie was on¡­

    "Did you seriously make me wait longer so you could dress up?!?" I screeched as Wang Chao let me go and I jumped into Liu Wei''s arms.  He held me tight against him, my feet dangling above the floor.  I am sure that I should have cared¡­ that some part of this was inappropriate, but I just really didn''t care. He was here and he was ok.  <novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    At the end of the day, that was all I needed.

    Switching his grip so he still held me in one arm, he reached around me to grab Wang Chao''s forearm.

    "Interesting dreams, huh," he said, looking at Wang Chao. The other man gripped his forearm in return and nodded his head.

    "Yeah, not wanting to go through that again," he replied. Liu Wei simply hummed in agreement and the three of us made our way over to the couch. Putting me in between them, Liu Wei sat down on my right and left the other side for Wang Chao.

    "So, that lightning trick is new," said Liu Wei with a chuckle, still with his arm around the small of my back. Whatever those two experienced in there was enough for them to need human contact afterward.

    "Yeah, she hasn''t stopped bitching about it, but it seems to be good," came the smug response from my right.

    "Good?!? Good?!? You have the power of lightning, gold, and fucking spirit. You, alone, after just two days, are stronger than most of the teams sent out for supplies. And you say it seems to be good?!?"  I think these men were set on my path by whatever fate there was to annoy me to death.

    "Then why don''t we go somece to see what type of power I got?" Asked Liu Wei, picking me up and walking out of the rec room.

    "You do know I have two perfectly good legs, right?  I can walk," I said, pointing out the obvious.

    "That''s nice.  I have two perfectly good arms and can carry you for as long as I want. If you have an issue with that, gain some weight," came the reply.

    I looked over Liu Wei''s shoulder to Wang Chao as he followed after us. "Ah, a little help here, big guy?" I asked, fully expecting Wang Chao to order him to let me down. He nodded his head and I thought we hade to an agreement.

    "If she gets too heavy, toss her over here," he said and Liu Wei nodded.

    So much for having my back¡­ stupid men¡­

    However, that didn''t stop the smile that started to spread on my face. I buried my face into Liu Wei''s neck, trying to hide my reaction.  By Wang Chao''s reaction, I don''t think I was that sessful.

    But you know what? Fuck it. Maybe for once, fate is on my side.

 Chapter 35 35

    ?

    Knowing that I wanted to take them to the back field near the base of the mountain, I looked around my toy barn. I think that it was very clear that I was only prepping for one. I would need to add a few more of the standard ATVs and maybe a luxury camper or two.

    Not like I was nning on leaving my paradise, but part of being prepared was being prepared for everything.

    The three of us stood in front of the small ATV that could technically hold four people, I shrugged.  "At least you two are close, I''m sure you two would be okay in the back as I drove," I said, chuckling at the look on their faces.

    If you were wondering, that suggestion did not go over well.

    Sighing, Wang Chao took out his cell phone and started texting someone.  I could only assume that His Royal Highness was putting in an order for more ATVs.  "There will be twelveing in about an hour."

    "Twelve?!?" I screeched. "As in a one and a two? Twelve? What on Earth do I need twelve of these things here?"

    Wang Chao shrugged his shoulders and Liu Wei started chuckling.  "Hey, at least you will have extras," he said, trying to find the silver lining.

    "Yeah, why don''t you put in a few orders for some of the luxury campers I''ve seen around and also figure out how to get me the gas to run everything."

    Silently, Wang Chao took out his phone again and started texting.

    "Wait," I said holding up my hand to him.  When he met my eyes I continued, "You know I''m joking right? I don''t need you to buy all this stuff for me. Besides, I am pretty sure you don''t really believe me about the end of the world. Superpowers aside."

    Wang Chao looked at Liu Wei and went back to typing quickly on his phone. I was put into a trance by how fast he could type. Luckily, Liu Wei knocked me out of it when he put his arm around the small of my back and led me outside the barn.

    "I think it is safe to say that we believe you about the oing apocalypse. And now that Wang Chao is feeling guilt for the first time in his life, take advantage of it.  Is there anything else that you need?"

    I looked at the man confused as we stopped in the same clearing where I had lost control of my blue me for the first time.  "What is there to be feeling guilty of? And guilt does not require him to spend millions of dors on me."

    Liu Wei chuckled. "Don''t worry about it, just ept it and make the man happy," he said, bringing me around to face him. "Now, onto important matters. How do I know if I have superpowers or not?"

    Nodding my head at the newest issue before me, I put the idea of campers and ATVs out of my head and stretched my neck. The snaps, crackles, and pops reminded me that although this body was only 20 years old, I was almost 45 years old. I think there might be a warranty issue in the body that contained a soul over the age of 30.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    But I digress.  Looking at Liu Wei, I took a deep breath. "There are 11 powers that can develop after taking the vine, and one of those isn''t really considered a power. Although everyone that I had met before only disyed one power, His Royal Highness over there has three, so we are going to have to do this a different way than the others did."

    "What kind of powers are there?" Liu Wei asked, intrigued.

    "There are the standard powers of earth, air, water fire. Pretty self-exnatory and the majority of power users have one of these.  Me, as I am sure that you are well aware of by now, am fire."  I held out my hand with the pink me and watched as it seemed to wave at Lui Wei.

    "From there, you have the less well-known ones. These include metal, lightning, and power.  I like to refer to the power users as the fighters as that is all they seem to like to do."

    "I can assume that with Wang Chao''s ball of lightning that he greeted me with a few minutes ago that one of his powers fall under lightning. What does power and metal mean?"

    "Metal is the ability to call and manipte any type of metal from iron to gold to titanium. I would say think along the lines of Magento, but you don''t know who that is. And His Royal Highness is also a metal user," I said, somewhat cranky that Wang Chao got two out of three of the middle bracket powers.

    "And a power user has super strength and stamina. In other words, they can fight for a very long time." I continued trying to think about what else the power users could do.

    "Then we have the top three most desired and legendary powers that less than three people ended up developingst time. Those are toxic, spirit, and healer. And before you ask¡­ HRH has also developed spirit as his third and final superpower and we will not be discussing exactly how we figured that one out."

    "Well, now I want to know more than ever now," said Liu Weiughing. "I assume that healer is somewhat self-exnatory, but what about the other two?"

    "Healers heal people''s injuries, they just can''t heal any damage caused by a zombie or any type of blood transfusions. Those with toxic powers, and I only met onest time, can poison people. Either to just cause difort or to cause death, or difort until death, they can inject a toxin into someone either through a liquid form or a gas. Wang Zi Mo could kill someone from miles away at his height and no one would be the wiser."

    "Then how did you know that it was him?" Asked Liu Wei confused.  By this time, Wang Chao had finished whatever he was doing and hade to join us.

    "I was beside him when he did it," I replied, closing my eyes and remembering the screams of the Asymptomatic as they were killed, not knowing what was going on.

    "So, he needs to die," said Wang Chao as he stopped beside me.

    "The world is a really shitty ce," I said, "But it would be a lot better without that man in it."

 Chapter 36 36

    ?

    "Alright, no point thinking about a dead man," said Liu Wei trying to lighten the mood. "Moving on to spirit, what exactly does that mean?"

    I quickly held up a hand, stopping Wang Chao from giving him firsthand experience with a spirit user. "Yes, yes, yes, you are all-powerful and all-knowing, but please keep it to yourself for right now.  We don''t need to traumatize Wei or me anymore than I have already been," I said, trying to stop whatever was going to happen between the two guys.

    "A spirit user has several advantages. They are psychic so they can read minds¡­ and no, I am not trying to think too much about that right now¡­ They can control time by making it stop for those that they want to and can use their voice tomand people¡­ or to entrap them in one way or another," I said, remembering exactly how we found out about that particr power. I wish it was because he stopped time, but I am not that lucky.

    Yes, he did read my mind on an asion that I would have preferred he didn''t. Then, based on what I was thinking, he changed his voice into this smooth, silky tone that held a low baritone quality to it as he said exactly what was on my mind at that particr point. Between the two powers, I was dly entrapped, wanting it all to just wash over me.

    Use your imagination cause I''m pretty sure that you are right, I am just not admitting jack-.

    And it is probably a good thing that he is not a womanizer, cause that power would be deadly in the wrong hands.

    "So, now that we got a general idea, let''s see what you got," I said to Liu Wei smiling. "Keep in mind that the power is literally part of your gic makeup, it is as much a part of you as your arms or legs. So, at first, you might need to concentrate on what you want to happen, and then, just like breathing, it will happen without a thought."

    We ran through the basic elements, starting with fire and earth. Things exploded when it came to air and water. Fucker.

    An hourter I was regretting every aspect of my life. I was making a formalint to whoever handed out gic powers. It was not fair that they both got three of them. Maybe I should take the vine and see if I could pick up another mutation or two.

    "No," interjected Wang Chao as he and Liu Wei were attempting to destroy my poor field all over again with their battle between lightning and air, and water. Cause yeah, Liu Wei''s control over air and water waspletely ridiculous.  Really not impressed right now.

    "No what?" I asked distracted about the benefits of taking the vine to level up.

    "You are not taking the vine just because you only have two powers. Technically isn''t having your own space a type of power?" He said as he continued to rain lightning down on his best friend. On a side note, power users don''t seem to react when hit with lightning. Huh.

    "My space seems different than those with the space power," I said as I watched the two. "Might have something to do with my transmigration. But for the most part, being a space user was not considered to be a power because they really couldn''t do anything with it. It was not offensive or defensive. You just put things in there instead of carrying them. In terms of powers it is so far down the totem pole that it isn''t even considered," I continued as I watched Liu Wei create a mini hurricane in his hands. For someone that just got their powers, Wang Chao and Liu Wei made me question a lot of things that I thought I knew. "And if any of my crops are destroyed by your ying, I will kill both of you in your sleep."<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Liu Wei immediately dissipated the hurricane-force winds and rain into nothing more than a spring breeze and a gentle mist to water the aforementioned crops. I might keep him around just for that. Not only would it save on the water bill, but I would be guaranteed better saturation as some of my crops needed less water than others.

    Wang Chao chuckled and put his hand on Liu Wei''s shoulder. "She is already nning on putting you to work watering her crops. I would run if I were you."

    Liu Wei smiled back at him and whatever he was thinking caused Wang Chao to wipe the smile off of his face. "I''m sure I can be useful too," he grumbled under his breath.

    I needed to remember that I had a mind reader around and act ordingly.  My brain was scary enough for me some days, I didn''t want to scare him off too.

    "No worries, Little One," he said, this time looking at me with a smirk of his own back on his face. "I don''t scare that easily."

    "Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever," I replied waving my hands in surrender.  "There are people at my gate. I assume that you had something to do with that?" I asked then my cell phone alerted me that there was someone at my front gate.

    At Wang Chao''s nod, I unlocked the still very much electronic locks to the front gate and let his men enter. The three of us made our way to the front to wait for them. "Regret selling this ce to me now?" I asked Wang Chao, curious.  I could never imagine wanting to part with this ce and I wondered if, now that he had spent more time here, he thought that too.

    "No," he said, his eyes locked on the long driveway. "Not even a little."

    I smiled and nodded my head happily at his response.  There was a small part of me that was worried about what would have happened if he had said yes.  Liu Wei let out a lowugh that did something to my insides¡­ not a great thing with the frigging mind reader beside me, but I couldn''t control my reactions.

    "I think he is very happy to have sold you this ce," he said, his voice low and husky as he came up behind me and put his arms around my waist, interlocking his fingers over my stomach. "After all, if we hadn''t sold it, then you would never have bought it, and life would be very much different."

    Liu Wei knew just how different their life would have been if they had never met her, and he would thank each and every deity that he needed to that this time around they found her¡­ before it was toote.

 Chapter 37 37

    Apparently, when Wang Chao wants something done, it gets done fast.

    This time there were six military supply vehiclesing down her driveway instead of the ten that Liu Wei brought. "I can have them bring more next time," said Wang Chao, looking down at her briefly in Liu Wie''s arms.

    "You can pretend that you are not eavesdropping in my mind any time now," I grumbled. "It''s not like I can return the favor. Maybe I should take the vine early. Do you have any more? I''ll have to be officially vinated, no matter what."

    "Yes, we have a few more vials of the vine if you are sure that you need to do it. No, I will not be stopping ''eavesdropping'' in your mind. I find it fascinating. And if you find it unfair, I can always let you know what is going on in Wei''s head."

    That caused me to snap to attention. Looking at the face right over my should I smirked at him. "Oh really? You can read his mind too?"

    "Don''t worry about him, Sweetheart," whispered Liu Wei, the gentle air from his breath causing goosebumps on my skin. "If you want to know what is on my mind, all you have to do is ask. I''ll be more than happy to tell you."

    Nope. That was a definite nope to that offer.

    "Smart," said Wang Chao, never taking his eyes off me and Liu Wei.

    When thetest convoy parked in my driveway, Wang Chao and Liu Wei went down to greet them, leaving me on the deck. Thinking that I had just about enough of this day and all the ''surprises'' that the guys have put me through, I went inside and closed the door behind me. They could figure everything out.

    "You got the stuff?" Asked Wang Chao as he approached his men standing at attention beside their vehicles.

    "Sir, yes, Sir," said the leader of this particr team, saluting. "The only thing that will take longer is the modifications requested for the luxury RVs. Because of the fact that they are considered to be under the luxury category, most of it is electric and is able to be linked to your phone. Given your requirements that there be nothing electrical, but still having the luxury ssification, it will take some time. They are also going to upgrade all of the exteriors to tungsten and install bulletproof ss on all the windows."

    Wang Chao nodded his head, happy with the arrangements. "What about the sleeping arrangements in each one?" Asked Liu Wei, looking at the man in front of him.

    Turning his attention to Liu Wei, the soldier replied. "Each one should hold a maximum of five people per RV. With the requested five RVs, there would be enough room for approximately 25 people, but that number can easily be doubled if needed."

    Liu Wei nodded his head. Looking over at Wang Chao he suggested, "Why don''t we get more than the five? Maybe closer to ten or fifteen?"

    Wang Chao nodded his head when he thought about the extra vehicles. Having too many would be much better than not having enough. "See that it is done," he said, turning to the soldier.

    He saluted again, and after putting the 12 ATVs in the toy barn, they left toplete their orders. Time would be tight to have all 15 done before the end of October, but whatever Wang Chao ordered would be done.

    Wang Chao and Liu Wei climbed the stair to the front door when Wang Chao turned to his friend. "You get to be the one to tell her that she is getting 15 RVs. After all, it was your idea¡­ I''m not taking the me."<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Liu Wei raised his eyebrows at his friend. "Why? Scared of a little girl?"

    Not willing to be provoked, Wang Chao simply opened the door and took a step into the house. "No sovereign takes bad news well, and I have decided I will not bow out. Besides, you are too far ahead of me, might as well knock you down a bit."

    Liu Wei chuckled. He hadn''t seen Wang Chao like this since before he took the mantle of head of the Wang family. Apparently, a little girl that was sent here by the whims of fate was exactly what they needed at this exact time.

    Maybe he would learn to pray¡­ or at least thank whatever deity brought her back for the third time.

    He shook his head and followed after Wang Chao, preparing himself for the bacsh of his friend''s decision.

    "Nope, nada, Het, nein, no," I said, shaking my head. "I do not need 15 RVs here. The gas alone will kill me." I continued, trying to make my point.

    "We can supply the gas," interjected Wang Chao, sitting at my kitchen ind.

    "When the EMP goes off, they are just going to be hunks of junk," I replied, listing some of the reasons why I didn''t want 15 of them here. One? Sure, I could handle one. Maybe go camping by the mountain for a night. But I was not going to leave Elysian Fields for anything¡­

    "We are having all the electronics reced. We just have to find a solution for the fridges and stoves," said Liu Wei, leaning against the counter in front of the sink. These two men were really making themselves at home this past week. My eyes narrowed as I thought about it.

    "Bring me the fridges and I should be able to do something," I grumbled. They were trying to do something nice for me, and I did appreciate it. I just wasn''t used to it. It would take a bit of time, but I knew that I would have to rx in some elements. Not step one, never step one.

    "What is step one?" Asked Wang Chao. "You think about it a lot, but never specify."

    "That''s because I know what step one is," I said, sticking out my tongue.

    I pulled out the paper with my steps written on them and tossed them onto the ind. Liu Wei, intrigued, took a step toward Wang Chao and picked up a piece of paper. Quickly reading it over, he handed it to Wang Chao and epted the paper that Wang Chao handed him.

    The efficiency between the two of them was really remarkable. But for some reason, I felt a bit vulnerable with my lists and steps on the table. I had told these men a lot about myself, including transmigration and rebirth, but I was nowhere as nervous as I was now.

    "Let them all die," muttered Liu Wei, looking at the paper. I don''t know what he was thinking about, but a look of intense hatred shed over his face. "I approve," he said, putting the paper back onto the counter. I quickly swiped them up and put them back into my space.

    I was not doing that again.

 Chapter 38 38

    ?

    "Does that mean that you have everything you need?" Asked Wang Chao as I put the lists back in my space.

    "No, there are a few other things that I need, but I am not sure how to get my hands on a bulk order of it," I replied, thinking about what else I could want.

    "Make another list, and color coordinate it in terms of priority. I''ll give it to my assistant and he will get it all done. We have a full two months and a few days left to figure out all the details. I''ll also send a shipment of weapons here," said Wang Chao looking over at his assistant.

    "I thought that the Old Man said that I could forget about getting my hands on your guns," I said, confused.  I was happy with what I got from Liu Wei and didn''t want to cause issues between Wang Chao and his grandfather.

    The look on Wang Chao''s face softened. "You let me deal with my grandfather. Just don''t ever let him hear you call him an old man."

    Iughed, not at all upset that I called him an old man out loud.  If he had been cute, I would have had no problems calling him Old Master, but part of putting myself first was not putting up with people that did not respect me.

    "Now, as much as I am sure we both would love to stay here for the next while, we are going to have to get going and prepare our own things," said Wang Chao standing up. I understood, but the idea of being alone after having them around so much made me feel¡­ upset.

    But whatever, step one. I am perfect on my own.

    "We''ll be back soon," said Liu Wei giving me a kiss on my forehead. He didn''t even have to read my mind to know what was going on in my head. "And in a few months, we are going to move in here and you won''t be able to get rid of us." He rubbed the top of my head and left the house first, letting Wang Chao say his own goodbyes.

    "He wasn''t kidding, all right? We''ll both be moving in on the 31st, make sure to have good rooms picked out for us," he said as he too, took a step towards me, this time giving me a kiss on my cheek. "And I will find a way to kill Zi Mo before he is vinated."

    I nodded my head, a sigh of relief passing through my lips. I don''t know what happened to them those two days they were suffering from the vine. I didn''t want to pry. But they had a new understanding since they came out and I could only appreciate it.

    "See you soon," I said, quietly acknowledging what they said and agreeing with it.

    I would just have to figure out where to put them once they moved in¡­. and would they bring their men?!?

    What the Hell was I getting myself into?!?

    Was it toote to go back to step one?

    -----

    Wang Chao walked into the living room of the Wang family manor and looked around.  This was the first time that he noticed how stifling the atmosphere was, how restrictive. It felt like something was wrapping around him and squeezing the life out of him.

    If he had never gone to Elysian Fields, had never lived with Li Dai Lu for the week, he might not have noticed the difference. But now that he has, he was no longerfortable here. After speaking to his grandfather he would pack up a bag and live in the apartment he shared with Liu Wei.

    Neither one of them spent much time in it so it should not be an issue for him to stay there for the two months left. Well, for the 71 days left.  Time was counting down, and now that he knew what he would be facing, he wanted to make sure that he was prepared.

    Given the fact that Li Dai Lu hadpletely outfitted 3,000 acres to survive the apocalypse, he would just add what he needed to her list and live there with her.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    A slight smile appeared on his face as he thought about the end of days. ''This might not be too bad,'' he thought to himself.  But first, he would have to deal with Zi Mo.

    Hearing the sound of a throat clearing, he turned towards it. Seeing the Old Master sitting in his chair, he bowed slightly to the man.  In his dreams, he saw how much the old man loved and cared for him. It was a side of his grandfather that he had never experienced before. Hopefully, this time around things would go better for everyone.

    But the only way to do that was to kill Wang Zi Mo.

    "Old Master," he said, his voice gruff and deep.

    Wang Yi Chen nodded his head in acknowledgment and gestured for him to have a seat.

    Taking the chair across from his grandfather, Wang Chao gotfortable and consciously turned off his power. He had a need that bordered on desperation to know what was going on in Li Dai Lu''s mind at all times¡­ his grandfather? Not so much.

    "How did things go in Country S?" He asked as if he knew what the answer was.

    "We will not be expanding there," replied Wang Chao. "It''s a waste of resources."

    The Old Master mmed his hand down on the armrest of his chair in anger. "Clearly you don''t respect me anymore if you are able to lie to my face like this," he yelled, his face turning red in anger.

    "How am I lying?" Asked Wang Chao, remaining impassive and emotionless.  The man that Li Dai Lu had seen for thest few days was nowhere to be found.

    "I have been informed that you never left City A, that you went to go see that¡­ thing¡­" said the Old Master.  The butler hurried over and tried to calm him down.

    "Second Young Master," the butler said, turning to Wang Chao after giving the Old Master a ss of water. "Just apologize and promise never to go there again. I''m sure that the Old Master would be more than happy to find a wife for you if that is what you want."

    Wang Chao dropped his head and looked at the ground.  In his dream, the Master seemed so upset when they lost contact with him. Before he thought that maybe his grandfather loved him more than he realized, but now, the Old Master was probably upset that he would be denied all of the advantages that Wang Chao gave him.

    After all, since the Old Master had passed the Wang Family Army onto him, they would no longer take his orders.

    "And who said that I didn''t go to Country S?" He asked, maintaining his indifference.

    "Does it matter?" Spat the Old Master as he tried to calm down. "It doesn''t change the fact that youpletely disregarded my authority when I said that you were to have nothing to do with her."

    "Yes, it matters," replied Wang Chao. "If it is one of my men then it is a death sentence. So, please, who informed you of my actions."

    "Wang Zi Mo. Not that it matters."

    "Oh, it matters, Old Master. It matters a lot."

 Chapter 39 39

    ?

    Wang Chao sat across from the man that raised him, whom he respected more than anyone else, except for maybe Liu Wei, and just looked at him.

    The Old Master''s hair was long past grey and had turned white in his old age.  Although he did not look like he was 74 years old, it was clear from the lines etched into his face that during his time in the military and as head of the Wang family, the years were not kind to him.

    Maybe that was why he could no longer see what was in front of him. It was not until everyone died in his dream that his grandfather finally woke up to see what a snake Zi Mo was.

    "It matters, Old Master, because Wang Zi Mo should never tell the location of the head of this family to anyone. You wouldn''t give away the location of a superior in the military, would you?"

    "Of course not! But those are twopletely septate things! You are changing the subject.  If you want a woman so badly that you are willing to settle, then I will have you married tomorrow," threatened the old man as he took out his cell phone as if he was going to make a call and find him a wife.

    Wang Chao looked up at his grandfather from under his brows. "You can try, old man," said Wang Chao, appreciating Li Dai Lu''s nickname for the Old Master.  Seeing his grandfather''s face changing colors like a mood ring made him raise his eyebrows.  He never knew that the Old Master was so sensitive in his old age.

    Years ago he would have just pped him upside the head for daring to speak like that to him, now he was acting as if this was the greatest insult ever delivered.  Wang Chao had originally been worried about moving in with Liu Wei and Li Dai Lu, that he might regret not being with his grandfather when the apocalypse came. He was relieved that he no longer felt that way.

    "Wang Zi Mo has been stealing money from Phoenix Conglomerate for the past few years to the excess of 20 million dors."

    "Why are you being so fussy? It''s his money too, he also has the Wang surname," said the Old Master, waving his hand like stealing 20 million dors from apany was nothing.

    "Fussy¡­" replied Wang Chao. "Okay, then shall we hand over everything to Wang Zi Mo? Would that be more in line with your thinking?"

    "Stop being so superfluous. As the oldest Young Master, if he wanted thepany and all that it entailed, he would have had it by now," said the Old Master, putting thest nail in the coffin between him and Wang Chao.

    Wang Chao did not flinch, did not react in any way. He just looked at his grandfather, memorizing him as he was now.  "I understand.  And if he kills Wang Shu Lan, Zhang Hui Fen, and Wang Zi Hao? What then?"

    "That doesn''t matter because that will never happen."

    Wang Chao nodded his head and stood up.  "I understand. Please excuse me. There are some issues to attend to and Liu Wei and I will be staying in the apartment closer to work."

    After saying his peace, he went and packed a bag of only what he considered essential. He had no ns to return to this manor after tonight. Anything that he forgot could just be purchased.

    Leaving the manor, he made a quick call to his older sister. "Shu Lan?"

    "Yes?" She replied, surprised that Wang Chao would be calling her. She rarely heard from her family unless it was something important.

    "How are you and Zhang Hui Fen doing?"

    "We are doing very well," Shu Lan said, even more confused.  She looked at the man sitting beside her on the couch of their living room.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "That''s good. I will not be returning to the manor any time soon and I suggest you do the same.  If you need me, I''ll send you my address."

    Silence met Wang Chao''s statement.

    "Is everything ok, little brother? If you need anything, you know you can talk to me.  I might not want to take over the industry, but I can temporarily step in if you need help."

    Her reply made thest few minutes fade away. He might not have the closest rtionship with his sister, but he knew she would always be there for him. "I know, and I''m fine.  There are going to be a few upsetsing in the next few months, so you should prepare. And if you want, I can give you the address of a friend who I will be living with starting in November."

    "I see," replied Shu Lan. She didn''t know what was going on with him, but she would support him however she could.

    "And Shu Lan?" Wang Chao started, not sure how he should put this, "If Wang Zi Mo and Wang Zi Hao want to meet you¡­ even if grandfather wants to meet you¡­ tell them no. If you can''t tell them no,e get me. Don''t go there alone. Do you understand me?"

    Shu Lan closed her eyes and leaned into theforting embrace of her fianc¨¦. "And if they ask for me and Hui Fan?"

    The sigh on the other end of the phone was her answer. "A viper has taken over the nest. Do not go there or even meet up with them unless I am with you. Even if Hui Fen is with you, wait for me."

    "That bad?" She asked. Growing up in a family like hers, she knew that the mour that was on the surface was in no way, shape, or form what it looked like under it.

    "Much, much worse. And the Old Master has refused to believe anything."

    "Understood, I''ll warn Hui Fen too, just in case they try to go through him."

    "That would be for the best," said Wang Chao pulling up to the apartment building. The raising of his eyebrows was the only sign that he was surprised to see Liu Wei pulling up too.

    "Understood. And little brother?"

    Wang Chao hummed in response and waved at Liu Wei.

    "Thanks for the heads up."

    "Of course, big sister. You are my family."

    "Always," she replied before hanging up the phone.  She didn''t know what was going on, but she would start to prepare, just in case Wang Chao got in over his head.

 Chapter 40 40

    ?

    ''Apparently, Elysian Fields was some type of paradise,'' thought Liu Wei as he looked down and his ringing cell phone. ''As soon as I left, shit managed to hit the fan.''

    "Hello," he said, waiting for whoever had called him to respond.  He had just made it back to his private apartment and was sitting on the couch when his phone started ringing.  At first, it was his grandfather, but when Liu Wei didn''t pick it up, the next person to call was Wu Bai Hee. If he didn''t answer his grandfather, there was no way that he would answer it for Wu Bai Hee.

    When he saw her name pop up, he paused for a second.  Wu Bai Hee was the woman that his family had chosen for him to marry.  She was the eldest daughter of the leader of the ck Mountain Syndicate and their families had been pushing marriage as a way of strengthening the ties between the two¡­ groups. In City H, where he was from, this type of arrangement was very typical for... those in his situation.

    As the eldest, and the one that was supposed to have taken over after his father had died, the marriage between Liu Wei and Wu Bai Hee would have made sense.  However, he had chosen to follow a more¡­ legitimate path, which included serving his country in the military. Since his syndicate had ties with the government as well as the underground, this was easy to aplish. The fact that his brother was willing to step in with the other side of the coin made the brothers pretty much unstoppable in any situation.

    Besides, if marrying Wu Bai Hee left a bad taste in his mouth before, it was nothingpared to the physical disgust he felt towards her now. Having met Li Dai Lu, Liu Wei could not imagine touching anyone else, or even being touched by them.

    It was one thing, not knowing the possibilities, to survive in a marriage like his parents. But to enter into a contract like that where he would never be able to rx, or just be him? He would much rather just kill her and be done with it.

    He sighed when his phone rang for a third time.  This time it was his younger brother. Remembering how he looked in his dream, and how desperate he was to find him, Liu Wei couldn''t help but answer the phone.

    "Heads up, Yu Xuan," came the rough voice from the other end of the phone. Liu Wei hummed in acknowledgment, his head resting against the back of the couch, his eyes closed.  From Heaven to Hell in only two hours. He chuckled to himself, counting the days until he could go back there permanently.

    "What now?" Liu Wei asked. "And call me Wei. Yu Xuan was a lifetime ago."

    "I don''t care what the fuck you call yourself. You are my older brother and will therefore be addressed as Yu Xuan.  If you have an issue with that,e down here and solve it."

    The smile on Liu Wei''s face was genuine, one that he only showed a small group of people.  His brother being one of them. "Yes, yes, yes. You are the big scary enforcer. Now, why are you calling?"

    There was a brief silence on the phone before Liu Yu Zeng spoke again.  "You are different," he said, not sure about the change.

    "Things are different.  I''ll exin it to youter. Now, why are you calling?"

    "ck Mountain is making waves.  They are insisting that you hurry up ande back home. Wu Bai Hee is also pushing for the marriage to happen."

    "And just who are they to try and insist anything from the Red Dragons? Have you be so soft that just anyone can walk all over you?"

    Liu Yu Zeng scoffed. "Grandfather is insisting on the marriage. He wants it done by December."

    "December, huh? A lot of things can happen between now and December," said Liu Wei slowly, opening his eyes and looking around the room.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Liu Yu Zeng hummed, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with that statement. "And a lot of things will stay the same," he replied.

    "Very true. But if I might be able to make a suggestion to the Enforcer of the Red Dragon?"

    "Haha, very funny. Why don''t youe down and take over as head? Then you wouldn''t have to ask for favors from a lowly enforcer."

    "I am being serious, Zeng. You need to take the next month and weed people out.  Anyone that is not blindly loyal to our family will need to go. Anyone who is on the fence or you have questioned them before¡­kill them. I don''t care if our numbers go from the thousands to ten. If they are not loyal to YOU and only you. Kill them."

    "Grandfather won''t like that. A lot of people that you just mentioned are on his side," said Liu Yu Zeng, pointing out the holes in the n.  He might be a hothead when the situation warranted it, but the man also knew when to back off and think. That trait was what made him one of the best enforcers in the world.

    "At this point in time, I am not going to care about what grandfather likes or doesn''t like. I will have more instructions for youter but keep me informed about everything going on.  I might not want to be head, but there are a lot of thingsing down the pipe from the government and we will need to be prepared," said Liu Wei as he got up and started packing. He would go to the apartment that he shared with Wang Chao. This one felt too suffocating being in here alone.

    "Another raid?" Asked Liu Yu Zeng, not sure what was going on but knew that his brother was on edge about something.

    "A raid would be a lot easier than what is expected to happen."

    "Can you give me any more details?"

    "Not right now. This line is not secured enough. But remember, only keep those around you that arepletely loyal to you."

    "Understood. And your marriage?"

    "Tell grandfather that if he wants the alliance so bad, he has my blessing to marry Wu Bai Hee himself. But there is no way that I will be going through with it."

    "What changed?"

    "The world." With that, Liu Yu Xuan, otherwise known as Liu Wei, hung up the phone and left his apartment. The world had changed. His world. And before the apocalypse came, he would do his best to protect his brother and the two people he now considered family.

    The rest of the world could go to hell. Step one was not just for Li Dai Lu.

 Chapter 41 41

    ?

    Time moved fast when there seemed to be an invisible clock counting down. I had given Liu Wei the rest of my lists at the end of August and it was already approaching the end of September.  We had one month left before shit hit the fan and I was absolutely determined to be stocked up, ready, and hunkered down by Halloween¡­ did this ce even have Halloween?

    Anyways¡­ it''s not like I was going to have a lot of trick-or-treaters all the way out here... right??

    The boys have slowly been dropping things off as they get them.  I had all 15 RVs here, sitting in various barns.  I put in an order with Liu Wie to get more barns built, so he has had men working around the clock here to get another 8 barns built as well as some smaller cabins in the woods and at the base of the mountain.

    I was slowly bing ustomed to having people around. I think that it is a lot like kids. They are cute when you can give them back, but not as much when they were underfoot all the time.  As soon as the work was done, the workers left and I was back to being alone.

    Back in my first life, I had read a poem called "No Man is an Ind," and the first time I read it, Ipletely agreed. People need other people around in order to be able to survive and thrive. I had the same mentality for my second, but once I was reborn again, I decided that I would try being an ind, away from everyone else, dependent only on myself.

    It took me almost a year to realize that I could be an ind, but I wouldn''t be happy. So I will be an ind with a bridge, and security, and guards with big guns¡­ only letting in those that I wanted.

    I was still in line with my steps, and I was happy.

    I had to go back to the city to grab some things that I didn''t want to put on Liu Wei''s list¡­ *cough¡­ tampons and pads¡­cough* as well as some more first aid supplies.  I had my list and my locations all mapped out¡­ what could possibly go wrong?!?

    Remember how I said fate hated me?

    I had finished buying everything that I needed tost me at least 10 years¡­ including some reusable products that were bing popr¡­ yes, we were trying to save the and destroy humanity all in the same year! Go us! But I figured that they would be good to have on hand, especially since it made more sense.  No store carried a 10-year supply of menstrual products¡­ sometimes a girl had to be inventive.

    So I was quickly filling up my day SUV when I was surrounded by ck cars. Men poured out of them like it was a B-grade movie and proceed to pull out their guns and point them at my head and chest... in broad daylight. Seriously people?!? The apocalypse isn''t happening for a month and people were pulling out guns in the middle of the day.

    See, fate hated me¡­ this was why I never leave my ranch.

    I reached into my pocket and grabbed my cell phone.  Pressing one, I put the phone on speaker and took my hand back out.  Let''s see if I had put my trust in the right men.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Hello, gentlemen, is there something I can do for you?" I asked, holding my hands out in front of my chest to show that I didn''t have a gun or a weapon on me.  Without saying a word they pushed me into a cked-out SUV and put a bag over my head.  I have to say, I was a bit offended.

    ------

    Liu Wei was sitting next to Wang Chao at the head of the boardroom table.  It was an annual meeting about the profits and losses for eachpany within the conglomerate and any uing projects that the heads would want money for in the next year.

    Knowing that in a month, none of this mattered, Wang Chao and Liu Wei were not impressed having to spend a day listening to old men arguing about who needed more money and why. However, appearances had to be maintained, and the Old Master would be even more suspicious if this meeting did not take ce.

    Urban Paradise Real Estate was currently at the front of the room, presenting their record sales for the year.  They were easy to deal with because they really did not need money from Phoenix, they just wanted to be under the banner of one of the strongestpanies in all of Country K.

    When Liu Wei''s phone went off, it startled almost everyone in the room.  Excusing himself from the room, Liu Wei answered the call. "Hey, Sweetheart," he said, a smile on his face when he saw the caller ID.  The smile dropped a fraction when there was no response.

    "You know, we could have kept this civil," he heard the voice of the woman he considered family. His back straightened and he ran his fingers through his hair.  He could feel his temper raise and the air around him started to circle him gently.

    "Is the hood really necessary? It''s not like I can see out of the windows of this SUV. And where the Hell are we going? I really don''t appreciate this type of treatment."

    "Shut up," came a voice that Liu Wei recognized.  The next sound he heard, he also recognized. It was the sound of someone being knocked unconscious.

    Turning back and entering the boardroom, Liu Wei put his phone between his ear and shoulder, grabbed Wang Chao''s from off the table, and walked back out.

    "Dismissed," growled Wang Chao as he stood up and stormed out of the room after Liu Wei. He managed to get a brief glimpse of what was going on through Liu Wei''s mind, but it was whirling so fast that he wasn''t able to get everything.

    He understood enough; Li Dai Lu was in trouble, and it was someone from his family that was the problem. That was fine. Once he got his hand on them, they would no longer be a problem.

 Chapter 42 42 [Bonus ]

    ?

    I think that as much as I had steps to surviving the apocalypse, viins had steps on how to be bad guys.  "Seriously?" I groaned as the hood was pulled from my head and I saw myself in an abandoned warehouse.  "Is there some type of handbook that says all kidnapped victims had to be held in an abandoned warehouse? Can I vote for a five-star hotel? I think I would prefer that more."

    The backhand that snapped my head to the left was probably a ''no''¡­ but I had to try. Like my teachers always said... there was no harm in asking.

    I couldn''t decide if they were professionals, or not.  They hadn''t searched me for weapons and my cell phone was still in my pocket, hopefully with a connection to Liu Wei. I was pushed into a chair and my hands were roughly tied behind my back with a rope.

    I was still on the fence about their professional credibility when it came to kidnapping.

    And then, once they had determined me to bepletely helpless, they opened the door and a figure in a three-piece suit walked into the open area. With the light shining behind him, I couldn''t see who it was, but it was definitely a guy.

    "You are a very interesting girl," came the smooth voice from the darkness. I stiffened and then forced myself to rx.  I was not that girl that he once controlled. I still had the chance to kill him before the vine hits the shelves and he bes invincible.

    "Awe, all this for little old me? I''m touched Wang Zi Mo¡­or do you prefer Colin? I can''t seem to remember," I said, looking at the man I once considered my best friend, the man that I was obsessed with.  I wasn''t able to connect that Colin could have a space and earth power while Zi Mo was toxic, but after seeing Wang Chao and Liu Wei with their three powers, I had to rethink a lot of things.

    "Ah, you know me?" He asked as his men brought a chair out for him and put it in front of me.

    "I do, your cousin speaks very highly of you," I said with a smile on my face. I could feel my body heating up as the twin mes inside me rose to the edge.

    "Somehow, I doubt that. But enough about me, let''s talk about you."

    "By all means, I am an open book. But I have a question first; how did the name Coline about?"

    "Colin? It is easier to deal with Foreigners if you also have a foreign name.  Colin Wang is much easier for them to remember and say than Wang Zi Mo."

    I nodded my head in understanding. It was amon practice, not limited to business. "Thank you for answering my question," I said, my manners on full disy. I worked very hard in my first life to perfect my manners and etiquette; I figured if I went back in time, they would be useful. Not so much in this timeline.

    "You are very wee," he responded, his manners also reflecting a third-generation heir. "Now, can you please exin to me exactly why Wang Chao and Liu Wei are so interested in you?" He asked.  Such a polite tone for such a tasteless question.

    "No idea, may I suggest that you kidnap them and ask them? It seems pointless asking me. After all, I''m not a mind reader."

    Wang Zi Mo chuckled. "Ah, a sense of humor. Maybe that is why they keep you around and spend millions of dors on you."

    I threw my head back andughed. "If you had done any research, you would have realized that, while they have more money than me, I have more than enough to buy whatever the fuck I want."<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    His eyes narrowed on my face. He always hated it when peopleughed, especially at him. It was like nails on a chalkboard as far as he was concerned. Might as well have some fun with him before I set this ce on fire. "But you were never that good at doing research, were you Colin?" I asked, fully knowing the answer.  I didn''t know him before the end of the world, but I could assume that he didn''t regress after the gene enhancement. He always needed me to do the legwork. I remember tracking down groups of people, thinking that I was helping them, and he took the information and sent the zombies to kill them off.

    The mes inside me continued to flicker restlessly just under my skin, and I could feel one burn through the ropes holding me to the chair.  As they snapped and fell to the floor, I brought my hand around to my front and rubbed my wrists. "Next time you decide to kidnap someone, might I suggest a five-star hotel? Four stars at the very least? If we have to put up with you for any length of time, we should at least bepensated, don''t you think?"

    No one seemed to react to the fact that I was no longer tied up, they must think that they had the upper hand. Too bad for them¡­

    Crossing my legs in front of me and putting my hands in myp, I mimicked his posture. "What do you really want to know? Because I am pretty sure that you are not letting me out of this ce, right?" I said, tilting my head.

    This man had never kept anyone alive if he had the chance to kill them.

    "Ah, a smart woman," he chuckled. The sound that I once did anything for, now turned my blood to ice. "What are they up to?"

    Once againughing at him, I looked him calmly in the eye. "Preparing for theing apocalypse. What? They didn''t tell you?"

    Now it was his and his men''s turn tough.  "You might want to keep that smart mouth of yours closed unless you are going to tell the truth," Zi Mo said looking at me. "Do you really expect me to believe that they are going through the ranks and killing off people¡­ my people¡­ simply because they think that the end of the world ising?"

    I didn''t respond, simply looked at Wang Zi Mo. If Wang Chao and Liu Wei were killing off people then maybe they too were following step one.

    "What? Does it bother you that they are killing people? Should I tell you how they have done it? The cruel methods that they used to torture men until they begged for death?"

    I chuckled over that thought.  Did he expect me to be horrified at what they were doing? People were going to die, hundreds, thousands, millions, maybe even billions.  A few less now, especially of his men, was not something that I was going to lose sleep over.

    "Did they stand at the top of a hill looking down at a hundred men, women, and children just waking up for the day? Starting their morning routines? Did they force others to watch, holding them against themselves so they couldn''t move, as a white mist, so fine it was hard to see, swept through the encampment killing all those people without a word? Is that what they did?"

    The trauma from that day still hunted my dreams.  I could feel his arm wrapped around my waist like a band of steel, his other hand holding my neck and chin so I couldn''t look away. I watched as a mother, holding her infant in her arms fell down dead, the child not even letting out a cry as it too, died.  The mist swept through everywhere, there was no safe ce. And not a sound was made as those poor people just fell where they stood.

    I swallowed back the bile as my stomach threatened to rebel. I closed my eyes for a moment before snapping them open again, looking at the man that I once thought I could fall in love with, and start a family with.  "No matter how many of your men they have killed, it is nothingpared to your body count," I said as the man in front of me just looked at me like I was crazy or something.

    Or something¡­

 Chapter 43 43 [Bonus ]

    ?

    There was silence after my words, like Wang Zi Mo didn''t know how to react or what to say.

    Technically, what I told him had not happened yet, might never happen in this timeline. But it did. And it was. And those people deserved revenge. They could no more help the fact that they were Asymptomatic than we could help the fact that we were power users. It was a throw of the dice, and they lost.

    That group in particr was a lot more peaceful than the other Asymptomatic that roamed around trying to kill as many zombies and power users that they could.

    I took a deep breath and wished that Liu Wei and Wang Chao was here.  I didn''t know what to do next.  Would I kill the man that I hated more than life itself and change the very future? Or would I keep him alive because he was Wang Chao''s cousin?

    "We are on our way, Sweetheart," said a voiceing from my pocket. Never breaking eye contact with the man in front of me, I reached into my pants and took out the phone.

    "I''m in a bit of a mood, Wei Wei," I said, hoping that he would understand.

    "Not a problem, little girl, you do what you need to do. We should be there in 5 minutes if you can hold on.  If you can''t, we will be there to clean up the mess." This time, Wang Chao''s voice came out from the speaker.  Wang Zi Mo''s eyes widened as he started at my phone like it had just turned into a snake and was about to bite him.

    I closed my eyes,pletely rxing. I did not put my faith in the wrong men this time. "If you need me to wait, I can. But I need to be the one to kill him," I said to Wang Chao.

    "Kill me?!? Kill me! You do not have the ability to kill me, little girl, and Wang Chao, you need the old man''s permission to do it and you don''t!" Yelled Wang Zi Mo, starting to be a bit unhinged. His men raised their guns a fraction higher, ready to shoot me the moment Wang Zi Mo gave the order.  "Kill her!" He screamed.

    I surrounded myself in my blue me and stretched it outwards to epass the bullets far away from me. I knew that the copper bullets would melt at just over 1,000 degrees and my blue me was 3,000 degrees. The biggest problem would be that the bullets would still explode, and I could still be hurt.

    I was about to drop to the floor when time seemed to stop. There was an eery quiet as all noised stopped.  I turned to look at the entrance of the warehouse and saw the silhouettes of two men walking towards me. Their men waiting at the entrance.

    "Are you ok?" Asked Wang Chao as he took my arm and looked me up and down, checking me over for injuries.

    "Sure, I guess," I said, somewhat confused about everything. "What''s going on?" I continued, my hand gesturing to the teeny tiny fireworks going on, with me at their center.  If he wasn''t here, if he didn''te for me, I would have been killed.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Just my luck, I survive the apocalypse and human hunting sharks only to be killed by a few bullets.

    "I am not sure how long its going to stay like this, so do you mind if we move a few things around and then leave?" Asked Liu Wei, already drawing my away from the frozen exploding bullets. When he determined that I was a safe enough distance away¡­ which apparently the front door surrounded by his men, he returned to the ring of fire and pulled Wang Zi Mo into the center of the bullets.

    After he and Wang Chao also go to a safe distance, Wang Chao waved his hands and time continued as normal. The scream of absolute anguish pierced the air as Wang Zi Mo was gunned down in a ze of bullets, by his own men.  The only thing that would have made it more satisfying would be if he were eaten by his zombie horde instead.

    Liu Wei turned to look at the men behind the three of us. "How did Wang Zi Mo die?" He asked in a deceptively soft voice.

    "He was gunned down by his own men in an abandoned warehouse," the leader responded.  When he received Liu Wei''s nod of approval, they saluted and as if one, turned around and left the warehouse.  Wang Chao and I continued to watch the show in front of us as the guards, realizing that they had killed their own boss.

    I should feel bad, I should feel some type of remorse for what I was going to do next, but I just couldn''t bring myself to care.

    "I''ve got no more fucks to give, my fucks have all run dry," I hummed to myself as I felt Liu Weie up behind me and put his arm around my waist. "I yed by all the rules but I''ve very rarely won¡­" As I continued to sing one of the greatest songs of all time by Thomas Wild, mes begin to dance up my hands and arms.

    I could only assume that their heat was not hurting either on of the guys as they continued to stand with me as I finished this final bow to my old life. I would not let Colin haunt me anymore and all of his victims, including myself, will be avenged. I raised my arms up to the ceiling as if I was doing a sun salutation. As I brought the ball of pink and blue mes to my chest, I threw it out to the stunned guards.  Within a matter of minutes, there was nothing left of the men or of Wang Zi Mo, my mes burning them to ashes within a matter of seconds.

    "Will you get into trouble?" I asked, looking at Wang Chao.  He shook his head and raised my left hand to give me a gentle kiss on the wrist. "How can I be in trouble? His guards killed him and now no one can find a body.  Hardly my fault, they weren''t even my men.  He was training his own army."

    I nodded in understanding.  It still felt weird to me that the most powerful families in Country K had their own private militia. But then again, having your own military force will be very beneficial in theing days.

    Maybe I had it wrong, maybe the wealthy had always been nning for the apocalypse. Who was I to judge.

 Chapter 44 44

    ?

    There was a weird sense of emptiness when I burned Wang Zi Mo to ashes. In no way am I saying that I killed the man, his own men did that for me just fine with help from Wang Chao or Liu Wei. I originally wanted to kill him, but why would I give him that power over me? Why would I give him MORE power over me? I burnt that man to dust, and not even a zombie coulde back from that. I was satisfied.

    But the biggest hurdle of my second life has now been dealt with, so what do I do now? Where do I go from here? I was feeling lost and confused.  In most novels, it takes like a thousand chapters before they get their revenge¡­ if they even remember their revenge by then.

    I was sitting in the back seat of Wang Chao''s SUV, looking out the window, just thinking. Colin was the boogeyman that I once considered my best friend.  You know those rtionships where it starts out perfect? He said all the right things, never pressured you, and everything just seems effortless. That was how it was for the first little while. He was always by my side, this rich man with all the best connections, the CEO type that all the web novels talked about¡­ and he was interested in me.

    There was never one day for two years where he did not call me beautiful, orpliment my intelligence, or marveled at something that I had done.  He thought I was a Normal and that, when push came to shove, I would turn to him to save me. And I desperately wanted that too.  I wanted a prince toe and save me from the world¡­ what girl didn''t want that?

    Then came the smallments, "We should try and save more humans, do you think that you would know where to find them?" And like the good little puppy dog I was, I went out and looked for more humans while he stayed at mypound. When I got back I would get a pet on the head and a soft, "Good girl," in that smooth, seductive voice of his.

    I was willingly doing whatever he wanted because I was so desperate not to be alone anymore. It had taken me two lifetimes to find a man that looked at me like he did. But as much as he drew me in, he also left me at arm''s length. Everyone thought that we were a couple, and I wanted that, but not once did he touch me more than just a pet on my head. Not one hug, one kiss on the forehead, not even a brief moment where he held my hand, none of that happened, yet I still chased after him.

    The killing started so subtly that at first, I never really paid attention. asionally someone in the camp would eat something bad and die from it.  But when you were eating food that was years past expiry, you would expect it, right? The fact that the ones who died were those that did not support Colin waspletely a coincidence. It was not until the Asymptomatic camp that I realized what type of man I considered my friend, that I wanted to be my lover. But by then, it was toote, I was already too far into his trap that I couldn''t escape.

    I never thought he would kill me though, I thought that I had made myself useful enough to be kept around. I didn''t want to die any more than the rest of them did. But at some point in time, your usefulness wears away and there was always someone, waiting, to take your ce. I am sure that I was not the only pet he had. I just never noticed anything but the world he created for me.

    I could feel the tears quietly roll down my cheek and fall into myp. I closed my eyes and let my feelings wash over me.

    "Are you crying over that bastard?" Asked Liu Wei as he turned around from the front passenger seat and looked at me.

    I shook my head and wiped my face, trying to pull myself back together. "No, I''m not crying for him. Thousands of lives have been saved now that he is dead," I said, sitting up straight and rolling my shoulders back.

    "Then why are you crying?" Asked Wang Chao looking at the road in front of him, but I could feel his attention on me.

    "You mean you can''t read my mind to find out?" I snipped with a half smile. How many rtionships could have been saved if the guy could read his girlfriend''s mind? Or in this case, how many ufortable conversations did I not have to have if he could just read my mind instead?<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "No," was his short answer. I am sure that he was able to expand on that in some way but the frigger decided not to.

    "Stop deflecting and answer the question," said Liu Wei, his eyes never leaving my face.

    "I am not crying for him. I am crying for me. I was more than happy toe back here, to kill him and save all those people that he killed, but what about me?"

    "What do you mean?" Asked Wang Chao. He had changed directions from where I knew my car was to somewhere else, but I didn''t care.

    "I found the people he killed, I looked the other way, I helped him. If it wasn''t for me, he never would have found most of his victims and never would have been able to feed some of them to the horde. It is my fault that this happened."

    "No, Sweetheart, it is not your fault," said Liu Wei, his voice practically purring. "You were as much his victim as anyone else." A part of me knew that; I understood that I was his victim, but it would take me some time to deal with my survivor''s guilt. But I was not going to be able to do that in the back seat of this car before we got to God knows where.

    Just then, apletely new thought entered my mind¡­ Now that my revenge has been taken care of, did that mean that I was starting the apocalypse onpletely new footing? My eyebrows raised at that thought.  With Colin dead, I waspletely free and the future would be changed. I was liking that idea more and more.

    It was¡­h¡­ knowing exactly what would happen and when. Like you were living the same days over and over again. Of course, there were some surprises¡­ the two men in front of my being the biggest ones¡­ but for the most part, it was still the constant cycle that I had during the end of time. I got up, I went out and got supplies and I came back to apound thinking of what more I needed.

    But now, the future stretched in front of me filled with countless possibilities.

    I straightened my back again and this time a genuine smile appeared on my face. A future with countless possibilities, a new attitude, and new friends. I would grab a hold of this life and do things my way. Fuck that shit, fuck Colin or whatever his name was, and fuck those that would stand in my way.

    I was a bad bitch in my head and I was going to bring her out. I would own that shit!

    Just as soon as I found out where the hell we were going.

 Chapter 45 45 [Bonus ]

    ?

    It turned out that we were heading toward downtown City A where all the expensive condos were. The first andst time that I had been here, the ce looked vastly different. The Riverside area that I remembered from myst life was old and run down with graffiti written all over the outside of the buildings. There were chain-link fences that ran up the buildings, even those with more than 30 floors. The smell of unwashed bodies and despair filled the air. It was considered to be one of the most desirable safe zones in this area that the average person could go to. Mind you, the rich still had their gatedmunities and their own men to guard them day and night.

    What I saw in front of me was nothing like that. I looked out the front window of the SUV as Wang Chao waved at the security officer as he opened the gates that lead to the condos. Huh, I had always assumed that those gates were installed after the end of the world.

    But the view, the view would have been enough for the old me to die for. There were about four high-rises built with pristine white exteriors so beautiful that I had no idea how they did it. They stood strong and majestic, like they knew that they housed the cream of the crop of City A. There were parks with ygrounds and walking paths. Flowers grew along the banks of the only river that cut through the city. This ce would have been a paradise for people and I could see why so many people flocked here after the zombies appeared.

    Wang Chao drove into an underground parking lot in Building 2 and turned off the engine. "I take it we should sell the ce and move?" He chuckled, clearly back to reading my mind. Liu Wei looked between us before he spoke.

    "I take it that this is not a great ce to live in after November?"

    "If it were me, I would sell this ce as fast as possible and use the money to buy more supplies," I said, shrugging my shoulders. "But I am kind of narrow-minded when ites to getting money and supplies."

    "Is money still used?" Liu Wei asked. "I''ve been trying to read some of those novels online and there seems to be a new currency put in ce."

    "Money is still used, it''s just that anything that was in your bank ount would have been lost. So the truly rich people are the ones that hid their money under their mattresses," I said, thinking about what I knew.

    "What you are telling me, is that money is still important to people," said Wang Chao, already trying to figure out how he can use that information to his advantage.

    "Yes, money is still extremely important. But when a moldy bun costs $20.00, you learn quickly that money is only worth what you are willing to spend it on."

    "People would pay that much for moldy bread?!?" Asked Liu Wei, his eyes wide with shock.

    I nodded my head. "Yup. And when that green and white bun the size of your hand is the only thing that you have had to eat for a week, then you are willing to pay whatever they want."

    "Supply and demand," said Wang Chao as he escorted me into the elevator.

    "And that''s how you became a CEO," Iughed at him.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Something like that," he replied.

    ----

    I spent the evening at the guy''s ce before they drove me home. I guess they thought that I could use thepany¡­ and they were right. Talking andughing with them over dinner and wine allowed me to forget about what had happened earlier. Buting home to my ranch alone brought everything rushing back.

    I put my key into the front door and stared off into space. I had seen my day SUV in the driveway and I could only assume that one of the guys got one of their men to drop it off. I paused at that thought¡­ was that like saying ''I''ll get my people to call your people''?

    I shook my head and walked into my massive house. Shutting the door behind me, I leaned against it and sank to the floor. The quiet was too quiet. It made me remember too many things. I cupped my hands over my ears hoping that I could get rid of the quiet that way, but it didn''t help.

    I was about to turn on music, or the tv, or anything when I heard the soft meowing from my feet. Looking down I saw the little puffball of a ck kitten that I hadn''t seen in months. "So, you know toe home, huh?" I said, standing up. I picked up the meowing bundle and brought it to the kitchen. I had added cat food to my list of demands and Liu Wei provided me with a wide variety of hard and soft food.

    "Let''s see what you are interested in," I said to Hades as I put him on top of the ind counter. One of my foster sisters would have shit a brick to find a cat on the kitchen counter, but it never bothered me too much. That was why you washed it before you did your cooking.

    I filled up a small silver bowl of hard food and mushed some of the soft food onto a te to make it easier for him to eat. "For your dining pleasure, you have your choice of Kitty Chow, or a tuna and white fish blend served pate style with gravy."

    I chuckled to myself. Good thing that I discovered that silence, while I love it most of the time, might just drive me crazy too. Wishing that the guys were here, I watched Hades eat the tuna pate,pletely ignoring the hard food.

    I was startled when I heard the chime of a text messageing in. Picking up my phone I saw that it was from Liu Wei. ''Moving up the timeline. We''ll be moving there in 5 days. Make sure our rooms are prepared.''

    Smiling, I sent him the eye-rolling emoji and went back to watching the kitten eating. So far, this like was working out better than she expected.

    Too bad men could seriously fuck things up when they wanted to.

 Chapter 46 46

    ?

    The guys moved onto the ranch and into my house on October 5th, 2120 and I was ready to kill them by October 6th. As I suspected, they did not move in alone, as they promised me. Oh no, these men had to bring their own men.

    Now I realized why Liu Wei wanted to build the extra cabins and barns out back.  Storage for supplies my ass. So the house that I once bitch about being too quiet was now taken over by more than a hundred men. And they were really not so quiet. Even when they tried to be. If I was not in a bitchy mood, I would fully admit that I didn''t have to worry about anything when it came to those men. They were highly trained soldiers and acted like it.

    They didn''t walk through my fields; they were very polite when they needed toe into the house for any reason.  Really, they acted much better than anyone I had taken into the oldpound.  But so many men.  And not a single woman!  I had asked Liu Wei about it and he just shrugged, "Wasn''t interested."

    I wasn''t sure how to take that statement, but then I realized that I would not have been happy to be questioned on my decisions, why should I question him?

    Besides, no women on the teams meant no catfights either¡­ which was really nice. Not to say that having women together led to catfights... they just tended to ur on a more frequent basis. I''m sure that women would fit in on the teams and be as useful as the men...

    But the problem with women was that we werepetitive. Wepete for everything and anything and could not stand when someone else had something that we didn''t. Seriously, even if we didn''t want it, it was still ours. I might not be in a rtionship with Liu Wei or Wang Chao, but they were mine¡­ have another woman thinking otherwise was a death sentence¡­ for them.

    Or maybe I should consider that as territorial more thanpetitive? Whatever it was, women had it in spades.

    Don''t get me wrong, it''s not like women could not get along together, but there had to be special circumstances for that to happen.

    I couldn''t think of any off the top of my head, but I''m sure that there were.

    But it seemed that even when men had their issues with each other, after working it out, it was over and done with.

    The other problem with women? Things were never done with a woman.

    Ever.

    Look at me, I came back from the dead just because someone pissed me off.

    But that was neither here nor there.  The men were under my guys¡­the guys¡­ you know who I mean, and they left me alone¡­ for the most part.

    This was one of those days, though, when they reminded me of their presence in a grand way.  I don''t know what they did when it was time to train every day, but I swore to god that the entire house shook with it.

    I was hiding upstairs in my bedroom, needing some alone time, when I heard a knock on my door.  Yelling at whoever it was toe in, I poked my head out of the cocoon that I had built for myself.  Seeing that it was Wang Chao and Liu Wei I turned my back to them and grumbled under my breath.  "You have exactly 24 days to get whatever else you need to feed and house all those men. Don''t be stealing from my supplies to do it."<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Of course, Sweetheart, we have all that under control. They are going to take the area in the back by the mountains and once everything is set up, we won''t even notice them there. And just think... free patrols by people that have been trained to do it," said Liu Weiing to sit down next to me.  I supposed he had a point. Unlike at the Phoenix Compound, these men were highly trained. Fine, they could stay.

    "We have a surprise for you, little girl," said Wang Chao in a voice that sent shivers up my back.

    My head peaked out again, wondering what the surprise could be. Every time they offered me a surprise, it was always something good. More weapons, more food, more everything.  I was starting to really like surprises.

    I quickly untangled myself from my cocoon, and sat up, crossing my legs.  I''m sure that if I was a puppy my tail would be wagging uncontrobly behind me. Luckily¡­ I was not¡­ but that didn''t stop me from vibrating. "What''s my surprise?" I asked, looking around. Not seeing anything, I gave them a suspicious side-eye. "Where''s my surprise?"

    Wang Chao took out a small box from where he had hidden it behind him.  Sitting on the other side of my bed from Liu Wei, he handed me the box.

    "Too big for a ring," I smirked. "Definitely not something sparkly¡­"

    "Stop guessing and just open it," said Liu Wei as he leaned against my headboard and gotfortable.

    I opened the box and looked down at the syringeying on a bed of fabric in front of me. The vines had been rolling out across the country for the past seven days, but we had agreed that anyone that would be staying at the ranch would take the vine at the ranch so we could monitor them.

    But the name on the needle was not the same brand that they were giving out to the citizens of Country K. "This is thest one that we took from Country M," said Wang Chao and he tooid against the headboard. They looked like they weren''t going anywhere, anytime soon.

    "It''s your turn, Sweetheart, and we will be here every second of it," promised Liu Wei as he sat forward and gently took the box from my hands.

    I pulled off my hoodie¡­ no judging¡­ I was alone in my room and ready for bed. Hoodie, a sports bra, and sweatpants were mandatory. The fuzzy socks, not so much, but when I was in the mood forfort, the fuzzy socks came out.

    I held out my left arm to Liu Wei as he prepared to give me the vine that would change my life, again. I wouldn''te out a zombie since I already had the firepower and was gically predisposed to be a power user, but still, my heart pounded as I looked at Wang Chao, panic and something else sweeping across my face.

    "We''ll be here the whole time," he said, echoing Liu Wei''s words. He put the palm of his hand on my cheek and gently caressed me with his thumb.  I stared deep into his eyes as Liu Wei injected me with the Vine.

    I continued to hold his eyes until the pain took over my body and I cked out.

 Chapter 47 47 [Bonus ]

    ?

    "Do you think she is alright?" Asked Liu Wei for the hundredth time, the concern evident in his voice.  He brushed her bangs out of her face, marveling at how smooth they were, how soft her skin was. He couldn''t seem to want to stop touching her. Wang Chao shifted from where he sat on her right side, her hand tucked firmly in his oversized one.

    He never knew how small she was, how fragile... until he saw her like this¡­

    They never left the room after Li Dai Lu was given the vine. If there were questions or things to be addressed, they either did it from the room or they would take turns leaving. They put the troop leaders in charge of gathering supplies, both from the lists that they came up with as well as the things that they could remember from her lists. That way, when she woke up, she would not feel like she was behind schedule.

    But in thest 5 days, she was not left alone for a single minute.

    That right there was the biggest worry. When everyone else had taken the vine, even he and Lui Wei, it had been 48 hours of tossing and turning, of nightmares and fevers¡­ but with her? Nothing¡­ not a single thing.

    In fact, they had to install an oxygen and heart rate monitor on her in order to be assured that she was still alive. Her breathing was shallow, her breaths few and far in between. And when she did breathe, they could barely see her chest rise.

    She had the stillness of death with only a brief glimpse of life, like a single candle flickering in the darkness.

    "She will be fine," said Wang Chao, not epting any other oue. Even if she turned, he would join her horde just to stay by her side. "She is special."

    "That''s what I mean," said Liu Wei, deep in thought. "She is so special that it could be considered a miracle that she is even here with us right now," he continued, his wordsing out slowly, like if he said his worries out loud then they woulde true. "But what if this vine or whatever is reacting in her, sends her back to her world and the one that we are left with is the Li Dai Lu from City A?"

    Wang Chao paused as if he never considered that before. She confessed to him that she had transmigrated when Liu Wei was undergoing his vine, but it never bothered him. If zombies coulde to life from a vine and an EMP take out the world as they knew it, why couldn''t she transmigrate from one world to another? To be reborn again after that?

    But if this vine killed her, or sent her back to where they couldn''t reach her?

    He thought about it for a few minutes before he opened his mouth and spoke. "If the woman who wakes up is not our little girl, we kill her or kick her out of Elysian Fields.  But I will not have someone walking around in her body not being her."

    "Technically that body isn''t hers to begin with," replied Liu Wei, his eyes closed as he thought about a future without her.

    "I licked it, it''s mine," came a whispered croak from between the two men.  Startled, they looked down to see the most beautiful blue eyes that they had ever seen. "I''m serious, I licked it, it''s mine¡­ no takebacks."

    Wang Chao nodded his head inplete seriousness. "You are correct, you licked it, it''s yours," he said as if he had made a monumental business decision and everyone in City A had to obey it.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    She let out a tired smile before falling asleep again. But this time, the men were more rxed. They climbed under the covers beside her and the three of them fell asleep for a much-needed nap.

    -----

    In her dreams, all Li Dai Lu could remember was being alone inplete darkness, not knowing which way was up or down.

    Combined with the darkness, there was utter silence. At first, it wasforting, knowing that she was alone and didn''t have to worry about anyone or anything.  But then the silence turned deafening. She still liked the darkness, the ability to just float in ce, with no sense of urgency to do something, but then she started to hum, just to break up the quiet.

    Humming worked for a while, but as soon as she stopped, the quiet came back with a vengeance.

    Then she noticed something else¡­ it started at her toes¡­ the fingertips of the darkness iming her toes for itself. She was impassive as she saw her toes disappear into the darkness. There was a pause, as if the darkness was testing her reaction, and then her fingertips also started to go from pink at the tips to ck. She watched in detached fascination as the darkness went from her nails to her first knuckle, to her thumb¡­ as if she was slowly cing her hands in a body of water and watching it go beneath the surface.

    The darkness continued its movement, up from her feet to her ankles, to her legs, from her hands to her wrists, to her arms. As much as it started out slowly, it sped up,pletely engulfing her in its embrace. She opened her mouth to scream or to take one final breath, she didn''t know. But as soon as she did, it was like she opened the gates and all of the darkness was able to slide into her body through her mouth until there was nothing left.

    Even the darkness inside of the space was sucked into her, her body absorbing everything.

    When she opened her eyes again, she was at the edge of a forest, looking down at a city that she had never seen before. It was on the banks of a body of water, probably by the seaside or something like that. The buildings that must have made up the downtown core had mostly copsed, although there were a few still left standing.  It looked like a bomb or something had gone off.  Even this far away, she could hear the screams of people dying, could actually feel their lives slipping away.

    Then she heard them, the voices of men that she recognized.

    Looking further, past the buildings to the streets below, she could see her men standing in a circle of their men. All around them, as far as the eye could see, was another sea of light blue and purple.

    Screaming in rage, she felt her blue mee to life and wrap itself around the pink me as if to protect it. As her pink and blue mes bound together tighter and tighter, they created a light purple me that she had never seen before. As her newvender me shot out, she could feel the life force of every living creature around her, from her men to the zombies to the very earth itself.

    And that was when she woke up, the dream fading into the background as she saw her guys staring down at her.

 Chapter 48 48

    ?

    I thought that I was supposed to dream, but I don''t remember anything that happened after getting the injection and the wave of pain that apanied it. There was absolutely nothing.

    And I was fine with not remembering what happened to me. I know the boys suffered from nightmares for two full days and I know how different they were afterward.  I thought that maybe I could get some memories from this body during the process, but nope, nada.

    Want to know what I really was not impressed with? Knowing that I was knocked out for five (5!!) days. It was already the evening of October 12th and only 19 days left before everything changed.

    I was lucky that the boys made sure that their men were still getting supplies. They even got storage tanks for gas and Wang Chao reinforced them tost longer.  I don''t know who the genius was, but someone even managed to get their hands on a gas stabilizer to keep the gas good for longer than 6 months.  If I had known how productive they were, I would have got them onboard long before this.

    The three of us were sitting cuddled up on the couch talking about what still needed to be done, the tv on in the background, when Liu Wei''s phone went off. Not bothering to remove his arm from where it wrapped around my shoulders, he answered it.

    "Hello?" He said in azy manner, not bothering to look at who was actually calling.

    "Heads up, Big Brother, you got iing," came the voice from the other end. I tilted my head and looked at the man beside me. Big brother? Liu Wei had siblings? What the Hell! How didn''t I know that? Now I felt like a crappy friend.

    The hand that Wang Chao had draped over myp squeezed my thigh as if to tell me not to worry. I knew the man couldn''t control the mind reading yet, and to be honest, that was to be expected, so I wasn''t too upset over it anymore.

    But wait¡­ ''heads up''?

    "Could you try speaking English for once, Yu Zeng?" Grumbled Liu Wei as he tried to getfortable again. If he knew that it was his brother he probably wouldn''t have answered.

    "Grandfather and Wu Bai Hee are going to be driving up to see you in the next few weeks. I can''t talk them out of it."

    "Understood, keep me updated as much as you can. You are not going to want to be wandering around after November 1st."

    "I know, I know," said the sarcastic voice. "Not like you''ll tell me why."

    "Have you dealt with the men?" Asked Liu Wei.

    "For the most part. Some when underground when they found out what we were doing."

    Liu Wei nodded his head like he understood. "And when is your vine appointment?"

    "The 18th."

    "Don''t let them keep you in the hospital for any reason. Get to a safe ce and lock yourself in a room.  Make sure the men do the same."

    "I know, you''ve mentioned it a few times," said the voice, this time in an exasperated manner.  I couldn''t help but chuckle when I heard it.  "There''s someone beside you?" It now snapped, clearly taking afront that I was here.

    Liu Wei hummed in agreement and looked at me with one of his smirks before saying, "Your sister-inw."  Rolling my eyes at his overly done joke, I turned my attention back to the tv.

    Their men have been calling me sister-inw since they moved in. The fact that the joke was getting old made me annoyed, but there was now no way that I would let anyone else have the title.  <novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Women being territorial and all that.

    There was dead silence on the other end of the phone for a few minutes before Liu Wei hung up. He turned his attention back to the tv as if hanging up the phone was the end of everything.  I hear a deep chuckle from Wang Chao but chose to ignore him.

    "So, you have a brother?" I asked, pretending like the tv was the most interesting thing right now.  News sh, it wasn''t¡­ and neither was his brother.

    "Yup," Liu Wei said answering my question. When he didn''t continue, I wondered if he knew how close to death he was¡­

    "He has no idea," said Wang Chao, the smirk on his face and the look of challenge that he gave when he looked at Liu Wei made me roll my eyes in exasperation. Boys

    "You want to know about my brother?" Liu Wei asked surprised, like me wanting to know anything about him waspletely out of left field.

    "Sure," I said, setting him up for a trap.  Let''s see if he would jump in or not.

    "Not much to tell. He is my younger brother by about three years, we didn''t really grow up together, but he is handling some of my businesses in City H while I am here in City A."

    I nodded my understanding and then opened my mouth. "And you have a sister? Or whatever you call a female cousin here?" A look of pure confusion crossed his face as he looked at me, trying to figure out who I was talking about.

    "No, no female rtives.  Just my grandfather and my younger brother."

    "Great, another grandfather, is he as pleasant as the Old Master?" I asked, my voice filled with sarcasm.

    "Yeah?" He said, still unsure about where everything was going. "I mean, they are friends."

    "Great, just perfect," I muttered to myself.  Thest thing I needed was another old man like Wang Yi Chen. "Then, if you don''t have any female rtives, who is Wu Bai Hee?"

    Silence filled the rec room as both Wang Chao and I looked at Liu Wei, the smirk never leaving Wang Chao''s face.

    "Yes, Liu Wei, who exactly is Wu Bai Hee and why is sheing to visit you?" He asked, waiting for his friend to shoot himself in the foot.

    "My ex-fianc¨¦?" Liu Wei said slowly like he just realized that he was in trouble.  I nodded my head at that and removed his arm from around me.

    "Does she know that she is the ex-fianc¨¦?" I asked, not overly impressed with him right now.

    "She should, but she refuses to acknowledge it. I have refused the marriage countless of times, I even went so far as to tell Grandfather that if he wanted her as part of the family then he could marry her himself.  Even Yu Zeng has refused to marry her," said Liu Wei, frantically trying to dig himself out of the hole he managed to put himself in.

    "Well, I guess we''ll see when they get here, won''t we?" I said as I stood up and looked down at the two men. "But until then, hands to yourself. You too, Wang Chao, there better not be womening out of the woodwork for you either."

 Chapter 49 49 [Bonus ]

    ?

    Wang Chao held up his hands inplete innocence. "Nope, unlike him, I don''t have any childhood engagements," he said in a reassuring manner.  The look on his face, when he turned his gaze to Liu Wei, made me want tough, but I needed to hold it in.

    "Childhood engagement? No wonder she thinks that you are hers," I said also looking at Liu Wei.

    "Nope, I have maybe seen her once when I was 9 and that was thest time. I will not marry her and I don''t want anything to do with her."

    I hummed, whether in agreement and understanding or with disapproval, I would let him try to figure it out. I left the room and went to bed.  There would be enough things to figure out in theing days¡­ screwing with Liu Wei''s mind was just a short diversion.

    If he seriously thought that I would take a step back for some girl that I didn''t know, simply because his family arranged something for the two of them, then he didn''t understand me.

    Don''t get me wrong, I would never ever step between him and a girl that he was in love with or even liked. I might not be happy, but I would be able to pretend well enough that he would never know how I felt.  But that was not the case, so her thoughts and feelings really didn''t matter to me. And if she got too much in my way? Step one always came into y.

    -----

    Another two weeks had passed with everyone trying to get whatever they wanted and needed and the ranch was preparing to hunker down for the foreseeable future.  We didn''t hear anything from Yu Zeng, so we had assumed that everything was fine on that end and they decided not toe for a visit.

    We devised a ssroom of sorts in the basement where I was giving lessons of a sort on the zombies; what they were, how they could be killed, their weaknesses, and the progress of humans at the end of days.  It took me a while to be able to exin the Normalcy Bias and the great effect that it had on the first few days after the EMP when off. They couldn''t understand that it took a normal person at least two to three days after shit hit the fan for them to realize that no one wasing to save them or that things won''t just return to the way they were before.  It affected more than 70% of the poption and so, the other 30% took full advantage and started taking supplies almost immediately after the EMP went off.

    Once the majority of the poption realized that things would not be going back to normal, most of the supplies that they needed to survive were long gone by the time they went to look for them.

    The cities didn''t go to pot because the zombies decided to blow up buildings or break windows or crash cars into the side of houses. That was all the humans doing.  In fact, I''m pretty sure that the zombies stood off to the side and smiled their creepy smiles as humans killed and destroyed almost everything around them.

    At least I was dealing with men trained in the military so they were used to seeing the worst of humanity and could understand what I was trying to tell them.  All those scenes of cities after the apocalypse, the destruction, the destion, all of it was caused by humans. Whenw and order fell, so too did humanity and social norms.

    But it is easier to me it on the zombies, I guess.

    The ranch wasing along better than I could have ever thought or have done on my own. All my little rabbit holes were well hidden from the outside and locked securely in a non-electronic way on the inside.

    I stood outside of my front door looking at the ce I had considered paradise since the first moment I saw it and sighed. It was October 28th, three days to go, and I had aplished everything I wanted and more in the year that I had to get ready. I would live happily here in my Elysian Fields and not deal with the rest of the world outside my gates.  Everything was absolutely perfect.

    Until the fucker known as Liu Wei answered his phone and my entire world came crashing down in mes.

    Really, men were more of a pain than they were worth.

    -----

    I could feel him slowlying out from the front door behind me, cautiously approaching like I was a ticking time bomb ready to kill him.  I looked over my shoulder at his expression andughed in his face. I turned to him to see what he was going to say or do to warrant that look.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "What''s with that look? Everything is ready and we have three days before life as we know it changes.  We should be celebrating! Why do you look like I am going to kill you?" I asked as I watched Wang Chaoe out behind him, pushing him out of the way to put his arms around me from behind.

    I looked at both men, bing confused.  What was going on? We were all prepared, literally anything and everything I could think of was already here at the ranch.  What was I missing?

    "I just got off the phone with Yu Zeng," said Liu Wei, looking at me from behind his sses.

    "Okay, and?" I asked, not sure where this was going.  We had warned him as best as we could without saying ''The end of the world ising; you might want to prepare''. So what was the matter with him calling?

    "He called to let me know that he, Grandfather, Wu Bai Hee, and a few of his men were on their way up here." His words stopped and he looked at me like he was expecting to connect the dots.

    "Ok? Why?" I asked, still not sure how this was going to involve me.

    "They did not want to take a ne, so they are driving."

    "Just spit it out, I am really not understanding what is going on," I snapped and Wang Chao squeezed his arms that were around me as if to make me remember that he was there.

    "City H is at least a week of driving from here."

    "You are not doing yourself any favors," I growled, still not understanding why he was looking at me like he just killed Hades.

    "They are going to be driving when the EMP goes off and the zombies and humans are released from the hospitals."

    Ok, I was now starting to understand what he was concerned about but I still didn''t see why it was our problem. They were the ones that decided to leave now, even when we warned Yu Zeng that it would be a bad idea.

    Liu Wei closed his eyes like the next words out of his mouth would be the hardest that he ever said.

    "I cannot leave them out there to deal with everything alone.  Wang Chao and I are going to take some men and leave tomorrow in the hopes that we might catch up to them.  We want you toe."

    "What?" I said, looking at him like I had never seen him before. "You want me toe? But why? I made this ce so I wouldn''t have to leave it and you are asking me to do just that days before the apocalypsees and we are hunted?"

    Liu Wie closed his eyes and nodded his head.

    Well, shit.

 Chapter 50 50

    ?

    I stared at the two men standing before me, not sure what to do or say.  The look on their faces spoke louder than words that they thought they knew what they were asking me¡­ but I don''t think that they actually did.

    I closed my eyes and tried to take a step forward, to head to my room and just be alone to process everything, but the steel beam around my waist stopped me. I looked over my shoulder to Wang Chao and then down to the arm that was wrapped around me. "Let me go," I said in a very calm voice.  I needed to think and I couldn''t do it with them around.

    I needed to break down¡­ and I couldn''t do that with them around.

    "Talk to us, little girl," came the gruff baritone voice of the man behind me.  I took a breath and pasted a big smile on my face.

    "It''s all good," I said in my normal voice, my normal answer when anyone asked me if I was okay in my previous lives. "I just need some time to think."

    Wang Chao''s arm let me go just in time for Liu Wei to step forward and pull me into his arms from the front. "You are not fooling anyone, Sweetheart. Talk to us," he said as he ced a gentle kiss on my forehead.

    I could feel my calm starting to slip at the way the two of them were acting. They had time to think about everything, time to n¡­ to figure out how to make things work¡­

    And yet, when they decided to inform me of their ''decision'' they just expected me to¡­ what¡­ply? Obey? I froze at that though as another one screamed through my head.  Did I just change one Colin for two? Was that what was happening? No! I couldn''t go through something like that again. I couldn''t.

    "Let go," I said, my voice taking on a frosty tone. It was so frosty that I could almost see the condensationing out of my mouth as the words formed. I felt cold starting to encase me, turning my body to ice. Liu Wei quickly dropped his arms as both men looked at me in confusion and concern.

    "Are you okay, Sweetheart?" Asked Liu Wei as he moved to step beside Wang Chao, giving me free ess to the front door. I didn''t bother to reply to him as I walked into the house, putting one foot in front of another.  Getting to my room, I locked the door behind me and just stood there, looking around.

    This was my paradise¡­ MINE¡­ the one ce that I could truly call my own¡­ it¡­ was¡­ mine! How dare they think that I would just get up and leave like all my hard work for the past year meant nothing, that the life that I was trying to build for myself meant nothing!

    I could feel the anger rising in me, I could feel the blinding rage as my thoughts started to spin and the memories of three lifetimes whipped through my head. Never had I ever felt like I had a home, a ce just for me.

    My vision turned white and I copsed to my knees and hung my head as I started to cry and scream and just let out all the emotions that I could feel.  Tilting my head back, I closed my eyes and screamed again.

    I could hear the pounding on the door behind me, but I ignored it.  No one cared about me, so why should I bother with them?  They just wanted to use me, to have me hunt down humans for sport, they would kill anyone and everyone just for fun¡­they were¡­they would¡­

    ''They are not Colin,'' a small voice inside my head said, and a breath of warmth touched my cheek, warming up my frozen body.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    ''But they could be,'' I argued back, not caring if I was going crazy talking to myself.

    ''But they are not,'' the voice said again, and this time I could feel more warmth surrounding me as if I was embraced by someone or something. ''You need to trust them. Don''t lock yourself away, don''t do that to yourself. Be strong¡­ take a step out into this new world and see just how strong you can be.''

    Still on my knees, my head hung, a small part of me wanted to listen to the voice. I knew it wouldn''t be healthy to lock myself away from everyone and everything. That I was making myself a prisoner in my own paradise. But at least I would be safe.

    ''But what is the point of being safe if you are not happy?'' Asked another small voice from inside. The longer that I listened to the two voices, the warmer I felt.

    ''We can keep you safe,'' said a third voice¡­ this one seemed colder than the other two, strong and determined. ''Go out there on your own terms. You want to be a badass, you want to own who you are? Go out and do it.''

    I took a deep breath and opened my eyes to look around my room. I gasped in surprise when I saw the whole roompletely encased in snow and ice¡­ icicles hung from my four-poster bed, the sheets covered with snow so that only brief glimpses of color could be seen. I was standing in the middle of an ice castle and I had not idea how that happened.

    I was brought out of my wonder as the door behind me started to shake with the force that the men were pounding on it.

    Taking a deep breath and looking around my room one more time, I stood up and opened the door. Looking at the two men on the other side with a rare look of panic on their faces like their world might have copsed, I gestured to them.

    "I think I got a new power," I shyly smiled, like my whole meltdown didn''t just happen.

    I was not happy to be leaving my paradise, but there was nothing to say that I couldn''te back here once we got Liu Wei''s family. They did say that they were only taking some of the men. There would be others here to protect this ce.

    But if I wanted a life on my own terms, I could not be the one to lock myself away. Part of wanting to be free was having actual freedom.

    I straightened my back as I waved my hand and the pink mes shot around the room, melting the ice and snow and drying everything. Once my room was back in order, I looked that the guys.

    "I will need some time to make lists and figure out what we need," I said as I brushed past the two men and walked downstairs to the kitchen.

    Ready or not, world, here Ie¡­ I hope you are prepared.

 Chapter 51 51 [Bonus ]

    ?

    I sat down at the kitchen ind and paused. Music¡­ why didn''t I think about music?!? I normally did my best thinking to music.  I would need to get my hands on whatever this world considered music.

    Liu Wei and Wang Chao entered the kitchen a few minutes after me and I turned to re at the men. "One of you, find a way for me to get my hands on music," I snapped, cranky that I had forgotten about music! That would have been a much simpler way of cutting through the silence than filling up my ce with people.

    Liu Wei pulled out his phone and started to work his magic. "Anything in particr?" He asked, looking at me, trying to figure out my mood.  Good luck with that Boyo, I was still trying to figure out my mood.

    "Not a clue. I didn''t have music in my second life, and I doubt that the music here is the same as it was back in my old world. Just get me everything you can get your hands on; pop, ssical, heavy metal, bluegrass¡­ I really don''t care. Just music."

    With his assignment in hand and me not attempting to kill him, Liu Wei quickly left the room to get what I asked for. "And if needed, something to y it on! And headphones!" I yelled after his retreating figure.

    He waved his hand as he quickly left the house.  A few minutester, I heard his car starting and then peeling out of the driveway.  I didn''t know what he had nned, but here''s hoping he could do what I needed him to do.

    "He''ll get it done, he is the best at this," said Wang Chao as he took the stool beside me and sat down.

    "He''s the best at getting music?" I asked, an eyebrow raised. Shaking my head, I took out the paper and pens from my space and got to work.

    "No, he''s the best at finding what is needed and bringing it back."

    "Let''s hope that extends to finding his family because this is not going to be easy," I grumbled, sorting through my memories about what I picked up and what was in my space or spread out around the ranch. "Tell him to add maps to that list of things I want ASAP," I grumbled.  Thinking that I was going to be staying here at the ranch, having maps on hand was not even a consideration.

    "Ok, maps," said Wang Chao as he took out his cell phone and started texting.  "What kind do you need?"

    "Every map and map book that he can get his hands on. From roads to city to country, whatever he can find, we need. It is rare to find a hard copy of a map. With everything on our phones, most people don''t bother with them anymore. But we won''t be able to ess GPS, so even if our cells aren''t fried, the map function will be useless," I exined, pulling out a purple pen and starting my list. "When are we leaving?"

    "Tomorrow," said Wang Chao and he turned his attention back to me.

    "Alright," I said, cracking my neck. I handed him another nk piece of paper and a red pen.

    "On that list, write suggestions on how to keep OUR electronic equipment safe.  I was nning on just throwing everything into my space, but that isn''t going to work now that I am not going to be here. You want me with you¡­ figure out how to keep my stuff safe in the meantime."

    Leaving him with that task, I continued going through everything that I would need to take and writing it down so I wouldn''t forget.  "And how many supplies do I need to leave for the men staying here?" I asked as an afterthought.

    "Enough for 75 men, but they do have their own supplies and can hunt in the mountain if needed," said Wang Chao and he got to work on his own list.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Nodding my head, I asked, "Anyone that can look after the fields and animals."  Wang Chao let out a grunt and I took that as a yes.

    "Alright," I said.

    Two hourster, it was just approaching noon, when I stood up and stretched. "I assume that you were smart enough to take care of the RVs the way that I would?" I asked, turning to look at the man that had not left my side.

    He nodded his head and took out a fresh piece of paper. "Ok, then we will need enough of the RVs to be able to house the majority of the forces that you want to bring. We''ll also take my day and night SUV, the off-roading ATVs¡­ we''ll put one in front of the convoy and another at the end.  I assume that you can handle that part."

    The smart man nodded his head and continued to write down everything that I was saying.  Watching him, a bonified prince of City A doing this just to make me feel more in control, I felt my shoulders rx. I could do this, and they would be at my side supporting me.

    Turning around, I left the kitchen and proceeded to go to the basement where my extended pantry, fridges, and freezers were located. With a wave of my arm, I took all the supplies into my space, leaving the food that was in the kitchen and the solder''s sections to those that were remaining.  As Wang Chao said, they could still hunt prey in the mountains.

    Leaving the house, I did the same to the smaller ATVs, only taking 5 just in case, and half of the weapons and ammo on the ranch.  I had not nned to take everything as the men staying back to look after my ce would need some way of defending it, but at the same time, I knew that we would need them more.

    I then went back into the house, with a faithful puppy dog following me, to collect the basic necessities and clothes that I would need for at least a year.  I was hoping to be gone for only a month and a half, but one thing I learned fast was never to assume that things would go the way you nned.

    If you had ns A, B, C, or even D¡­ make sure they had backup ns all the way down to Z.

    Hearing a soft meow, I reached down to pick up Hades.  "You want toe with me, Sweetie? Or are you going to stay here at home?"

    When the purring intensified and he started rubbing his head against my chin, I realized that I would have to grab all the cat food before we left. Chuckling to myself, I turned to Wang Chao, still holding the ck puffball in my arms.

    "When Liu Wei gets back with everything I asked for, we''ll figure out at least 6 different routes and then head out in the morning," I said with an assurance that I did not necessarily feel.

    Wang Chao grunted and looked down at his phone. "He should be back in the next three hours."

    I smiled and rubbed Hades against my face. "Alright then¡­ you go away, I''m going to take a nap until he is back."

    Giving me a quick kiss on the cheek, Wang Chao left my bedroom and I curled up under the covers and fell asleep, my mind still whirling about what I was going to do next.

 Chapter 52 52

    ?

    I was woken up by Wang Chao when Liu Wei got back.  I think they got the point about including me in on stuff because they hadn''t even opened any of the mapsid out on the dining room table. Pulling out my trusty paper and pens, I sat down at the head of the table and officially started this ''meeting''.

    "Do you have any idea what route they are taking?" I asked, opening up a map of the east side of Country K.  It was more detailed than a map of the whole country, but at the same time allowing me to see what actually stood between City A and City H.

    I knew that after the apocalypse, it would take roughly 6 months to travel from City A to City H, but because it would take so long, I never bothered to learn much about it. At least if Liu Wei''s family is heading up here, we should be able to meet them halfway. If they weren''t idiots¡­ the jury was still out on that.

    "I don''t. I have been trying to get a hold of Yu Zeng to try and see where they would go, but I haven''t been able to contact him," said Liu Wei, studying the maps intently in front of him.

    "And his phone GPS? Shouldn''t you be able to track him that way?" I asked, seeing the dazed look on his face.  From what I could see, the shortest route would have them going through 7 major cities, and the longest route could take them through the whole fucking country.

    "Because of the¡­ sensitivity¡­ of some of our businesses, Yu Zeng felt that they should turn off the GPS on all systems so no one could track them," replied Liu Wei, still studying the map.  I was beginning to think that he was less studying the map and more refusing to look at me.

    "Unless you are in the fucking mob, I don''t think that anyone''s businesses are too sensitive to not have a GPS on them."

    Silence greeted me at that statement and I had to close my eyes.  "Are you guys part of the mob?"

    "I wouldn''t say part of it," said Liu Wei, the most defensive that I had ever seen him to be.

    "I would say that here, in Country K, they are it," chimed in Wang Chao in the most unhelpful way possible.

    Liu Wei just turned and red at him, refusing to admit anything.  I sighed, willing to put it on the back burner.  Once November 1st came, the mob, organized crime, or whatever they wanted to call themselves was no longer really a thing. The services they supplied were no longer in demand, and with zombies and the rogue Asymptomatics, there was really no ce for them to be. They just carved out their own territory like the rest of us and stayed put.

    I didn''t know if I should tell him that orter¡­ but judging from the look on Wang Chao''s face, I would not have to be the one to tell him. Some days it sucked to be a spirit user, I am sure.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Wang Chao nodded his head in agreement. Agreement for what? I didn''t know¡­ and frankly, I didn''t care.

    "Ok¡­ then are there any cities or territories that are giving your brother problems or that they would be required to visit if passing through the area?" I asked, trying to put what I learned from the criminology sses to work. The best part of being a social worker was that if you took a wide variety of courses at university, the more likely you were to be sessful when you applied for a job in the future.  Criminology, Psychology, Sociology¡­ let''s just say I took a lot of the ologies.

    Liu Wei froze for an instant as he processed my words. "Since they were leaving City H, the only option for them to go would be through City G.  There is really nothing for us to worry about in that city as we control most of it¡­ so there would be two options from there.  City B is more important to us than City C as City B is more coastal, so a lot of the importse through there if they didn''te through City H."

    "So, what you are saying is that there is a better chance of them going to City B than City C," I said, marking the two routes in two different colors. "How long would they have to stay in City B? Is it like just a drive-through? Or would they have ''business'' to deal with?" I said business like I was a wise guy from a movie that I had seen one too many times.  I chuckled when neither one of them caught the reference.

    We spent at least an hour mapping out the two most likely routes that they could take, and then, just as the boyos were feelingfortable with their game n¡­ I threw a wrench in it.

    "Great! Now that we have what highway routes they took¡­ what backroad ways would they have gone without a car?" I said, leaning back in my chair and crossing my arms. When the two men looked at me like I had gone crazy I very, very politely reminded them, "An EMP goes off in 2 days, give or take, they will not have any vehicles working after that point and every major highway will be congested with cars that will not be able to move. You do remember that¡­ right?"

    Apparently, they did not, because it took them another 2 hours to figure out what walking routes they might have taken. I didn''t add that they might get lost a few times seeing as they would not have any maps on them orpasses to guide the way.

    By the time morning rolled around and there were two days left until the EMP struck, I was pretty sure that I had the guys rethinking their heroic rescue.  When they stuffed Hades and me into one of the middle RVs, I realized that they hadn''t and they were in for a very rude reality check.

    Hopefully, Yu Zeng would call in and give us some idea of a location. With more than 2,500km between City A and City H, and not knowing the route that they took, this was like looking for a zombie in a cornfield.

    But, at the end of the day, a small part of me (very, very small part) admired their dedication to family. The muchrger part was trying to figure out my own routes and strategies to ensure that me and mine made it through this little adventure with all of our heads and limbs attached.

 Chapter 53 53 [Bonus ]

    ?

    I sat forward in the passenger seat of the RV that I was put in, Liu Hong Tao was given the dubious honor of being my driver for the first stretch of this road trip. With no coffee and shit ton of candy, I doubted the boy''s definition of a road trip¡­ but I will admit to being in full bitch mode right now.

    I watched as the convoy drove through the gates of Elysian Fields and I closed my eyes as soon as I saw the forest that separated mynds from the view of the highway. I couldn''t even begin to guess what an average person would think when they saw a bunch of military trucks, 14 RVs, and SUVs driving down the road.  I just hoped that we wouldn''t be pulled over by any police.

    The sad part was the amount of vehicles and supplies I still had on hand in my space.  And I might have stolen a few of my livestock to house in the space as well. I was not going to go without anything that I wanted if I didn''t have to be.

    As we exited the woods and merged onto the highway, I closed my eyes and pretended to sleep. In actuality, I was thinking back to the beginning of the month and all the vines I had personally given out.

    I was not willing to test the boys'' powers on any new zombies, so everyone that received the vine had to deal with me on a one-on-one basis. Luckily, the majority of people came out just fine¡­ I didn''t tell them about power users or anything like that, there just wasn''t time to walk everyone through figuring out what they were. Battle was the best way to do that.

    Of the 248 men that Wang Chao and Liu Wei brought with them (250 including themselves¡­) only 50 turned into zombies in my basement.  Honestly, I was surprised by the high level of people that would either be Asymptomatic or a power user. But I would like to point out that even 200 men were more than the 2 that I was promised would move in with me.

    There were a few¡­ growing(?) pains that were a direct result of the vinations. I refused to allow the zombies to live whereas the guys thought that since they retained some memories, they would do just fine merging back in with the troops.

    Awe¡­ aren''t men just the stupidest sometimes? Bless their hearts¡­(Cue eye rolling)

    Blue zombies might be able to join a troop of zombies and power users¡­ they tended to be the strongest and most intelligent. The problem was that as loyal as they might be to Wang Chao and Liu Wei, they were not that loyal to each other.

    You think the boys understood that difference?

    Yeah, they really didn''t. I sighed out loud and stood up.  If I wasn''t stuck sitting down the whole time, then I was going to wander around this luxury RV and see what Hades was up to.  The next two days would be a race against time to try to get as far south as we could before the EMP went off and the end of the world came.

    ----

    The tension in the air was ptable when everyone woke up on the morning of November 1st. I had tried my best to prepare everyone, and thankfully, the majority of them listened to me. Stepping out of my RV and into the campground that the guys took over, I saw the two of them waiting for me.

    "Happy Day of the Apocalypse," I said, a big smile on my face. I would say that it was the same feeling of both relief and stress as waiting for your period toe. You didn''t want it toe, but at the same time, you just wanted it to hurry up and get here so you can move on with your life.

    The guys looked at me like I had gone crazy, but when they saw therge travel cup of coffee in my hands they understood my happiness.  How could you not be happy with coffee in the morning? The only thing that would make it better would be to have a double chocte doughnut with it, but beggars couldn''t be choosers.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Once we made it back home, I would experiment with some doughnut recipes and see if I coulde up with something that would satisfy that particr craving.

    Liu Wei stepped forward and gave me a gentle hug while the 120 some odd men prepared to leave the camp.  We would push forward as much as we could in the 10 hours we had before the EMP would hit.  I wanted to be off the road and hidden somewhere, preferably in the woods or a warehouse of some kind an hour beforehand.  I wanted to make sure that we had plenty of time to get everything stored away.

    I returned his hug, resting my head against his chest.  Turning so that my cheek was against his chest and I could still see Wang Chao I smiled at him. "Are you ready for the big day?" I asked. A part of me wondered if they truly believed that the world would end today or if they just got swept up in the tornado that was Li Dai Lu.

    Wang Chao leaned down to give me a kiss on my cheek and chuckled, "As ready as I''ll ever be," he said. "And more than the majority of the poption, that''s for sure."

    "Did you call your sister to warn her?" I asked, still looking at him. "You can send her to the ranch.  Since it is upied by your men, she should be safe there."

    "I''ll give her a call and let her know," said Wang Chao as he took his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed her number.  Walking away, his head down, it looked like the weight of the world was on his shoulders.

    "Is he going to be ok?" I asked, looking up at Liu Wei. He just gave me a sad smile.

    "He will be," he said, looking at his friend. "It is hard for him to not tell his grandfather, especially now that Wang Zi Mo is no longer a threat.  The Old Master took his death hard. He has barely said two words to Wang Chao since."

    I nodded as if I understood, but truth be told, I really didn''t. Growing up without a family and then the only person I considered family feeding me to the zombies, I didn''t much understand other people''s close ties with them. As far as I was concerned, sharing blood was no guarantee of loyalty. In fact, it might just be the opposite in some situations. You can expect those that share your blood to stab you in the back at any moment.

    "What about you?" I asked, "Have you heard anything from Yu Zeng?" Liu Wei shook his head, his eyes roaming over my face trying to get whateverfort he could out of me.

    "No, I have tried calling him a few times, but nothing."

    "Have you tried calling your grandfather or Wu Bai Hee?" I asked. At his surprised look, I disentangled myself from his arms and pushed him away.  "See if you can get a hold of anyone. At this point in time, even Wu Bai Hee would be useful if she could tell you where they were and where they are going."

    Liu Wei left quickly, his phone to his ear.  I took a moment to take a sip of my coffee and marveled at the organized chaos that was in front of me.  Now to figure out how to keep them all alive.  Any suggestions? Anyone?

    Yeah, I didn''t have any either.

 Chapter 54 54

    ?

    08:00 am ¨C T  -9 hours and counting.

    We were back on the road as soon as the boys had made their phone calls. Surprise, surprise, Wu Bai Hee managed to answer the phone on the first ring and give us their general itinerary. She refused to hand the phone over to Liu Yu Zeng, so Liu Wei was not able to get any type of details.  All we knew was that they were making their way to City B and they were hoping to be on the highway by 1 pm.

    Great, just great! Let''s do that.  Even if the zombies don''t appear today (it does take them some time to get out of the medical facilities), when the EMP strikes, it will be bumper-to-bumper cars and plenty of raging drivers.  Just peachy.

    A normal drive from City A to City B would be about 10 hours¡­ but I wanted to be off the highway and in a safe ce in 8 hours, so to say that the boys were pushing the speed of the convoy was an understatement.  I didn''t even pretend that I was okay with it, so I hid in my bunk with Hades and just closed my eyes, hoping that we wouldn''t die before the end of the world¡­

    Cause you know, that would suck.

    12:00 pm- T  -5 hours and counting.

    I don''t think that I had ever been more impressed to see a group of men manage to cook and eat lunch in less than 20 minutes.  But I guess, when you were either in the military or trained in the military, you were used to not having that long of a lunch break.

    Me? I wanted to go to a restaurant and eat. You know, because they would not be around much longer, but the soup and sandwiches that we ate at lunch would be there for us for the rest of our lives.  But as much as I wanted toin, I could understand the need to hurry. We had a ticking clock hanging over the top of our heads and not enough time in the world to get to where we needed to be before it turned to 0.

    I fed Hades some soft food and let him run around the park for the 20 minutes it took everyone else to eat.  I couldn''t see Wang Chao, but he had mentioned that he needed to run an errand and would catch up to uster.

    Lunch was done and we were back on the road, getting closer and closer to City B.

    15:00 pm-  T  -2 hours and counting.

    I had found out that the important errand that Wang Chao had to go on was to raid all of the fast food joints and bakeries around the park that the rest of us were eating in.  Coming back with an SUV filled with all the food I could possibly want (and a storage space to keep it fresh) I was in tears with the offering.  More than the guns or anything else that he could have given me¡­ this was perfection.

    Sitting down in my bunkbed, I happily unwrapped a huge hamburger and started munching on it, not caring about the sauce or the lettuce that fell out. I would get thatter. For right now, I would enjoy this little taste of heaven.

    I guess it did pay to have a friend that could read your mind.  Smiling, I went back to my meal and let the rest of the men worry about the drive.

    16:00 pm-  T  -1 hour and counting.

    I had done some research on my phone while scarfing down as many fries as I possibly could and realized that with a poption of 27 million people, trying to find 3 people plus their men would be a bit hard.  But as far as I was concerned; not my circus, not my monkeys¡­ Liu Wei and Wang Chao could figure that part out themselves.

    16:30 pm-  T  -30 minutes and counting.

    I know that I had given the boys more time on the highway.  It wouldn''t take me an hour to put away all of the vehicles and everything else that needed to go into my space when the timer went off, and I knew that the closer we could get to City B, the better.  <novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Liu Wei was constantly on the phone with Wu Bai Hee, demanding updates and to speak to his brother.  I can''t say that I was impressed with the whole situation, but I was trying¡­ not to go into a murderous rage every time he mentioned her name¡­ really I was trying.

    I wasn''t seeding, but I was trying.

    I saw Liu Wei walking towards me from where we had pulled off of the highway and onto the shoulder of the road.  It was not afortable feeling to be sure, but I was willing to let the boys take the lead.  As long as it didn''t kill me.

    "They are off the highway and at our house in City B," said Liu Wei as soon as Wang Chao joined up.

    "Well, that''s good I guess," I said, trying to suppress the uneasy feeling that was crawling up and down my skin like ants. We needed to get a move on¡­ we needed to get out of here and somewhere that we can bunk down for a while.

    "I think that we should push it¡­ we are only 35 minutes out, and we don''t even know if the EMP will go off right at 5 pm," Liu Wei continued, watching my reaction.  I know he was concerned about his family, and I was willing to put up with it to a certain extent. Unfortunately, I had reached the end of my leash.

    "So, let me get this straight," I said looking at him, my top lip curled into a snarl. "Your family and precious fianc¨¦ are safe and sound inside a house right now with¡­25 minutes to spare. But you want us to what? Drive until thest second, hope that I can get everything where it needs to be just so you are that much closer to them. Did I get that right?" I knew my voice wasing out in a tone that only dogs could hear, but I was pretty sure that I was making my point.

    The look that the boys were giving me didn''t make me feel any better.  They were going to push, but I was not in the mood to move.

    "I agree that the EMP might note at exactly 5 pm, but that is not to say that it doesn''te earlier. If you want to take the chance, then go ahead, and be my guest. But me and my RV will be taking the next offramp and getting somece safe." With those final words, I walked back into my RV and red at Liu Hong Tao.

    "Stay with me or leave with them, make your decision, you have 2 seconds," I snarled. I made sure that Hades was in the RV before going back to the front to see what his decision was.  Seeing him still in the driver''s seat, I sat down in the seat beside him and gave him his orders.

    "Find the next offramp and take it. If you can find this ce-" I said as I pointed out the location that I had picked from my cell phone. "We need to get there in the next 10 minutes."

    He nodded and left our position in the convoy toplete my orders. I didn''t bother to look if anyone else would be following.

    The men might think that they were big shots, that their words could control the fate of the people around them, but they were going to get a harsh dose of reality when they realized that no one was going to care about them unless they controlled a safe zone.  And to do that¡­ we would need to be in a safe zone¡­ not driving down a fucking highway minutes before the world ended¡­

    Unless they didn''t believe that it would end.

    I closed my eyes at that thought. If they didn''t believe that the world would end in a matter of minutes, then the friendship that I made with them over the past year was all for nothing. Thinking of that, I felt a sharp stabbing of pain in my chest.

    Whatever, fuck them and fuck everyone else.  I would survive this¡­ whether or not they did would be up to them.

    16:44- T  -16 minutes and counting.

 Chapter 55 55 [Bonus ]

    ?

    Liu Hong Tao made it to the site that I had picked out with 16 minutes to spare.  I was actually quite impressed with him.  I knew that if left on my own, there was no way that I would be able to get here in that time.

    Stepping out of my RV, I saw the rest of the convoy speeding to a stop around us.  I watched all the men getting out of the vehicles and lining up in straight lines in front of me as if this was a military drill. Wang Chao and Liu Wei walked up to stand on either side of me and Liu Hong Tao stepped into his position in line.

    "If anyone has anything electronic on them that they want to save¡­ watches, cell phones, anything, go put them in your RVs. You have 5 minutes," I said looking at my cell phone. The men broke ranks to do what I had asked and returned to their lines within 3.

    Ahhh¡­.it was so nice dealing with professionals.

    16:55pm- T -5 minutes and counting.

    Grabbing Hades, I managed to stuff him into the kitty carrier that I had for him, much to his disgust, and went back to where everyone was waiting.  With a wave of my arm, I brought all the RVs, SUVs, ATVs, and any other alphabet vehicle that we had with us into my space.  Making sure that it didn''tnd on my fields or into the pastures, I was happy when I saw the space had developed a parking lot of sorts where everything had gone.

    "Now, to be clear, I don''t know if it goes off at exactly 5 pm or not¡­ but the EMP will being. It will not affect anything organic, only things that rely on electronics of some kind or another to work. This means that we should not even be able to feel when the EMP goes off. However, this one is also powerful enough to wipe out the inte, so let''s not take any chances, shall we?" I said as I looked at the men. They stood there, staring at me¡­ giving me their undivided attention. It was a pretty fun feeling to tell you the truth.

    "But that means, in addition to cars no longer responding tomands, traffic lights will no longer be directing the traffic and bullet trains that will no longer be able to maintain their speeds¡­ we also have to be careful of airnes falling from the sky. Yeah, fun times, I know." I took a deep breath and figured out what we were going to do next.

    "We will be traveling parallel to the roads, still continuing southeast. We are a big group and are bound to attract attention. Based on how you look, many are going to assume that you are County K soldiers there to rescue them. You are not. I will repeat this so you fully understand. You are not here to y God or hero¡­ you are here to follow orders and fight zombies.  I don''t care if the most attractive woman you have ever seen falls at your feet and begs you to take her. You do, and I will either leave you or kill you," I said, trying to remember what people had mentioned about the first day of the apocalypse.

    "Do you understand?" I asked, looking at the men in the eyes. When they yelled back that they did, I handed Hades to Liu Wei (hey, he''s the one that got us all into this mess¡­ he can carry the cat) and started to walk down the small path that I had marked out in my mind as the best route through the forest around us.

    Mind you, when I did this in my past life I did not have 125 people following after me. At least they were somewhat quiet.

    I didn''t know how far we had gone, or how much timepsed, but it seemed that we had just gotten started when we hear the first crash, and then the second, and then a giant explosion. The screams started shortly thereafter. The end of the world had arrived¡­ and I was willing to bet it happened on time too.

    As the world was plunged into chaos, I could see the nervous twitches and the looks of the men behind me.  I knew that they would want to see what was going on with their own eyes, to gain some type of understanding that what they had been hearing for the past year had actually happened.

    A small part of me wanted to have an "I told you so" moment so I led them back to the highway.  We didn''t even make it to the offramp before the chaos hit us.

    The intersections were congested with piles of cars that had collided with each other when the lights stopped working and their cars just died. We weaved in and out of the people pounding on the windows, begging for our help.  <novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    I saw one of the men reaching for a car door to help and mother and child out, "If you open that door, you will be left here. No supplies, no nothing," I said, my voice leveled and my tone t.

    It''s not that I didn''t care about the carnage in front of me¡­ once upon a time, I was just like that soldier wanting to help out to the best of my ability.  And when those people that I saved thought they could have an easier life by leaching off of me, I was never able to get rid of them.

    The soldier paused and looked at Wang Chao as if expecting to get a different response.  The Prince of City A simply raised his eyebrow and look down at the soldier, not bothering to say a single word.

    At least he was on my side, "But, Sir," said the soldier, clearly confused.  And I got that, he trained to be able to save people, that was who he was deep inside, a savior.  But he just didn''t understand.

    Ignoring him, I continued to weave in and out of the cars and around the people that were shouting for us to call the police or the ambnces¡­ like they would be able toe and save them when no one else could. It would take a few days for them to realize that no one wasing and that if they wanted to be saved, they needed to save themselves.

    Beginning my ascent up the offramp, I could feel Wang Chao and Liu Wei quickly trying to make their way beside me. "This is why you wanted us off the roads," started Liu Wei, looking around at the cars and the people, "I''m sorry I didn''t understand."

    "No," I said as we breached the top of the offramp and a clear view of what was left of the highway could be seen. "This is why I wanted us off the roads," I continued as I swept my arm around in order to have their attention drawn to the mess that was before us.

    If they thought that that small intersection behind us was an example of shit hitting the fan, then I had no idea what they would think when they saw this view.

    The highway itself was an 8ne highway, filled bumper to bumper with cars, trucks, and 18-wheelers when we were driving down it minutes ago.  Now, it was a wastnd. Cars were piled up on top of each other from rear-end collisions that seemed to go on for miles.  18-wheelers were tipped over, crushing the cars that were beside them or jackknifed acrossnes of traffic, their cargo spilled all over the road.

    "Now just picture all of this with our convoy... our only vehicles... just as impacted as the rest of them," I said, looking at Liu Wei, willing him to understand what I was trying to say.

    Some cars had caught on fire while others had the tops of them ripped off by only God knows what.  The biggest thing was seeing where the highway copsed as it went over the road underneath from the Airbus A390 that fell from the sky like a bird with a broken wing.

    Passengers were scrambling to get out of it¡­ their clothes in tatters and blood flowing from their bodies.  Some of them helped others out of it as one engine after another caught fire, while others just ran as they saw the amount of jet fuel on the road.

    I raised my eyes at the sight and turned to look that the people behind me. "Any questions?" I asked, "We might want to leave before the ne explodes causing everything else around here to burn."

 Chapter 56 56

    ?

    Silence met my remarks as the men turned around and started to head back to where the offramp was.  We ignored the screams of people as they begged for help, running as quickly as we could to a safe-ish area. The people that could run with us, some begging us to take them and others cursing us for not caring about their safety or for not taking them to a safe area.

    Mind you, as far as I was concerned, there were no safe areas left in the world. Well, there was one left, and I was counting down the minutes until I could return to it. I scanned the area to my left and right as we ran down the highway. We needed to get off of it because even if the explosion from the jet fuel did not kill us, it would send off a chain reaction to all of the cars still on the highway.

    To my left, I saw a low guard rail that acted as a barrier between the highway and the ditch and forest beside it. Veering towards the guard rail, I quickly jumped over it and quickly took a look at the ditch in front of me.  We were in luck. This ditch was fairly deep with high walls on either side. I slid down the embankment and ran to where I thought the deepest part of it was. I quicklyy t on the ground and watched as my boys and their men followed me.

    There was not enough time to worry if everyone had made it, and I didn''t care about the water soaking into my clothes.  My Hail Mary n was for the ditch to protect us and have any fire go over the top of us in the event of an explosion.  I could extinguish the fire, but without knowing the size or intensity of it, I was not going to risk myself like that. The men could learn the hard way.

    I watched as Liu Wei wrapped his arms around Hades'' cage and without a second thought, I vanished it into my space. I let out a small chuckle when it took him a second to catch himself from falling headfirst into the muddy water of the ditch, but hey¡­ they wanted to see what was going on. They needed to learn to listen to me first, then satisfy any curiosity that they might have.

    I quicklyid my cheek as far into the water as I could while still keeping my airways free (breathing is a great thing, especially if you are nning on staying alive) and curled my arms over my head. My nervous tick of counting in my head came out as I started whispering numbers in my head.

    I felt the heat on my back at 20 seconds, by 25 seconds I heard the woosh of the explosions and by 30 seconds I could see the fire overtop of us from the corner of my eyes.  I tried to get an eye on the boys from my position, but I was only able to see their backs¡­ a wall of me maybe 6 inches from it.

    I closed my eyes and tried to ess my ice. It was both easy and hard to call it forward. It didn''t like the heat, but the cold water soaking into my body helped push it out. I pictured it acting as a barrier between me and the people around me and the fire above me.  When I felt the cold air, I knew that I had seeded. By 50 seconds, the fire was gone, leaving only small embers and fires spread out.

    Feeling that it was safe to stand up, I looked around at the men beside me.  Checking Liu Wei and Wang Chao for injuries and not finding any, I quickly looked around and took stock of everything.  Their men wereing to their feet, with no obvious signs of injuries.  The others? Well¡­ I really didn''t care about them.  Turning my attention back to the wall of dirt in front of me, I started to try to figure out how to get out of here. Should we cut through the forest behind us or take the highway?

    As I was trying to n out our next move, an angry man came rushing up to me. Looking him up and down and then dismissing him as a threat, I took the map out of my side pocket and started to study it.

    "You guys are soldiers! We pay you to look after us and you just left us like that?!? How dare you?! Do you know who I am?" The man screamed, trying to get in my face.  I continued to ignore him and left Wang Chao to intervene. A confrontation like this was pretty standard at the end of days. So many people thought that the world owed them something and that other people needed to save them.

    I was not going to y those games anymore.  Listening to the man turn his attention to Wang Chao and continue screaming, I had just about enough. Pretending to pull a gun out of the small of my back when I was actually pulling it from my space, I held it to the stranger''s face, my eyes still on the map, my brain caught between protecting something that was mine and the need to get a move on.

    Pulling the trigger without warning, I ignored the gasps and screamsing from the people around me.

    That''s it! That is where we were going to have to go.

    Putting the gun back into my space, I looked at Wang Chao,pletely disregarding the dead body in front of us, its brains and blood flowing into the water and down the ditch.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "I found the route; are you guys ready?" I asked looking between Liu Wei and Wang Chao. They had an indiscernible look on their face that I chose to ignore. I expected them to be shocked. It''s not like I was like this at the ranch. But the ranch was my space, where I was safe.  I knew I wasn''t safe here, and I was don''t taking chances.

    "Could you take us?" Asked a soft voiceing out of the crowd of people that were not part of my men.

    "No," I said tly, returning the map to my pocket and scanning Wang Chao and Liu Wei one more time for injuries.

    "P-please?" The voice came again, this time injecting a hopeless tone in it. "P-please?" She asked again, stepping away from everyone and walking up to Wang Chao. "I-I won''t be a burden. I really won''t be."  I looked up, my eyes looking the woman up and down.  She couldn''t be more than 20 years old, her ck hair was in soft curls that hung around her thin shoulders and to the middle of her back. Her nails were done to perfection and her white skin practically glowed in the sunlight.

    She was the definition of a beauty, and a helpless one on top of that too.  I turned my attention to Wang Chao, wanting to see what he was going to do.

    The look he gave her caused me to burst outughing. "Sorry, Sweetheart," I said, drawing her attention towards me. "He only listens to me," I continued giving her a smirk, "I''m sure that one of these other men would be more than wee to y hero to a damsel in distress."

    As if fate was working in my favor for once, a voice called her name from out of the crowd and a young man elbowed his way from the crowd.  "KeKe, what are you doing?"

    Ah¡­ the boyfriend¡­ I chuckled to myself, not interested in watching the drama unfolding in front of me.

    "Wang Chao?" I started, nodding my head towards the dirt wall I had no chance of getting over by myself. "A little help here?"

    Quickly turning his attention back to me, he gripped me by my waist and lifted me up over the barrier that saved our lives. Even with everything that I had seen in my past life, the destruction that I saw in front of me right now caused me to pause.  I pretended it was because I was waiting for everyone to join me, but my body was frozen in ce.

    The sight that greeted me was what I sometimes pictured Hell to be. There were skeletons of cars with fires still burning inside, but that was the only source of color for miles.  Everything was ck, from the roads to the remaining cars. Even the dead bodies reduced to nothing more than bones were ck, their hands stretched forward¡­ the desire to flee still ingrained into their bones. The jet fuel acted as a bomb,pletely destroying everything around it.

    We were too far from the ne itself to be able to see it, but I wouldn''t be surprised if it too was reduced to nothing more than its inner structure.

    "Well," I said forcing a cheerful tone into my voice. "At least the highway has been cleared for a bit. We''ll go this way."

 Chapter 57 57 [Bonus ]

    ?

    I shrugged my shoulders when I saw the look that the boys gave me. In the apocalypse, the only type of humor was dark humor. Hardly my fault. The boys took their position on either side of me and their men fanned out behind us.

    I had taken out enough automatic guns for each one of the men to be able to have one, just in case¡­ so I had to say, we look really badass walking down the deserted highway, guns out. I chuckled to myself at the vision in my head. More than a hundred men decked out in ck long-sleeve shirts, ck cargo pants, ckbat boots, and an AR-15-style rifle in their arms. And they were all following me¡­. (Cue evilughter)

    I tried to remember to get the boys and their men to practice their powers while we were walking, but I kept forgetting.  When something was as easy as breathing to you, you forget that it was not the same for other people.

    We continued to walk past the burnt-out airne, past the ckened cars and chard bones until we got to the end of the explosion area.  The contrast was pretty striking if I had to say. Behind us was a ckened nightmare of nothing but death and destruction while in front of us were luscious green forests on either side of the highway and you could still identify the cars. If there weren''t people screaming and yelling, it would be almost picturesque.

    Mind you, people stopped screaming quickly when the zombies came out, so I would let them stretch their lungs while they still could. No skin off my back.

    When the people saw us, they came running up fast, as if we were there to save them. I thought of investing in a neon sign to hang above us saying something like ''you are going to die anyways¡­e here to die faster," but I thought that might be a bit harsh.

    The first time a girl flung herself in Wang Chao''s arms as if she was so irresistible that simply by touching him, guaranteed her protection, I was able to ignore it. I did roll my eyes, but for the most part, I managed to just keep walking forward, not worrying too much about the guys. When he flung her to the pavement and continued walking forward, I had to duck my head to hide my smile.

    By the fifth time, I was no longer in aughing mood. Seriously, were he and Liu Wei so irresistible that they had a maic force, drawing women to them? I cracked my neck and prepared to start shooting.

    I took this route because it was the most direct way to City B, and we were close enough that half a day of walking would not be too much of a problem, but humans were really ruining my ns. I really should start putting a cap on the number of people I killed in a day. But then again, I was already at 1, more wouldn''t be that big of an issue¡­ right?

    Helpless damsel number six flung herself at Liu Wei,pletely disregarding me standing between the two men.  I knew that I was shortpared to them, but still, that was just rude.  Stopping where I was, I took out my gun again, this time putting it to her temple. "Excuse me," I said in a very calm, not psychopathic way at all. "You are touching private property. Get your hands off before you lose them. Please."

    See, I could still be polite AND a badass at the same time.  I was very proud of myself for that.

    However, the look that she gave me from where her cheek rested against Liu Wei''s chest made me snap. I understood that he was not interested in her touch at all, not by the way he held his arms up in the air. And no, the man was not my boyfriend or husband¡­ but he was mine, and that meant that no one else should be touching him, especially not some bottle blonde bimbo that thought that by hanging on to a strong thigh she would be able to survive what wasing next.

    I''ll give you a hint¡­ these men were hanging on to my thighs, so she was really barking up the wrong tree.

    I couldn''t tell you exactly what I was feeling, or the exact moment I snapped¡­ but when I saw herpletely engulfed in my pint mes, her body flying off of Liu Wei and the scream of absolute pain leaving her mouth, I felt¡­ content.

    Noticing that my pink fame never even touched Liu Wei, I red at him.  "If so much as one more person decides to fling themselves into your arms¡­you will be the one going up in mes.  Have I made myself clear?" I snarled. I mean, it''s not like I licked them¡­ but still!

    The boys simply chuckled and nodded their heads, agreeing with me. Letting out a huff of expiration, I continued forward leading the boys, their men, and all the civilians that were hiding behind us, thinking I didn''t notice them.  I did¡­ but unless they were going to do something stupid, then I would leave them alone.

    But a new problem popped up, one that I really didn''t consider.

    The sun started to set on the first day of the apocalypse. It would still be a few hours until it was dark, but I didn''t know what to do next.  If I was alone, I would get off the road and start to prepare camp while there was still light out, but I wasn''t alone.  <novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    If we kept pushing, nothing bad would really happen to us.  It would take at least a few days for the zombies to make it out here, so the only danger at night was the other humans¡­ hungry humans¡­ hangry humans¡­ but those could be dealt with easily, even if hangry humans were high on the scary spectrum.

    There had not been enough of a stressor for the humans to truly discover their superpowers. Those seemed to coincide with the breakout of zombies, so I wasn''t worried about any power battles yet.

    Discretely I took out my cellphone and looked at the time andpared it to the time left to our destination. Although I did not have a functioning GPS, I had taken a screenshot as soon as I put away the vehicles and could guestimate from there.

    It would be another hour and a half to 2 hours before we got to Liu Wei''s house in City B. Compared to the current time, that meant that we would get there around 9 pm or so¡­ depending on how many stops we made between now and then.

    I had enough sandwiches and food that we could eat while walking to keep hunger at bay¡­ the biggest issue was trying to deal with our tail.

    "To kill or not to kill, that is the question¡­" I muttered under my breath¡­ only the guys close enough to hear me.

    "We could probably scare them off by threatening to shoot them," said Liu Wei, always the voice of reason.  If he really thought that I wanted a voice of reason right now, he had another thinging.

    "Is that really a mob boss mentality to have?" I looked at him, a look of shock and disbelief on my face. "Like seriously!"

    "What did you think I was going to say?" He asked an eyebrow arched. "Kill them all and let me bathe in their blood?"

    "Well¡­ yes!" I eximed. I did not want to be the only person with murder on my mind¡­ it just wasn''t fair! Wang Chao was too cold to say something like that one way or another¡­ Liu Wei was supposed to be on my side! Step ONE people! Let them all die!!!

    Wang Chao sighed like he was the only adult in a room full of children.  Raising his hand, his men turned to the civilians behind us and raised their guns, eyes trained on their targets. "Stay here or die, the choice is yours," he said in his calmest voice as if he was asking his men to simply take out the garbage.  I smiled, it was nice not having to do everything myself.

    Turning to his men, he opened his mouth. "Kill anyone that keeps following us. This is as far as they go."

    "Yes, Sir," came the voices of over a hundred men¡­ the ground practically vibrating beneath them.

    Turning back around, I quickened my pace to almost a run. I was going to take the chance and push us until we got to Liu Wei''s house.  Fingers crossed we get there in one piece.

    I heard a gunshot and then silence, the pounding of footsteps the only sounding from behind me.

    This time, things would go just fine¡­ I tried to convince myself. The third time had to be a charm¡­ right?!?

 Chapter 58 58

    ?

    It was dusk when I first felt it.

    We had been walking, quickly, for about an hour and we had just reached the very outskirts of City B. The sun was setting enough that it was casting pink and purple streaks on the horizon. The highway route had been treating us very well, and we were able to make good time using it.

    Of course, we had a few incidents where people thought we should save them, and when we didn''t there were a few scuffles. But I didn''t really think much of it. If they wanted to bring a knife to a gunfight then that waspletely on them.

    We had passed the "Wee to City B" sign maybe 15 minutes ago when I realized a few crucial things: (1) my thoughts that the zombies would not be able to reach the middle of nowhere this early on was right¡­ and (2) I didn''t take into ount that all the zombies were escaping the medical facilities IN MAJOR CITIES right now¡­. Like City B.

    I really needed to get my head on straight if I was going to keep it attached to my shoulders. I had gotten toofortable in thest year¡­ and that might prove to be a horrible thing. Maybe I should not have been so happy to have that long of a time to prep, I seemed to have forgotten a lot of things that I should have remembered.

    But as much as my mind might have forgotten, my body seemed to remember.

    I froze, looking around at where we were. There was still a forest to our left, but to our right was the industrial area, filled with windowless warehouses and open spaces. All around us were destroyed cars¡­ but no people.

    Wang Chao and Liu Wei made it a few steps forward before they realized that I was not moving. Walking back to me, Liu Wei started to open his mouth to say something, but I held up my hand for silence. Until I could figure out what was setting me off, I was not taking my attention away from the surrounding area.

    Their men were smarter than they were because as soon as I had stopped, they formed a circle behind me. Facing outwards, their backs to their fellow soldiers, they raised their guns and stood still, waiting for whatever came next.

    I took out my own AK-15 rifle and continued to look around. It took less than a second for Wang Chao and Liu Wei to put up the same defensive positioning and for a few seconds, no one and nothing moved.

    When you hear interviews from shark attack survivors they all mention how right before it happened, the world seemed to freeze for an inexplicable reason. Our world was frozen, not even birds made a sound and that stillness meant only one thing as far as I was concerned. The zombies were here¡­ but where?

    I continued to analyze the surrounding area, trying to figure out where they might be looking to ambush us from. "Do not freeze when you see them. You need to try and remove their heads as fast as possible. Rapid fire in the same area of the neck will hopefully aplish it," I started, my eyes never stopping. I would put some swords in the middle of the circle, but I didn''t want to give the zombies a weapon if they should break our ranks.

    "Anything else they will recover from within a matter of minutes. If you feel a pressure building up inside you, congrats, you are a power user, fell free to direct it to the zombies and not at each other," I continued.

    There! Movement in the forest!

    I swung my gun around to where the bush made the slightest tremble. One thing that got more humans killed than anything else was assuming that slight trembling was animal rted. It wasn''t. Animals had a better sense of self-preservation than humans did¡­ and when they sensed a predator in the area, they were nowhere to be seen.

    I let out a single shot into the bush. Holding up my hand as soon as I was done to prevent the rest of the men from doing the same.

    It worked. A snarl came from behind the bush, but then nothing. I slowly walked towards the ce I knew had a zombie and signaled for the rest of the men to follow me.

    Maintaining their defensive circle, they advanced with me until we passed the bush and came across a small clearing. I wish I could close my eyes at the sight before me, but I knew that as soon as I gave any sense of weakness, the horde would be on us in a matter of seconds.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Well, horde might be a bit of a stretch¡­ there was just a group of 20 or so zombies couched on the ground gorging themselves on the humans that I could only assume were in the cars on the highway. This was why we were the only ones around¡­ everyone else had be dinner.

    The zombie closest to me turned his head almost 180 degrees to look at me and the men behind me. I heard the quiet gasps as the menid their eyes on the zombies for the first time. I guess my warnings didn''t fully prepare them for real life¡­ or maybe they just didn''t believe me.

    But then again, seeing was believing, I guess.

    Crouched on the balls of his feet and the palm of his hand, the zombie was in a position that no human could possibly maintain or even get into in the first ce. His light purple skin was easily seen through his ripped jeans and a tattered cored shirt. He was very clearly missing shoes, but there was not a scratch or an ounce of his own blood on him.

    His body looked simr to a normal human, but it was on the thin side¡­ not quite emaciated, but still much thinner than anyone would consider healthy. The joints were his knees and elbows which appeared to be erged, like balls in between two sticks. But it was his head that was truly shocking.

    His head was round¡­ more so than just his face, his entire skull had undergone a transformation so that it almost looked like a ball resting on top of a thick stick. His ears had also be two tiny holes in his skull, almost invisible to the naked eye. A few dark purple veins were streaked across his temples as if he was struck by lightning and those were what was left behind. His nose, or where his nose should have been was simply an open triangle in the middle of his face with fine gills blocking the entrance.

    After all these years I knew that the zombies had no traditional sense of smell, instead, they used their gills in order to be able to detect certain chemical signatures including; blood, urine, and sweat. There were also electrical receptors running front, back, and on either side of their bodies from head to toe that could detect the electrical output of their prey. Guess what! Humans didn''t even know that we naturally sent out an electrical field from our bodies. They could literally find us with their eyes closed.

    Pretty cool, huh?

    Now, his eyes¡­ they were round white balls with a small ck pupil sunk deep into the sockets and he had three different types of eyelids. I managed to bring back a head to thepound once and let the scientist run some experiments on it. From what we could understand, each eyelid would open and close due to a certain response, just like a real shark. But their vision itself was limited to only 20 feet or so, so they relied on their other senses to be able to hunt, especially from a distance.

    The zombie ignored me and the men in favor of turning his attention to the dead body in front of him. Opening his giant mouth that took up the entire bottom half of his head and almost unhinging his jaw, he took a giant bite of flesh, moving his lower jaw in a back-and-forth manner. His teeth clearly needed a sawing motion in order to get through the tissue, fat, and muscles of the¡­ shoulder¡­ he was chewing on.

    Sorry, it took me a second to identify where he was eating.

    After the bite was removed from the corpse, he turned his attention back to me and mine. Chewing once, twice, he tilted his head back to swallow the chunk of meat. There was an almost hypnotizing quality to watching the bulge move from his mouth and down his throat.

    He bared his teeth towards us in a creepy smile¡­ if these things could actually smile... showing off his impressive set of teeth before turning his attention back to his meal.

    All of the 20 zombies in the clearing were acting in a simr manner. We were not presenting a threat and they had a meal right in front of them so there were not willing to risk this kill in order to chase a different one. Like it said¡­ they were smart.

    I motioned for the men behind me to start backing up, never taking my eyes off of the clearing in front of us. It was so quiet, only to be interrupted by the asional sounds of ripping flesh and chewing.

    We were lucky that these ones weren''t hungry, but we would have to hurry up and get to Liu Wei''s house before we ran across other zombies that had yet to have their dinner.

 Chapter 59 59

    ?

    "That¡ª" Liu Wei started before I once again held up a hand to quiet him. We might have gotten out of the clearing, but we were in no way, shape, or form in a safe enough position to be making too much noise.  They might not have traditional ears to hear us, but our voices made vibrations in the air which the zombies used to be able to pinpoint our location.

    They might not be able to listen in on our conversations, but they could still hunt us down by using our voices. And I was not going to take the chance that one body would be enough to fill them up when they just escaped.

    As soon as we made it back to the highway, I ran as quickly as I could toward City B and hopefully a safe ce. I was not going to take the time right now to try and be quiet, because whether or not our footsteps made enough noise for us to hear or not¡­ they still made vibrations on the ground.

    And, say it with me, vibrations bring the zombies. Wasn''t this a fun end of days?

    I would literally kill for the slow, dumb zombies from the online novels where they didn''t advance until the humans around them could. It seemed that here we were constantly ying catchup¡­ and it was not a pleasant feeling.

    We continued to run until we entered the city and I stopped again, trying desperately to catch my breath. You would think that I spent the past year training my body for this, but I really didn''t. A whole year without exercise was a dream for me.

    The men formed a ring around me making sure to keep me safe while I recovered.  Knowing I didn''t have that much time, I only took a few minutes before I was worming my way through the men and back to the front.

    "Ok," I said, still trying to catch my breath. Seeing a bunch of birds picking off God only knows what from the streets, I knew we would be safe for now at least. Pointing to the birds I said, "As long as you see any type of animal around, we will be fine. If they leave, we need to leave. Understood?" I saw the men nodding and a few cing all their attention on the birds around us.

    "Now," I said looking at Liu Wei.  "What were you going to say?"

    "The zombies," he started, looking around the area as if expecting them to jump out at any time. Clearly, this man was not used to being prey.  Nodding my head, I motioned for him to continue.  "Why didn''t we kill them?"

    I was shocked for a minute and then burst outughing as I took the map out of my space and studied it. "Why would we kill them?" I asked, trying to figure out where we were and where we needed to go.  Briefly looking at my cellphone (I needed to save the battery until I could get the generators up and running or have time to plug it into the house in my space) I saw that it was 8:30 pm. Not interested in being out in the open much longer, I needed to get us to a safe ce as soon as possible.

    We were now in the city, and, as we saw before¡­ the zombies were out and running around. "We need to find a safe ce for the night. We can try to make it to your home tomorrow," I continued, not really paying attention to the guys.

    "Why didn''t we kill the zombies," said Liu Wei again, this time with a bit of a snap to his voice.

    "Because they weren''t trying to kill us," I said as if it made all the sense in the world. If you were in the middle of a pack of lions and decide to annoy one of them, you needed to expect all of the other ones toe after you. All in all, it was a pretty dumb thing to do in the first ce.

    "But we should have killed them," came a voice from the crowd of soldiers behind me. Taking in a deep sigh, I tried to exin myself¡­ but first¡­ I pointed to Wang Chao, the only one to have remained quiet this entire time, "We need a safe ce to go¡­ preferably now."

    Nodding his head, he started walking, weaving in and out of the cars on the street.  There were no longer people around, but I was not concerned. Hopefully, they would be the first meal out of prison for the zombies and leave us alone.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Why. Didn''t. We. Kill. Them?" Asked Liu Wei for the third time.

    "We survived that because they were feeding and we didn''t present a threat to them. If we attempted to fight them, we would have been wiped out. Do you understand that?"

    "There were only 20 of them and over a hundred of us. Plus, you have your fire."

    "My fire," I said, nodding my head like he was makingplete sense. "So, how were you nning on knocking them down long enough for me to be able to burn them to ashes?"

    "A bullet to the head, or enough bullets to decapitate them," said Liu Wei, proving that he was listening to me to some extent.

    "They would have been all over us by the time the second bullet flew. Did you forget that I fired the first shot?"

    "If you fired the first shot then why weren''t you prepared to finish it?"

    "I fired the first shot for a few reasons," I said, trying to be understanding. I know that this is their first experience in this type of situation and movies and video games aren''t overly urate. "First, I didn''t want to startle the zombies by appearing without warning. A startled zombie is a dangerous zombie. Second, the snarl implied that they were otherwise upied. If there was silence after the first shot, then we would have had to prepare for battle," I said, exining my reasoning.

    "How do you expect us to learn how to fight them without giving us a chance to do it?" Asked Liu Wei, Wang Chao was still suspiciously silent, but he was bringing us to a safe ce so I would count that as a win.

    "Well, at the ranch the idea was to bring in one at a time for your guys to learn, but for some reason¡­ we aren''t at my ranch. I have been here before, I had to learn the hard way and I have lost more people than you have behind you to zombies. I know what I am doing and that means, out here, I am your best chance of survival. You want to ignore me or question me? I will wish you the best of luck and will meet you back at the ranch," I said, stopping at raising my head.

    "We will do things your way," said Wang Chao, finally speaking. Pointing to a hotel in front of us, he continued, "Would this be okay?"

    I looked at therge hotel in front of us and cringed. When I said safe ce, I was thinking more along the lines of a house. A small house¡­ where we would be practically on top of each other, but would be able to know for certain that we were the only ones there. This hotel could end up being a nightmare.

    My mind ran through the logistics of entering those doors, and I sighed.  If Liu Wei wanted a fight, then I guess we were going to jump in the deep end and see who sank or swam. Hanging the AK-15 over my shoulder within easy reach, I took as many swords as I could out of my space. Putting them into a pile I motioned for the men to grab them.

    As they proceeded to do just that, I let out a big breath through pursed lips. "Alright, you guys want to try your hand at this, then heaven forbid I stop you. Here is what you need to know. They are fast. They will not die, even if you cut off their heads. A bullet will not stop them at all, even a headshot. If you cut them in half, be prepared to be fighting two of them instead of just one. A severed limb might make them pause for less than a second as a new one regrew¡­ but it would only be a matter of a minute or two before the severed arm also became its own zombie." I looked at the soldiers around me, and closed my eyes, wondering how many woulde out of this alive.

    "Make your way as quickly as you can to the penthouse suite¡­ or presidential suite, or whatever is the biggest room in the ce. Ignore any humans youe across unless they present a threat. If that is the case, kill them," I said, waving my hand for Liu Wei and the soldiers to enter the hotel first. "Good luck," I said, "And may the odds be ever in your favor." I chuckled to myself.

 Chapter 60 60

    ?

    I watched as the soldiers put their swords on their backs and instead, took the guns that they were more familiar with and raised them as they crouched down. I had seen this formation in the movies, but I never expected to be able to see it in real life. Like a ck wave, 125 soldiers flowed into the hotel, led by one of the men I was trying to put in the friend zone, but wasn''t sessful at it.

    I sat down on the curb of the sidewalk outside of the hotel, trying to get myself together. I was never dumb enough to try something like this in my past life. It was a well-known death sentence. So what was I doing agreeing that they could do this?

    "They will be fine," came a deep reassuring voice beside me. "They are highly trained."

    "I know," I said, my voice catching a bit when I heard the first shot ring out. "But they are highly trained against other humans. Not animals. And these zombies are more like a pack of wolves than a team of humans."  A second shot rang out followed by so many that I couldn''t keep track.

    "And I don''t even know if my mes will be enough to save us," I continued as I stood up and dusted my pants off. Picking up a specially made katana beside me, I unsheathed it and put the now empty sheath back into my space. "Shall we?" I asked, looking at Wang Chao, wondering if this will be thest time I ever saw him.

    He took my hand, pulling me into his embrace. Giving me a gentle kiss on my cheek, he looked down into my eyes. Whatever he saw, caused him to pause and slowly, ever so slowly leaned down until he could put the softest kiss ever on my lips. "We will be back safe and sound. I promise," he said as he took a step back.

    If this was going to be like that manga I read where the asshole MC was shot on his way to his own wedding I would kill someone.

    Hearing his chuckle intermixed with the screams and bulletsing from the hotel, I had to smile.

    "Come back to me," I said as I followed him into Hell. Apparently, I was willing to follow these two men anywhere.

    ----

    We walked through the ss doors and entered a hotel that Wang Chao must have stayed at before. While I was not overly impressed by the exterior of the building¡­ ss, and modernism were not my thing¡­ the interior waspletely different.

    Walking across the dark marble floors, I could just make out an area to the left with arge reception area and what was probably once pristine white carpets.  Too bad the blue and red blood stains were preventing me from truly taking in the magnificence of this ce.

    Wang Chao strolled forward as if he owned the ce,pletely unconcerned about what we were likely toe across. I smirked to myself, thinking that he probably did own it which was why he clearly felt sofortable here.

    "No, this one belongs to Liu Wei," he said, unable to help himself from reading my mind. His statement caused me to pause for a second before I hurried to catch up to him.  It was not like I was biased against personal assistants, but it really never crossed my mind that Wang Chao''s assistant would not only be a mob boss but also extremely rich in his own right.  That begged the question, why the hell was Liu Wei a personal assistant in the first ce?!?

    Another round of gunfire went off directly in front of me so I had to shelve those thoughts for a bit.  But I woulde back to them¡­ probably¡­ if I remembered.

    We entered into a marble hallway that, ording to the signs, led directly to the elevators. Marble pirs were lined on each side of the hallway and Liu Wei and the men were using them as cover, trying to shoot at the three zombies directly in front of us and between the pirs.  "May I offer some advice?" I asked Wang Chao as I stretched my neck.

    "Of course," he replied, not speeding up or slowing down. The man was designed to give me an aneurysm.  <novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Thunder is not going to work in here, so try using the metal around us instead.  You can also try using the spirit powers, but just warn me ahead of time or try to not have it affect me," I said, picking up my pace as the zombies in front of me finally noticed us. "And if you do use metal, try not to weaken the foundation of this ce. We don''t want to be buried."

    Taking off into a full sprint and leaving Wang Chao behind us, I approached the zombies. Luckily Liu Wei noticed us and the gunfire stopped. Friendly fire really wasn''t all that friendly¡­ and it still hurt like a bitch to be shot.

    I swung the sword down with my right hand in a single-hand grip.  I knew this was not traditional or even close to the correct way to use it, but I needed my left hand to be free. Thankfully, I was able to obtain this sword from a master cksmith and the sharpness and dexterity of the de was second to none.  Cutting off the head with a single stroke was not as easy as it looked in the movies, but it was a move that I had spent a decade in my previous life perfecting.

    The head rolled off the first zombie and I quickly threw out my blue mes, knowing that it had a high enough temperature that the head and body would not be able to regenerate before the mes consumed it to ashes.  Seeing that the second and third zombie was approaching even faster than the first, I quickly threw another blue fireball at the third one while once again, trying to take off the head of the second one with a single stroke.

    It''s a swing and a miss! The second zombie, fully realizing what happened to the first one, was able to duck in time to avoid my stroke. Circling around to my back, I was now ced in the extremely ufortable position of being between two zombies that wanted to eat me.

    Fuck my life.

    The third zombie, the one in front of me, was now a blue me walking. Not noticing or not caring about the fact that it was on fire, it still advanced toward me. Trying to force me to back away from it and into the waiting grasp of the other zombie.

    I tried to picture the elevator doors flying off their hinges and encasing the two zombies, but Wang Chao was either not paying attention to what was going on in my brain or he had a better idea.  Truthfully, I am pretty sure that it was the first one¡­ why else was he taking so fucking long to get over here and help me.

    And what about Liu Wei and the men¡­ shouldn''t they have gotten their asses in gear and joined the fight¡­ wasn''t this whole thing their idea?!?!

    I grumbled to myself as I weaved and ducked between the two zombies, somehow keeping up with their speed. Or maybe Wang Chao was slowing them down? I wasn''t sure, but I was not going toin. When the second one took a swipe at my face with her nails extended, I barely had enough room to duck. Luckily for me, I was not the only one to do a swing and a miss, because she ended up missing me and nailing zombie number three instead.  I sighed when he let out a roar of protest.

    If he wasn''t standing so closely, he would not have been injured. That should teach him a lesson.

    Trying to look around, I cursed at whoever chose the marble design for this hallway¡­ clearly they didn''t take into ount a zombie apocalypse and the need for footholds. The marble surface was too smooth to be able to climb up to any height, but I needed to get a distance between me and them in order to get their heads off.  That was one problem with a sword like a katana, you needed distance to be able to use it effectively.

    Finding a gap between them wide enough to slip through I slid across the floor between them and hid myself behind a pir trying to catch my breath.  In the less than a second that I had topose myself before going back into battle, I looked around and saw the men with Liu Wei and Wang Chao simply watching me¡­

    "Are you fucking serious?!?!" I screeched, ducking even further when zombie two tried to take another swipe at my head but ended up taking out a chunk of the marble pir behind me instead.  I was pretty sure that I was done right now. Done with the boys, done with their men and most of all, done with the fucking zombies!

    Letting out a scream of rage, I once again swung the sword, this time managing to take the second zombie''s head.  Throwing the blue me at the two separated parts, I turned my attention to the walking me before me. I now had more than enough room to take care of this problem¡­ but the men needed a lesson before I did.

 Chapter 61 61

    ?

    Recalling my blue me, I waited the few seconds that it would take for the zombie to regenerate. He looked at me, cocking his round head to the side at an impossible angle, and opened his mouth wide enough that I could see all of his teeth. And I do mean all three rows of them.

    His head ended up looking like a ball cut in half. If I didn''t know better, I would assume that his lower jaw was just going to fall off, but I was never that lucky. This was how they not only showed dominance, but it was also his way of trying to figure out if he could eat you whole, or if he would have to break you down into smaller parts.

    I smiled at him as I quickly dashed up and cut off his right arm. He looked down at the missing appendage, then back to me, and then started shaking. Rolling his shoulders a few times, it took him almost 30 seconds for that arm to grow back. I know¡­ I was counting.

    With his two arms in their proper ces and a third one on the floor not far away, we both stood there, staring at each other. The seconds were still ticking away inside my head, and by the time I had counted to 180, there were now two identical zombies standing in front of me¡­ both their heads cocked to the side and their mouths open. I closed my eyes for a fraction of a second, wondering about the mess that my temper got me into, and then cut off the left arm of the first zombie.

    Once again, more shaking and *poof* the arm was back¡­ three minutester and a third zombie stood up to take its ce beside its¡­ sire? Clone? Original? I am not sure what you would call him to be perfectly honest. But I wasn''t done making my point yet. I cut the right leg off of the original and the zombie didn''t even flinch or lose his bnce. Clone number three popped up after three minutes.

    Finally, I split one of the clones down the center and¡­ would you believe it¡­ each side took less than 5 minutes to be aplete zombie. For those of us that were counting, that meant I have one original zombie, two zombies from each arm, a zombie from the leg, and finally, a zombie that was originally half of a whole. If anyone wants to do that math, I now had 5 zombies standing in front of me, 4 of them who were clones of the original.

    Looking at the men that were looking at me, I took out the AK-15 that I had put in my space and shot each zombie repeatedly, not stopping until I had emptied a full magazine into them¡­

    We all watch as chunks of flesh flew off of the five zombies, spraying blue blood all over the ce. In less time than I could count to 1, they were back in perfect condition. They didn''t bother to move from their original positions and I continued to stay in mine. The six of us just looked at each other, no one bothering to move.

    "Any other questions? Concerns? Comments?" I asked the men behind me, not caring about making eye contact with anyone or anything else but the zombies in front of me. They didn''t listen to me the first time and we left my sanctuary in order to go save people we may or may not like. They didn''t listen to me a second time and we were stuck on a highway with an exploding airne, they didn''t listen to me a third time and decided to enter the hotel from Hell just to test their abilities. Well, guess what?! If this was a test, then they all failed!

    I snarled when none of the men responded and swung the de from left to right, removing the heads of three of the clones and the one original zombie. Thest remaining clone was too fast and managed to get out of the way. But it was also because it was thest in the line and my de had slowed down more and more with each head that was removed before I reached it.

    Knowing that I was quickly using up more power than I had, I sent out a blue me with hopefully enough strength to burn the four zombie bodies and four heads to ashes in seconds. When I was done, I turned myplete attention to the second clone. It snarled at me, once again shing its teeth, and made a half-hearted attempt to swipe at me with its ws. I watched as it looked around, and noticed the moment it saw the door to the outside. I slid to my right, giving it more of an opportunity to run and it took it, rushing to the doors as fast as it could.

    Now that the immediate danger was over, I walked over to the stairs and began the long journey to the top of the 40-floor hotel. Sometimes, not having electricity was a real bitch.

    I heard the door to the stairwell open and a rushing of feet that told me Wang Chao and the rest of the men were on their way behind me. If they had any injuries or lost anyone, I didn''t know, and quite frankly, I didn''t care. They might be mine in a very general sense, but they refused to listen to me and this was the result. Any consequences fell firmly on their head.

    "You didn''t kill him," said a voice I was a little tired of hearing from today.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Neither did you," I pointed out as Liu Wei rushed to catch up to me. My zombie kill count stood at 6 for the day, and my human was still at 2¡­ I think. Anyways, seeing as they didn''t have the ability to burn the corpses to ash, I knew that Liu Wei and his men had not managed to take out a single zombie.

    The ''highly trained'' super soldiers that thought guns were the answer for everything, did not manage to kill anything and instead, wasted a lot of bullets that could have been put to better use, like on the humans that would need to be killed in the future. It''s not like there was a factory creating bullets anymore¡­ each one was precious and needed to be conserved. But I digress¡­

    Li Dai Lu 6 - Super soldiers 0.

    They want to bitch that I allowed one of the zombies to escape, then by all means, bitch away. But I must have missed the part where they came in and helped me¡­ oh wait¡­ they didn''t.

    Deciding that I had had enough exercise for the day, I picked a random floor and walked down the hall where the rooms were located. Thanks to theck of electricity, I didn''t have to worry about not finding a ce to rest for the night.

    A head poked out of one of the rooms along the corridor and I raised my gun, not bothering to see if it was a man or a woman. Hell, I didn''t even care if it was a zombie at this point. "Back in your room, lock your door, and leave me the fuck alone," I said as I continued past the person. He/She/It was smarter than the other men currently wandering down the hallway behind me and they withdrew back into their room.

    Deciding on a random room, needing sleep more than anything else, I tried a door and to my luck, it opened on the first try. Scanning around the room with a king-sized bed in the middle, I checked the bathroom and cupboard.

    Not finding anything, I turned to the door to see Wang Chao, Liu Wei, and the rest of the soldiers standing on the other side, just staring at me. I walked up to the door and saw Liu Wei open his mouth. Before he could even breathe out a word, I had mmed the door in his face and pulled the deadbolt across the door, effectively locking out the world. Finding a turn lock on my side of the handle, I engaged that lock too, making doubly sure that the men stayed on their side of the hall and out of my room.

    Looking between the bed and the bathroom, I went into the bathroom first and turned on the water. Putting my hand under the shower head, I was greeted with an icy spray. Fuck that. I knew that my blue me was severely depleted and my pink me was not up to heating my water quickly, so a shower was out of the picture for me right now. I went over to the bed and without even bothering to get changed, I slid under the covers and fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

    No electricity meant no elevators, no electronic locks on the doors¡­ and no hot water. Fuck my life¡­

    However, for the first day of the end of the world, it didn''t go too badly when it was all said and done. But tomorrow was a new day and I would have to deal with the boys, and probably Liu Wei''s family¡­ and his fianc¨¦.

    But if I wanted to make it out of here alive and get back to my paradise, then this couldn''t continue. Someone would have to bend¡­ and it wouldn''t be me.

 Chapter 62 62 [Bonus ]

    ?

    "Do you think she is pissed?" Asked Liu Wei as he and Wang Chao picked the room to the right of hers to spend the night. Although they were not overly happy with the two queen-sized beds, at least they were close to Li Dai Lu in case of an emergency.

    "I think to say that she is pissed is a bit of an understatement. She created four zombies just to shut us up and then proceeded to kill four of them in front of us without help. That is in addition to the two that she killed when we first got in here. That is a total of 7 zombies that she dealt with one on one," said Wang Chao, going to the bathroom. Noticing that the temperature was ice cold, he got undressed and went into the shower, trying to get rid of the grime from the day.

    This day seemed to have gone on forever. It was hard to believe everything that happened in just 24 hours, and honestly, they were the liability that she said they would be.

    She didn''t want to be here, but they dragged her into their mess, and then Liu Wei and their men disregarded what she had said in order to be able to see things with their own eyes. And not one of them was able to fight against the zombies in the lobby of the hotel.

    He tried¡­ God knows how hard he tried. Closing his eyes, he let the water wash over him as if washing the sins of his failure down the drain with the rest of the dirt. He was just as guilty as Liu Wei, hell, he could see in her mind and he still didn''t get the full picture of what would happen when that EMP went off.

    He shuttered to think of the dreams that he had where he was not prepared for that EMP and the consequences of that. Turning off the tap, he quickly dried off and wrapped a towel around his waist. Leaving the bathroom, he passed Liu Wei who was also wanting a shower before bed, and went to the closest bed to the door. The fact that it was also against the same wall that Li Dai Lu''s bed was was simply a coincidence.

    At least he still had tofort of being able to read her mind from this distance. But maybe that was the problem. He had assumed that using his powers would be as simple as breathing. Li Dai Lu certainly made it look that way. But he also remembered her saying that the powers were like a muscle¡­ and you couldn''t expect a muscle that had never been used before to be strong.

    He had tried to grab the elevator doors like she projected in her mind when she was fighting, but all that he seeded in doing was shaking them. It was the same for the metal in the walls. He called, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn''t do anything.

    He had to get stronger if he wanted to survive, he needed to get stronger if he wanted to protect Li Dai Lu. As novel of a feeling as it was, being the one to be protected for a change, he could feel what it was costing him¡­ he could hear her doubts about them in her head.

    Not bothering to get dressed, he closed his eyes and thought about the feeling of the metal around him. He was able to manipte the smaller pieces of it¡­ paperclips, staples, nails¡­ butrge pieces¡­ the beams and the doors, he could not move.

    Yet.

    He would start small and work his way up. He had seen the damage that a cluster of nails did when it exploded, so maybe he was thinking about powers in apletely wrong way. He needed to learn how to manipte the small and build up to the big, like starting off with the 2lbs weight and moving up to the 150lbs ones.

    With a solid gamey in ce and the contented thoughts of his little girl sleeping, he was in a much better mood when Liu Wei came out of the shower.

    "What do we do?" Liu Wei asked, his own towel wrapped around his waist and another one drying his hair.

    "We?" Asked a smug Wang Chao. "There is no we in this mess. The me is ced firmly on you and the men for this shit show," he continued, looking at his best friend, an arm behind his head, his 8 pack on full disy. "And after all this? I don''t think I need to consider you that much of apetition anymore." The smirk on his face let Liu Wei know exactly what he was thinking.

    "A minor setback," said Liu Wei, worried, but pretending not to be. "We will fall in line like the good soldiers we are, and everything will be fine again."

    Wang Chao hummed nonmittedly. "The Queen is not happy. How are you nning on changing that?"

    "I figured I''d start by kissing her feet and working my way up," said Liu Wei with a smirk of his own.

    "Good luck with that," chuckled Wang Chao. "She''d sooner kick you in the head than let you kiss her feet."

    Liu Wei shrugged and got into his own bed, not worrying about getting dressed. His clothes were dirty and all of his extras were in Li Dai Lu''s space, he would put on his old clothes tomorrow and not a moment sooner. "I''m ying the long game," he confessed as thest rays of the sun set and the room was plunged into darkness. "I can wait for her forgiveness."<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "One problem in your n, Wei," said Wang Chao, not bothering to move or to take his eyes off the ceiling of the room. "You are not the only one ying a long game¡­and I don''t n on losing."

    Liu Wei grunted in acknowledgment and closed his eyes. That was another worry for tomorrow.

    With the challenge sent out and epted the men had a restful night''s sleep.

    ----

    I woke up naturally, something that would be rare in theing days, but I needed the sleep and it would take less than an hour for us to get to Liu Wei''s ce from here...hopefully. I figured I would also need as much sleep as possible if I was going to deal with both him and his family.

    I got changed into clean clothes, not wanting to take a cold shower this early in the morning. I would disappear into my space and take a shower there when I had time, but it was on the low end of my priorities. I needed to be in a safe ce for that to happen, and I wasn''t there.

    But then again, the RV did have a shower with hot water¡­ maybe I would just take one of those out and enjoy a shower there. The men could stand guard, after all, from what I had seen yesterday, they would have to get a lot of training in if they wanted to keep their pretty heads attached to their bodies.

    I boiled some water in my space and made myself a giant travel mug full of coffee and sat down at the desk of my room to enjoy some music and coffee until the guys were ready. After being smart and plugging in my cellphone in my space overnight, I managed to get a full battery, perfect for games and music.

    It was maybe 15 minutester when I heard a knocking at my door. Raising my eyebrows, and taking out the single earbud from my ear, I went over to the door and looked through the peephole. Hey, it was the end of the world! A girl couldn''t be too careful.

    Seeing the guys on the other side of the door, I opened it wide to invite them in... but when the rest of their men filed in behind them, I wondered how everyone was going to fit in the room. Then I realized that that was a them problem so I smiled and took my seat as everyone tried to fit into the single room.

    "Any deaths or injuries from yesterday?" I asked taking a sip of my coffee.

    "No deaths, but a few injuries¡­ mostly bruises and broken bones," said Liu Wei as he took a seat on my bed. Seeing that he was somewhat back to normal, I rolled my eyes. I would write yesterday off as a bad day, but this would be the only time he got that pass.

    Like I said, this was the first time they had ever experienced an apocalypse so I needed to be a bit understanding about the whole thing.

    "No bleeding or any other transfer of fluids?" When most people heard that, their thoughts immediately when to sex, but technically, you could be a zombie simply by having one spit on you and the saliva getting into your mouth, nose, or eyes. And if you just pictured a zombie standing back and spitting on people, congrattions... that is exactly how humans found out about the method of transfer.

    "No, we are all good." Confirmed Liu Wei leaning forward. "Did you have a good sleep?"

    Raising my eyebrows, I took a sip to hide my smile. "Not a horrid sleep, but I don''t know if I had enough to put up with your family," I chuckled.

    "That''s fine," he reassured me, "You protect me from the zombies and I''ll protect you from my family."

    Thinking that statement over, I figured I got the better end of that deal. I was beginning to understand that Zombies were a lot less scary than the wealthy citizens of Country K.

 Chapter 63 63

    ?

    I think that the men had learned a few lessons yesterday, no matter how hard they were. Passing a few humans that were in the halls and staircase of the hotel, trying to get our attention, the men all ignored them, carrying their rifles in a low-ready position. No one talked, no one asked dumb questions¡­ everything was fantastic.

    And then we got to the lobby¡­ and the huge group of humans that crowded the area, clearly waiting for us.

    I stopped and stared at the man that walked towards us, clearly the spoke person of the group. He was dressed in the same impable style that Wang Chao and Liu Wei used to have, and the air around him seemed to shimmer with his authority.

    A power user that didn''t know he was a power user.

    "Wang Chao," the man greeted,pletely ignoring me, his sole focus on Wang Chao beside me. No wonder they seemed simr, they must have been in the same circles before yesterday.

    "Zhang Hao Ran," Wang Chao said as he nodded his head. Turning to me, he said, "He is the younger brother of Zhang Hui Fen." I racked my brain trying to remember why that name sounded familiar and then it hit me¡­

    "Your brother-inw ish?" I asked. He''d have to forgive me for not remembering. If it wasn''t about getting to Liu Wei''s house, or getting supplies, or fighting zombies, my brain was really not caring about it. When Wang Chao nodded his head to me, I turned to look at Zhang Hao Ran. "What do you want?" I demanded, needing to leave this ce as soon as possible. Being on the brunch menu was not how I wanted to start my day and the longer we dyed here, the more of a possibility that was going to be.

    Zhang Hao Ran looked down at me and then back to Wang Chao. "We need to get back to City A," he said, doing his best to hint at what he wanted without having to ask for it.

    I hummed and nodded my head. "Good luck," I said as I started to walk towards the front doors. The problem that I was beginning to realize, was that people did not part like the red seas to me, they parted for Wang Chao, who was still standing and looking at Zhang Hao Ran. With a huff, I turned back around and went back to the boys.

    The sun reflecting off all the shiny metal on the outside of the building before beaming in through the giant windows made me close one eye as I looked at the group of men before me and the mix of men and women behind me. Stretching my neck, I realized that I had spoken too soon when I said that the men in my group had learned their lesson. Fucking idiots.

    "I don''t know about you gentlemen," I said, ignoring Zhang Hao Ran and speaking directly to Wang Chao and Liu Wei. "But I am going to be walking out of this door in the next two minutes. If you are noting, please inform me now." We did not have the time to be ying the games that were so popr in the upper crust before the EMP.

    Liu Wei quickly took a step forward and stood beside me. Giving Wang Chao a smirk he said, "I''ll be leaving with Princess, you feel free to have your meeting here." Well, at least that one developed some brain cellsst night. Nodding to him, I pulled the sword I had strapped to my back and held it pointing down. I was not above killing people to get out of here. I only had one coffee this morning and no matter how big it was, it was not nearly enough for me to deal with this shit.

    Wang Chao looked at Zhang Hao Ran and said calmly, "We are not going to City A right now, you will need to call your brother toe save you." Zhang Hao Ran shook his head as he heard what Wang Chao said. Putting his right hand in his pocket he gave a half smile.

    "We are family now, I expected better of my brother-inw," he said, a challenge clearly in his voice. Leaving Liu Wei''s side, I slid into the space between the two men and faced Zhang Hao Ran. Smiling my most polite smile, I started poking the man in the chest.

    "I am sure that Wang Chao would have had no problems helping you, but the fact of the matter is, he is not in charge of this little¡­ operation¡­ I am. So the man has no say and his very life depends on keeping me happy. Understood? Now, you guys are more than wee to stay here, and maybe, just maybe, we will swing by this way once we are done with what we need to do. But either way? Fuck off."

    Done with men that couldn''t understand that their world was not going to be the same, I left the hotel with Wang Chao''s men following me.

    "Sorry," he said with a shrug of his shoulders. He smiled at Zhang Hao Ran as he walked past him, putting his hand on Zhang Hao Ran''s shoulder. "You heard her¡­I have no say in the matter."

    With those parting words, he followed me into the sun and the beginning of a new day.

    ----<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    The sunlight did nothing to improve the scene outside. In fact, I am pretty sure that it made it worse. Where before the darkness was able to hide the blood stains on the concrete, the sunlight shone down on the dark red puddles on the roads and sidewalks. I looked at the abandoned cars around us, noting the broken windows and blood stains, the stuffed bunny on the street, and the severed limbs. I saw where some cars drove into storefront windows, some of their upants still hanging over the steering wheel, no longer caring about the fate of the world.

    And then I saw a murder of crows raise up into the air, a fierce crying from them before they disappeared into the distance. Silence followed.

    "Flight, fight, or freeze?" I asked Liu Wei who hade up behind me and to my left. He too studied the surrounding area.

    "What do you suggest?" He asked me, willing to concede to me.

    Stretching my neck, my nervous tick out in full force, I shot a single bullet into the air.

    Silence.

    "Flight or fight," I said this time making it a statement instead of a question. I continued to scan around for anything that was out of ce. Sunlight gleamed off the mirrors, windows, and cars around us, essentially putting us in the very middle of their reflections. Given the fact that the men were all wearing their ck uniforms from yesterday, we were a bit screwed.

    Still only steps away from the entrance of the hotel, I motioned for the men to go back inside, not willing to turn my back for a second. The slight sound of their footsteps let me know that they were listening. Liu Wei quickly followed, also not willing to turn around, and finally, I entered the lobby and locked the door in front of me.

    I still couldn''t see anything outside of the windows in front of me, but that didn''t mean a thing. They were out there¡­ the only question was... where?

    "Those that can, hide. Those that want to fight, stay here," I said, not bothering to see who would listen to the order and who would not.

    If lesson one was I am always right, the second lesson that they were going to learn today was how to kill a zombie¡­ or die trying.

    I smelled Wang Chao before I could feel him, his arm gently wrapping itself around my waist. "What''s the n?" He asked, speaking softly in my ear. It took everything in me to still scan the outside and not give in to the need to melt against him.

    "Training practice," I said as I spotted the first bit of movement. The light blue andvender of the zombie''s skin allowed them to blend in perfectly with a bright, sunny day like today, so you had to hope that the clothes they were wearing would give you the opportunity to see them, or that they tripped. And the fuckers never tripped¡­ or wore huntsman''s orange.

    The men fanned out behind me, allowing Zhang Hao Ran to step closer to me. He didn''t say a word, simply looked at me and Wang Chao.

    "It will need to be done in groups of 10. I will let in one zombie at a time and you guys try your best to kill it before it multiplies or the rest of the zombies are hungry," I said, spotting more movement. These were the advance scouts, so whether we took them out or let them leave, the rest of the horde would know where we were.

    This was going to be an all-out battle, and I was stuck with people that had only engaged with the enemy once, leading to a crushing defeat for the humans.

    Was it toote to go back to bed and have a do-over?

 Chapter 64 64

    ?

    "I can help," said Zhang Hao Ran from where he stood beside Wang Chao.

    "Somehow, I doubt that," I said with a tired sigh. These people all thought that it was easy to kill zombies, but it really wasn''t. Combine that with the male attitude that they could do anything and everything, and we were set up for disaster.

    "Alright," I continued in a louder voice. "Break yourself off into teams of 10 and the first one line up here." Seeing a single zombie crouching between the cars, trying to stay out of sight, I waited for the men to organize themselves before opening up the door and letting out a piercing whistle.

    The zombie snapped his head up and looked around as if trying to find the source of the noise. I let out a lower-pitched whistle and lightly tapped my foot on the marble floor. I knew that if I was willing to cut myself, the zombie would get here quicker, but I only wanted one, and blood would call them all. I continued with my whistling, asionally throwing in a snap of my fingers and in a matter of minutes, the zombie was at the ss door, her mouth open and her eyes on me.

    I opened the door a bit wider and saw the gills in her nasal cavity tremble as it caught the scent of so much prey. Keeping me, the boys, and Zhang Hao Ran behind the door, I opened it a bit father, allowing her to push herself in. As soon as she had entered the lobby, I quickly shut the door behind her and locked it.

    The three men plus seven soldiers quickly surrounded the zombie, their guns up and leveled. "Not the guns boys," I called to them. "Use the swords."

    Realizing that Zhang Hao Ran was the only one without a weapon of any kind¡­ and the dumbass still wanted to fight the zombie, I walked over to him and handed him a sword from my space. "Cut off the head, nothing else," I said, not really believing that he would listen to me, but still willing to give it a shot.

    I watched as one of the soldiers that I recognized as a team leader quickly shed at the zombie, only to have his sword stuck in her neck tissue. I nodded, impressed with what he managed to do. Most people think that it is extremely easy to cut off someone''s neck, but in reality, it was extremely hard. Even people that died in the Middle Ages from being beheaded had that axe fall on their neck 3, 4, or even 5 times before the head rolled off.

    He pulled the sword down and through, not allowing it to remain stuck in the body. Blood sprayed all over the ce but the men managed to avoid it. Even Zhang Hao Ran managed to not get covered in the blue goo.

    Maybe they weren''t as helpless as I originally thought they were.

    And then Zhang Hao Ran cut off the zombie''s arm and all those positive thoughts went right out of my head. "I told you to aim for the neck¡­ what part of the arm made you think that it was a neck?!?" I yelled, looking at him.

    "I missed, what''s the big deal?" He snarked back to me, taking his eyes off of the zombie in the middle of the circle.

    "That," I said, pointing behind him to where the zombie was shaking and another limb regrew. I smirked when his face turned pale as a second zombie stood up and went back-to-back with the original. "And now you have two to deal with. Men, make sure to thank Zhang Hao Ran for this added bonus," I said sarcastically.

    I heard the door behind me shaking as five zombies hade up to the building and discovered us. "Wei," I yelled as I watched the zombie start hitting the ss, looking for weak spots. "I don''t suppose you sprung for the bullet-proof ss, did you?"

    "No!" He yelled back, taking a swing with his own sword. His strike was better, but it was still not enough to take the head. "Why would we?"

    "In case zombies came?" I replied with a rolling of my eyes. "And aim a bit higher, not so close to the shoulders." Turning my attention back to the other 11 groups, I smiled. "So, my n went to pot. Get ready," I said as I opened the door to the hotel and let in the 5 zombies waiting oh so patiently outside for their turn at the buffet.

    I would rather have them in here and keep the ss between us and the outside world intact for as long as possible than risk them breaking it and not having control over who or what came in and when.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    The other teams quickly picked their zombie and rushed to sequester it in the middle of a circle, not allowing them the advantage of an extra body on their side. I walked around and observed, throwing in advice here and there. I was lucky that all the other humans that were originally here opted to hide as the lobby would have been much too full to be able to fight.

    But that was human nature for you, the majority would run to ensure their survival.

    Thest group to get a zombie was the first one to manage to decapitate it and I hurried over to burn the corpse. After praising them, I watched as they helped the others take out their own target. Soon, the only group still fighting was Wang Chao''s group, and that was simply because they were now fighting 2 against 1 with five zombies in the middle of the defensive circle.

    Looking at the time and the world outside, I decided to call a stop to the training and stepped into the circle between Wang Chao and Liu Wei. Slicing off the head of the first zombie, I set the two pieces on fire and moved on to the second one. I knew that this got easier the more time and practice that you had, and let''s face it, there was a steep learning curve.

    But we had to get a move on. I had seen the crows return and I knew that it was safe enough for us to leave, but we might have a limited time before the rest of their horde realized that they weren''ting back and went looking for them.

    Like a dance, I moved between the remaining four zombies, pushing myself. I had to get back to my old standards and fast. I took off one more head before making a mental note to sharpen my sword when we got to Liu Wei''s as it was starting to get dull. Setting that corpse on fire, it was now a matter of facing the remaining three. All of a sudden, I felt Liu Wei grab my arms and hastily pulled me back before there was a hail of long nails hitting the zombies, effectively pinning them to the floor. Impressed, I looked over at Wang Chao where he stood, holding his hand out as if directing an orchestra.

    "Now!" I yelled as soon as the nails stopped and the zombies were helpless. "Cut off their heads!"

    The men quicklyplied, even Zhang Hao Ran, and took their swords to cut off the heads. Turning everything into a pile of ash on the floor, I turned to the group, "So¡­ what did we learn?" I asked as I put away my sword after briefly cleaning the blue blood off of it.

    "That zombies are fucking hard to kill," grumbled one of the team leaders. I would have to figure out their namester, depending on who survived or not. Awe, look at that, you can teach an old dog new tricks.

    "Very good," I praised. "Now, let''s get going, shall we? We wasted enough time."

    The men simply formed their lines and waited for me to unlock the door and once again step out into the afternoon sun.

    "Take two," I muttered under my breath, already tired and in need of a coffee. Since Wang Chao and Liu Wei would know the area better, I waited for them to leave the hotel and lead the way. They quickly joined the rest of the group and we started to head east constantly surveying the area around us.

    We were lucky in that we managed to escape the hotel without the other people noticing, but the bad news was that Zhang Hao Ran wasing with us. I rolled my eyes as I saw him mingle in with the rest of the men, but the business suit was a dead giveaway that he was not one of us.

    I called Hades out and arranged him on my shoulders, not caring about his ws digging in to maintain his bnce. He would be our best advance warning of when the zombies were around, and I needed all of the advantages that I could have. Pulling out another cup of coffee, I sipped on it as the men around me carefully advanced.

    I admired them for their focus and determination, but I knew that it would notst long. You couldn''t maintain that level of anxiety for too long before your burned out. But I was not going to tell them that.

    They could learn that lesson the hard way. I had to.

 Chapter 65 65

    ?

    Completely lost in my own head, I started bobbing to the songs ying on repeat in my brain when I felt the men around me start to slow down. Because I did not have to be in charge of finding Liu Wei''s house, and there were no zombies currently around us, I slowed down my walking speed until I was in the middle of the group of men and let myself rx a bit.

    However, now that we were slowing down, I picked up my pace and moved up to the head of the pack to see what was going on. Hades was still rxed, so I knew that there were no zombies around, but I didn''t like not being in control... and not knowing what was going on screamedck of control. And for me, that waspletely uneptable.

    The men came to a standstill as I stepped in between Wang Chao and Liu Wei, just in case I was wrong and there were zombies in front of us.

    I wasn''t¡­ just to set the record straight¡­. In front of us was a group of maybe 200 men with a single individual clearly leading them. For the first time since we set out from the hotel, I took a good look around. We were in the middle of what could only be an affluent neighborhood withrge houses, bigger properties, and flimsy metal gates around them. Flimsy metal gates with electronic locks, I might add.

    Turning my attention back to the men in front of us, I could feel Liu Wei stiffen. "What are you doing here?" He demanded, his voice bing deeper, darker, and a tone emerged that I had never heard before. This wasn''t the flirty Liu Wei, or even the prim and proper personal assistant Liu Wei.

    Curious, I tilted my head and really studied the man in front of me. Noting the same ck hair and grey eyes that Liu Wei had, I went out on a limb and assumed that this was the little brother. Cranking my head as far back as it could to be able to see his face¡­ I amended my thought¡­ a really big, little brother.

    "Patrol," came the gruff reply. Yup¡­ gotta be rted. He does the same single-word grunts that the other two used to do.

    Rolling my eyes and wanting to go back to listening to my music and maybe getting another coffee, I felt Hades dig his ws into me and stand up from his position on my shoulder. He started off in a direction to my right and started hissing.

    "Fuck," I grumbled to myself and looked at the two guys. "Are you two friends or are we leaving them to die?" I asked, nodding my head toward the person I thought was the little brother.

    "Brother," bit out Liu Wie like the badass I was sure he was when he was a mob boss. Unfortunately for him, he was cannon fodder if we didn''t either prepare to fight or get out of here.

    "Flight, fight or freeze," I demanded, pulling out my still dull sword from my space and stared in the same direction as Hades. "Thanks for the heads-up," I said as I scratched him under his chin and sent him back into my space.

    Liu Wei quickly moved his gaze from his brother back to me. "What do you suggest?"

    I looked at the men around me and quickly made a calction. "Fight," I said. The men needed a chance to practice what they learned at the hotel¡­ an hour ago¡­ and with over 300 people around, it should make things even in terms of numbers. Liu Wei and Wang Chao nodded.

    "Same grouping as this morning, but we might not be able to have the same strategy. Put yourselves back to back and fight out," I said as I put away everyone''s guns. They still had their swords from this morning and they have finally realized just how useless a gun truly was.

    "Someone want to tell me what the fuck is going on?" Asked Liu Yu Zeng as he watched his brother''s men follow my direction.

    "Maybeter," I said, "Zombies first."

    "There are no zombies here. We already checked," said Liu Yu Zeng and he still readied his gun.

    "Sure you did," I said as I took a step in front of the men and fired a single shot into the air. Dead silence.

    "See," said Liu Yu Zeng. "I told you, there are no zombies."

    "Wang Chao?" I called, wanting to see if he understood me.

    "No birds, no animals. Silence after a single shot. They havee to hunt," he replied, effectively calling the situation.

    Nodding in happiness, I continued where he left off. "They have been following Liu Yu Zeng and his men. Why?"

    "To see their level of threat and see if they could take them out easily," said Liu Wei, walking up to stand on my left.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Once again, nodding in happiness, I expanded on his thought process. "And to see if they could lead them to more prey. So, what does that tell us?"

    "Yu Zeng''s group alone was not enough to feed them all so no need to attack. If they attack us now, they are confident that they will be able to feed everyone in their horde," said Wang Chao as he came up to my right.

    "Exactly," I agreed, scanning the area in front of me. There was that creepy stillness in the air that only happened right before an attack.

    Liu Yu Zeng fell into step beside his brother and looked at me.

    "Who are you?" He demanded as he put away his gun and pulled out two des the length of his forearms.

    "Your savior," I said with a smile. Nodding to the area in front of me. Coming down the street, weaving in, out, and over the stalled cars was a true zombie horde, but it only looked to be a ss 10, the weakest one.

    Then again, weak was a rtive term.

    "ss 10 horde," I said to the men behind me, wanting them to understand what they were seeing. "This will be the first time you have encountered them outside. It will be easier for you to ess your powers. Remember, aim out, and don''t hit your friends."

    I raised my arms and let out my blue me. It rose above our heads, breaking off into small balls of fire and just hung there like decorative lights on a summer night. I would not be able to keep track of any decapitated zombies, but I could let my me lose to burn them on its own. It was a new trick that I was trying¡­ but I really didn''t have much choice. We needed to burn them to make sure they stayed dead and there was only one of me and hundreds of them.

    Stretching my neck, I turned to Liu Yu Zeng, "Take off their heads, bullets mean nothing, and don''t remove any other part of them but their head," I said in a concise enough manner to hopefully make him understand. Then again, if he was rted to Liu Wei, it might take him a few tries before he would get it right.

    Not bothering to see his reaction, I sprinted towards the zombie horde, holding out my left hand, and calling on my ice power. I needed to exercise this one more. The only other time that I had used it was when I lost my shit and froze my bedroom, and that would not be beneficial in this situation. Thinking about the zombies turning into giant ice cubes, I managed to freeze the two closest to me.

    Unfortunately, the ice was weak and in a matter of seconds, they managed to break free from their capsule.

    Shit. They were almost on top of me when I swung my de and took their heads. One of the blue balls of light quickly swooped down and set the pieces on fire before returning to its position in the sky.

    At least that trick worked.

    I tried to take out as many as I could before they got past me, my pink meing out to burn the zombies too. It worked, it just took a bit longer, but still not long enough to allow them to regenerate. Thankfully it was November and the weather was not too hot so I was able to use my ice with more sess. But I was still pretty limited with what I could do with it.

    As more and more zombies managed to get past me, I heard more sound of battleing from behind me.

    I was powerless to check to see how my boys were doing, even if there was nothing that I wanted to do more. I continued my assault on the zombies that approached me and between my sword, ice, and mes I was able to take out a good number of them. Unfortunately, though, they just kepting.

    If we kept this up, we were going to get overwhelmed by sheer numbers. We needed a ce to retreat to.

    "Liu Wei!" I yelled, still fighting the zombie trying to take my head off. "We need a safe ce! Get the men and go!"

    I heard him grunt and I quickly took the head of the zombie before he took mine. I paused for a second while I gathered all of the strength and power I had. Holing out my arms parallel to the ground, I slowly rose them, creating a wall of blue and pink mes between me and the zombies in front of me.

    Picturing a solid wall that surrounded us on three sides, I began to weave my mes to create something solid enough that the zombies could not pass. "Go!" I screamed, pushing more and more power into the wall.

    I could feel the zombies hitting the mes on the other side, not caring that the mes were causing them damage. They knew their food was weak¡­ helpless¡­ and right in front of them.

 Chapter 66 66

    ?

    I was struggling to maintain my wall of fire, the one thing that was keeping the zombies away from me and mine. Every hit they made; every scratch, weakened me that much more. They did not care about the mes that burnt them, they simply continued their assault as their flesh regenerated as fast as my fire could burn it away.

    I could feel the sweat dripping down my back, and my arms shook from the effort to keep them up, but still, I persisted.

    I needed to make sure that everyone had made it to a safe spot, and given the extra 200 some-odd men from Liu Yu Zeng''s side, that meant that I had to buy a lot more time.

    All of a sudden I felt a hand grab the back of my shirt cor and I flinched, worried that a zombie might have found the exit that I had left for the men. "Shhh, little girl," came the harsh voice beside my ear as Wang Chao wrapped his other arm around my waist. "It''s just me," he continued as he slowly started to guide me back, one step at a time.

    But as I retreated, so too did my mes, unable to keep up the energy they needed if they were too far from my body. And as my mes retreated, the zombies advanced, pushing their advantage one step at a time.

    Wang Chao guided my body to where it needed to go, not allowing me to trip or stumble. Trusting himpletely at this moment, I concentrated on pushing the mes out¡­ but still holding back a bit, just in case the safe house was further away.

    "It''s not," he whispered into my ear. I could feel us taking a step up, knowing that it had to be the curb of the sidewalk. "Just a few more steps," he said in encouragement as the zombies, seemingly knowing that we were going to get away, increased their attacks on the wall.

    My vision was nothing but a blue wall of mes, I couldn''t even see whatever zombies were in front of me or even if there were any on my sides, I just continued to step back until there was no ce left to go.

    "We are here, little girl. Push them back if you can to give us a chance to close the gates and make it inside."

    I did as he suggested, pulling up everyst bit of strength and energy inside of me and letting it go out, picturing it encasing the zombies and burning them to ashes.

    Hey, if you are going to visualize sess, you might as well go all out.

    I heard the banging of steel gates before everything turned ck and I copsed, not caring about what came next.

    --------

    Liu Wei watched as Wang Chao swept Li Dai Lu into his arms and brought her into the house. "Is she ok?" He asked, concern apparent on his face.

    "Burnt out," Wang Chao replied as he put her on the couch. Grabbing a nket and tucking her in, he looked around at the men. "Any casualties?" He asked.

    "No," replied Liu Wei adjusting his sses. "A lot more injuries than yesterday, but no casualties. You, Yu Zeng?" The man looked over his shoulder at his second-inmand behind him. Raising his eyebrows in question, he waited for the man to give him a report.

    "Two dead, several wounded," came the gruff reply from Chen Zi Han, Liu Yu Zeng''s second inmand and enforcer for the Red Dragon Syndicate. Liu Yu Zeng nodded his head in understanding and turned to look at his older brother.

    "You going to exin who that is now?" He asked, pointing to the unconscious girlying on the couch.

    "Your savior," came Liu Wei''s sarcastic response.

    Liu Yu Zeng rolled his eyes. "Wu Bai Hee won''t be happy," he said, a small smirk on his face.

    "And I care?" Replied Liu Wei as he went to the front window of the mansion that they hadmandeered. He could not see anything, but that didn''t mean a thing. Like Li Dai Lu pointed out, the zombies were predators, they would not give away their location until they were sure of a sessful hunt. Looking up, he could not see any birds or animals, so he could only assume that they were still out there. "What were you doing out there?"

    "Grandfather told me to go out and see what was going on," replied Lu Yu Zeng as he moved to sit in one of the chairs in the living room. Since there was a woman taking up the couch, the seating options were limited.

    Liu Wei raised his eyebrow and turned to look at his younger brother. "And me telling you to keep your asses at home until after November 1st?"<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Liu Yu Zeng shrugged his shoulders. "Grandfather said differently."

    And that was the catch. As much as Liu Wei was the head in name¡­ he was not in City H full-time, so everyone still listened to their grandfather''s orders. "And how did that go?"

    Liu Yu Zeng scoffed. "Peachy¡­ until we lost power and the Princess went into a panic about not being able to dry her hair or take a hot shower. You know, if you knew this wasing, a bit of a heads-up would have been nice."

    Liu Wei pursed his lips and nodded his head. "You are right¡­ I should havee out and said, ''On November 1st the entire world is going to pot and a zombie apocalypse is going toe.'' You would have believed me¡­ right?" He asked, maintaining eye contact with Liu Yu Zeng.

    Liu Yu Zeng never broke his gaze but chose to remain silent. If Liu Wei had told him that, he would have assumed that he had gone crazy. No one could have seen thising. "So, how did you know it was going to happen?" He asked the question that had been burning inside him ever since the power went out.

    Liu Wei cocked his head, indicating the woman on the couch. Wang Chao had made his way over to her side and had her head on hisp.

    "Wang Chao''s girlfriend?" Asked Liu Yu Zeng somewhat surprised. He didn''t realize that Wang Chao was interested in the opposite sex, let alone had a girlfriend.

    "No," snarled Liu Wei as he made his way over to the couch and picked up Li Dai Lu''s feet and put them on hisp, making sure that the nket still covered her.

    Wang Chao smirked at Liu Wei, "Not yet," was his only reply.

    Liu Wei simply rolled his eyes and refused to continue on with the conversation. "She told us." He said, trying to bring the conversation back to the topic at hand. "She was preparing for it and bought one of our properties."

    "And you just believed her?" Asked Liu Yu Zeng, his surprise apparent in his voice. Even Chen Zi Han was stunned. Never in a million years did he think that Liu Wei would believe that the world wasing to an end.

    "Not at first, but she is very convincing," admitted Liu Wei, looking down at Li Dai Lu. He slowly started rubbing her feet in an unconscious manner. "Anyways. How many men are here and what are your ns?"

    "I left about 50 men with Grandfather and Wu Bai Hee has another 25 from her father. They should be safe enough. Neither one was too interested in leaving the house until someone came to rescue them."

    "Good luck with that," scoffed Wang Chao, his fingers running through Li Dai Lu''s ck locks. "No one ising to save anyone."

    He didn''t realize until just that moment what Li Dai Lu was saying. People would spend the first few days waiting for someone toe and save them, only leaving their house once the food ran out.

    Liu Yu Zeng frowned, the look on his face would be intimidating to any normal person¡­ too bad those in this room were not normal. "What about the government?"

    "There is none. Chances are, the bases where the military was would be the safest ce for people, but the higher-ups would not risk their soldiers, now their own personal army, to go out and protect the citizens. Li Dai Lu said that there would be a mass scramble to establish safe zones, but it was not like anyone was bothering to enforce thews outside of them."

    Liu Yu Zeng leaned back in his chair, folded his hands in hisp, and went silent. Chen Zi Han, who was just standing behind and off to the right of Liu Yu Zeng was in afortable stance, his legs shoulder width apart, his hands behind his back.

    "What is our next step?" Asked Liu Yu Zeng.

    "We wait for her to wake up and tell us," smiled Liu Wei and he looked down at the woman that was bing more and more important to him every day.

    "Then I guess we wait," said Liu Yu Zeng as he too looked at the girlying on the couch, apparently in deep sleep.

 Chapter 67 67

    ?

    I knew that I had dreamed, something about a purple fire, but for the life of me, I couldn''t remember it when I woke up. Slowlying out of my dream, I could feel that I wasying on something soft and someone was ying with my hair and giving me a foot massage. All in all, not a bad way to wake up.

    I hummed as I stretched my body, still refusing to open my eyes. I was tired, had the mother of all headaches, and really, really wanted a chocte cake. I heard Wang Chao''s chuckle and I smiled in response.

    "This ce has supplies," he said, his voice could tempt an angel to sin, and I was no angel.

    "Supplies?" I said, my attention immediately catching onto his words. "I like supplies." My headache seemed to magically disappear at the mention of supplies.

    He hummed in agreement. "But you are going to have to open those eyes of yours if you want to collect them," he said as his fingers continued tob my hair.

    "Do I have to?" I whined, really happy and content at the moment. Getting up seemed to require more energy than I wanted to spend right now.

    "You don''t have to¡­" he said, starting to agree with me, "But then again, I don''t know if Zhang Hao Ran or Liu Yu Zeng will walk away with them¡­"

    "I''ll kill them," I screeched as I quickly sat up and looked around the room, wide eyed. I wasying on a couch with Wang Chao and Liu Wei at either end and across from me was Lui Yu Zeng and another guy standing behind him. I looked around frantically, but I could not see Zhang Hao Ran. "Where is he?!" I growled, not willing to let him steal my supplies.

    I saved that man twice now¡­ if he dared to take what was mine, he wouldn''t have to worry about a third time.

    I heard a chuckle on both sides of me and I turned my head to look at Liu Wei first and then at Wang Chao. "Is there something funny?" I snapped, feeling more like myself with every passing moment. Burnout was not fun, but luckily, I was recovering well. There were horror stories about people that pushed their powers so hard that they became Normal in the end.

    "Nothing at all, Sweetheart," said Liu Wei, still chuckling. "Your supplies arepletely safe and waiting for you to take them whenever you want."

    I nodded my head like that was to be expected and looked at Liu Yu Zeng. "So you guys are here too?" I asked, trying to figure out what was going on.

    "So it would seem," said Liu Yu Zeng in a slightly haughty way.

    "And Zhang Hao Ran is--?" I asked, looking around the room for him.

    "As far as I can guess, he is outside trying to get his brother on the phone," replied Wang Chao, as if that exercise in futility had nothing to do with him.

    I smirked, "And how is that going for him?" Wang Chao just shrugged, not caring about his future brother-inw. "Alright¡­ so, what''s the n?"

    "Apparently we were waiting for you to wake up and tell us what it was going to be," said Liu Yu Zeng, once again giving off an air of superiority. This was going to be fun.

    I raised my eyebrows and smiled at the man sitting in front of me as if he was holding court. I was surrounded by princes and only two of them were smart enough to understand their circumstances. Looking at my two boys, I widened my smile. "So smart!" I praised them, happy that they didn''t do anything stupid until I woke up.

    "What is it looking like outside, and how far are we from Liu Wei''s house?" I asked, looking at all four of the men around me.

    "No movement outside, but not sure if it is because there is a zombie horde outside or just that this neighborhood eliminated all animals around it pre-apocalypse," said Liu Wei, giving me a brief report.

    "And distance?"<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "We are looking at about 3 blocks away from here," said Liu Yu Zeng. I nodded and stood up.

    "Alright, how many men do we have on hand, what is the weapon situation, and what time is it?" I continued. I walked through one set of doors and into what appeared to be a dining room. It was too pretentious for the farmhouse chic d¨¦cor that I liked, so I left it all. Making my way into the kitchen, I hit paydirt as I opened the cupboards and found the food that was left behind. Putting it away into my space, I continued with my tour of the house.

    Wang Chao and the others followed me around, pointing out things here and there that they wanted.

    Surprisingly, Liu Yu Zeng and his shadow didn''t say a word as they saw things vanish before their eyes.

    "Not including the 5 of us, we are looking at 342 men in total, only enough cold weapons to supply half of the men, unless you have more swords on you, and it is 4:00 in the afternoon," said Wang Chao as he pointed to a vase that he liked. Meh, if he liked it¡­ I waved my hand and took it into my space.

    I paused, trying to think if I had any more swords or daggers or really anything that could remove heads from bodies. Without meaning to... (Hey! I was still trying to work out the kinks, this space is new to this life I''ll have you know) ¡­ a pile of swords, axes, and short swords appeared in the hallway in front of us.

    "Oops," I said, trying not to show that it was donepletely without my knowledge. "Sorry about that. But apparently, we have more weapons. Do you men know how to use them?" I asked Liu Yu Zeng as he reached forward and grabbed a sheathed katana from the pile.

    "They should be fine," he replied in a very s¨¦ type of way.

    "Good," I said as I stepped around the pile of weapons and continued on my tour of the house. "And that stick up your ass¡­ is it sharp enough to take off a head or should you remove it to sharpen it before we leave?"

    Silence met myment and I tried not to smile¡­ I didn''t really try all that hard, but I did try.

    Looking over my shoulder, I raised an eyebrow. When there were no repliesing from anyone, I considered that a win.

    I quickly finished my inspection of the house, wanting to make sure that I didn''t leave anything that I would need behind. This meant that I took all the beds, mattresses, sheets, towels, and any other useful item that I could get my hands on. I was not going to look back and wish that I took it while I had the chance. I even took all of the living room furniture, just in case!

    And if I didn''t think that Hades would put up a stink, I would have also taken the small doggy bed, but since he would have, I decided to leave it here. See, I can leave things behind for others to take in the future¡­

    Feeling in as good of a mood as possible, thanks to all of the new supplies, I opened the door, ready to see what the world had in store for me.

    Apparently, that meant me walking face first into a chest and crushing my nose. Who the Hell stands so close to the fricking door anyways?!? Looking up, my question had been answered.

    "What do you want, Zhang Hao Ran?" I grumbled, rubbing my nose to make sure it was all in one piece. It was, for those of you who were worried¡­ I know I was¡­.

    "Wang Chao, when are we leaving?" The man asked Wang Chao over my head. Talk about rude. Well, if he was going to be rude first, there was no reason for me not to retaliate. Swinging back my foot, Inded a painful kick to Zhang Hao Ran''s shin. Watching him drop down to the floor and holding his shin while screaming in pain brought back all of my previous feelings of happiness.

    Practically skipping down the steps, I made my way to the metal doors that saved us all from the zombies. Putting out a quick thank you to whatever God or Gods were listening at that moment, I rejoiced that this horde did not choose to scale the walls. Given the fact that they were only 6 feet high, it was a distinct possibility.

    I called my fires, my pink in the left hand and the blue in the right, and motioned for the men to slowly open the doors. I hadn''t heard any birds or other wildlife, so I was not going to take any chances that the zombies had gotten bored and left.

    Barely opened more than a foot, I quickly slid out of the gates, ready to face the horde again¡­ this time, determined to win.

 Chapter 68 68

    ?

    As soon as I got to the other side of the gates, I froze¡­ Looking to my right and my left, I scanned the area. Not a single zombie was in sight.

    Scrunching my nose, I took Hades out of my space. "It''s not like I am trying to treat you like the canary in the mine, but a little help here please?" I asked as I put him in his customary spot on my shoulder. He red at me and walked around, digging his ws into me as he made himselffortable andid down.

    The anime that I used to watch, and even the books I read where the female lead had a cat that hung out on her shoulder never mentioned exactly how painful it was to actually do it. I was developing new scars there whenever Hades slipped and dug his ws into me. 0/10 would not rmend it unless in the middle of a zombie apocalypse¡­ even then¡­ get a dog and put it on a leash.

    Seeing that Hades was happily napping in the sun, I turned back around and knocked on the gates that had closed behind me. "All good," I yelled as the gates slowly opened. "Let''s get going!"

    The Wang Chao, Liu Wei, Liu Yu Zeng, the guy I was told was Chen Zi Han, and Zhang Hao Ran came out first, then followed by the rest of the men. Looking at the number of people in front of me, I would have cringed if it didn''t mean that Hades would have dug his ws into me.

    Hopefully, when all this was done, the numbers would be greatly reduced. This many people in a group was just begging for trouble.

    I cracked my neck,pletely forgetting about Hades¡­ until the murder mittens came out. Cringing, I indicated for the men to go first. I wanted coffee¡­ the chocte cake would have to wait, but I could drink and walk at the same time. Pulling out a travel mug full of the good stuff (coffee with 5 shots of expresso) I hid back in the middle of the crowd and enjoyed the afternoon.

    ---

    They weren''t kidding when they said that the mansion was nearby. Less than 10 minutester (I hadn''t even managed to finish my coffee) we arrived at another set of gates and Liu Yu Zeng stepped forward to speak to the guy guarding the front. Within a matter of minutes, we were all entering the most¡­ unique (?) mansion I had ever seen.

    I don''t think that unique is the right word¡­ but it was definitely not my type. It seemed to be a cross between gothic architecture and modern, and while I am sure that it cost a fortune, I really wasn''t impressed. There was a round tower-type structure on the right, but it didn''t have the typical roof that you would think of when you heard the word tower. It connected the two wings of the mansion, one on the right and the other on the left so that the whole house looked like it was an obtuse angle that you would find on a math test.

    Once again there was floor-to-ceiling windows that, even before the threat of zombies, I was not a fan of. I know that people off the streets couldn''t see in, but still, to be that exposed gave me the heebie-jeebies.

    Snorting with the thoughts going through my mind, I didn''t notice when the men arranged themselves into their lines, leaving me out on my own. Rolling my eyes, I walked up to where the five men stood in front of the men. As much as I appreciated their discipline, there were sometimes when I thought they went a bit overboard. But that was just me.

    I continued walking until I was in my regr spot between Wang Chao and Liu Wei who were looking very intently at a¡­ closed door¡­

    Confused, I looked around and saw that everyone but Zhang Hao Ran was staring at the door. Not wanting to be anything like Zhang Hao Ran, I too¡­ stared at a closed door.

    Whelp, this is bullshit, I grumbled. Maybe this was a City H thing? Or a crazy thing? Not like I was one to really say anything¡­ I had a constant dialogue going through my head all the time. Pretty sure that falls under the crazy category.

    I heard Wang Chao chuckle beside me as he wrapped an arm around my side and gave me a light kiss on my temple. "You are not crazy; I find your running dialogue extremely cute."

    Stupid mind reading¡­ "Then can you tell me how it''s not crazy to stare at a closed door? Is someone trying out their spirit powers and what to know if they can open a closed door?"<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "It''s a sign of respect to Grandfather," said Liu Yu Zeng, still staring straight in front of him. Leaning forward so that I could see around Liu Wei, I looked at Liu Yu Zeng.

    "So the man has x-ray vision and he can see us through the closed door?" I asked. You''ll have to forgive me¡­ maybe I was because I didn''t grow up here so I didn''t understand, but why were we doing this? I don''t think that anyone even rang the doorbell. How was the old man supposed to know that we were even here if we didn''t let him know¡­ and if he didn''t know that we were here¡­ would we have to stand like this for hours? Days?

    Wang Chao grabbed my coffee cup from my hands and handed it to someone behind him. "I think that is enough coffee for you," he smirked. "You are not going to be able to sleep tonight with all that caffeine running through your veins."

    Ha! Jokes on him! I already finished it. Sticking out my tongue inside my head, I hear Wang Chao try to hold back a chuckle. And I don''t think that there was such a thing as too much caffeine¡­ the fact that I was vibrating had nothing to do with anything.

    Wondering how long we were going to stay here, standing at attention, I took out the slice of chocte cake I had been dreaming of since I first woke up from my burnout.

    Holding the te in my left hand, and the fork in my right, I took my first bite and moaned. This caf¨¦ really knew how to make a good cake. Too bad they are probably destroyed by now. I guess I was a bit too loud as I could feel countless gazes turn to me. Fearing for the safety of my cake, I hunched over the te and began shoveling it as fast as I could into my mouth. No one was taking my cake from me¡­ I would kill them first.

    When I heard three barks ofughter, I lifted my head up and saw Wang Chao, Liu Wei, Lui Yu Zeng, and Chen Zi Han staring at me¡­ and everyone but Chen Zi Han wasughing at me. Deciding that Chen Zi Han was now my favorite, I lifted my head, trying to lookposed¡­ but not before I licked thest few crumbs and frosting off of the te.

    With a sigh, Chen Zi Han stepped out of line and came to stand right in front of me. Wide-eyed, I looked up at the 6''6 man¡­ what the hell did they feed the people around here? Everyone was fricking giant!

    He grabbed my chin to hold my face steady and then proceeded to wipe my mouth and cheeks with his thumb. "Slow down next time," he growled. "You have chocte all over your face. No one is going to take it from you." Once he felt that my face was clean enough, he went back to his spot in line.

    I looked at Wang Chao and Liu Wei, was it okay to not be staring at the closed door? Wang Chao just shrugged his shoulders. "He is right," he said as he looked down at me. "No one was going to take it from you¡­ but I was going to leave the chocte on your face. You looked like a little kid."

    I could feel my bottom liping out in a pout. I was not a kid¡­ I was 20 years old in this life and like 70 years old all told. I was not a little kid!

    "Sure you''re not, Sweetheart," said Liu Wei, still not moving his gaze.

    What the Hell! Liu Wie was not supposed to be able to read my mind! That was a Wang Chao thing¡­ I could not deal with both of them inside my head¡­ It was scary enough with just me in there!

    "He can''t," said Wang Chao, clearly enjoying himself. "You just have a really expressive face¡­ no mind reading necessary."

    I was going to have some type of snarky response¡­ if I was given another hour to think about it¡­ but the doors finally opened and everyone around me straightened up a little bit more. I guess the guest of honor has arrived¡­ or are we the guests of honor?

    I mentally shrugged my shoulders¡­ either way¡­ Wang Chao was right¡­ I might need toy off the caffeine.

 Chapter 69 69

    ?

    An elderly gentleman (see¡­ I could be nice) stepped out of the doorway, his arm linked to the woman beside him and his other hand was gently tapping hers where it rested on his forearm. He was dressed to the nines with a navy blue pin-stripe suit with a white dress shirt beneath it and a navy blue tie. His white hair wasbed in the typical elderly style and he was sporting a very stylish goatee. The amount of care that he showed the woman beside him was incredibly heartwarming. I wanted that type of look directed at me someday.

    How sweet¡­ I have to admit that I was a sucker for age-gap romances and this one looked like at least a 50-year gap or so¡­ and no, I was not one to kink shame. Good for them for finding the love of their lives. I wished them all the best in the future. Looking at the couple and thinking about how cute they looked together, it took me a few minutes to hear Wang Chao breaking the silence with his bark ofughter.

    When everyone''s attention turned to him, the Prince of City A simply waved his hand in the air, not at all embarrassed by being caughtughing. If it was me, I would have wanted the ground to swallow me whole. Freezing with that thought, I closed my eyes, hoping that I didn''t get an earth power that I was unaware of.

    I had actually seen an earth power user get swallowed by the ground one time when she was embarrassed. That was not the way that I wanted to go. We had seriously tried to dig her out for hours and never found her.

    Wang Chao let out another bark ofughter as I could only assume that he saw the images in my mind of a giant hole opening underneath a woman and her dropping into it only to close back up as soon as she disappeared. When you were a power user, you had to be careful what thoughts were running around in your head.

    "Is there something funny Wang Chao?" asked the elderly gentleman, his eyes trained on Wang Chao as if he was offering up the greatest insult possible. Once again, Wang Chao simply waved his hand in dismissal.

    "Nothing that I am sure you would find amusing," he said in answer. "How are you, Master Liu?"

    Master Liu? Liu Wei and Liu Yu Zeng''s grandfather¡­ huh¡­ I really couldn''t see a family resemnce. Well, except for the ck hair¡­ but then again, in Country K, ck hair was the signature of like 80% of the poption, so I really didn''t think that would count.

    Liu Hao Yu, otherwise known as Liu Wei''s grandfather, ignored Wang Chao and instead turned his attention to Liu Wei. "Finally decided to grace us with your presence?" he snipped. I could feel my hackles start to rise and Hades was simrly unimpressed with my reaction.

    "I hardly think that it was Liu Wei''s problem that you decided to leave your house in the middle of the zombie apocalypse," I snapped, more than willing to be done with all this and get back to my ranch.

    "And you are?" the Old Master snapped back, turning his head to look at me. The way I saw him gripping the woman beside him, I think I might have pissed him off.

    "Your savior," I returned with a smile, giving him the same answer that I gave Liu Yu Zeng. I paused¡­ if Liu Yu Zeng was going to be with us for a while I would have to find a way to shorten his name¡­ Liu Yu Zeng was a mouthful¡­ or was it a mindful?

    Whatever it was¡­ clearly the caffeine was still in high gear. That was my excuse and I was going with it.

    "Nonsense!" came the old man''s reply as he raised his arm. The 20 or so men that had filed out of the door after him like ants from an anthill raised their weapons and pointed them at me. "You are being melodramatic. It is a simple power outage; it will be restored in a matter of hours."

    I was really not impressed when I saw the guns pointed at my head. In fact, I was getting downright cranky. But then, when I heard the sound of guns raising behind me, I felt a lot more content. Liu Wei and Wang Chao did not have to move a muscle and their men were still willing to protect me.

    Mind you, I didn''t want to be smack dab in the middle of a firefight, but the idea was really sweet.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Yup," I said and I started nodding like a bobblehead. "And that''s why the power has been out for two days now and still no one hase around to fix it."

    The woman beside the old man scoffed as she looked down her nose at me. I studied her, my head tilted. Her long ck hair hung down her back like a roll of the purest silk. Her makeup was on point, done in pink tones to make herself seem more innocent, with only the slightest bit of ck eyeliner and hershes, she drew attention to her eyes.

    She was dressed impably, with a pink pencil skirt, white silk blouse, and a pink cardigan over top. Her white heels looked like they had never seen a speck of dirt in their lives and the diamonds on her wrist, neck, and ears sparkled in the sunlight. It was clearly s subtle attempt to do a couples style with the Old Master. All in all, though, she looked like shark food.

    I smirked at her, not worrying about her opinion. If her backing was an old man that might be able to shoot his way out of a wet paper bag but was in no way, shape, or form able to take on a zombie, then she could scoff at me as much as she wanted.

    I pulled out another cup of coffee, willing to keep this staring contest between the two of us going for as long as possible. This time it was Liu Wei that took it from me before I could even get a sip. I snarled at him, breaking contact with the witch to look at the dead man that had taken my coffee from me.

    "You''ve had enough," he said as he took a sip. Narrowing my eyes on him, I ignored everything to solely focus on the man keeping me from my coffee. I didn''t care about the guns still pointing at me, or the screeching from the woman in front of me¡­ my undivided attention was in the coffee mug that was being held over Liu Wei''s head. Even if I jumped, I would not be able to reach it.

    With a sigh, Chen Zi Han came to my rescue. Stepping out of line, he grabbed the mug from Liu Wei and handed it to me. He was definitely my new favorite¡­ Liu Wei was slipping.

    Once again, Wang Chaoughed out loud as I took a sip of the heavenly nectar. "Leave her alone," Chen Zi Han growled and went back to his ce.

    Coffee in one hand my other petting Hades on my shoulder, I felt like I was a queen. And as queen¡­ I was not going to put up with any more shit. But then it hit me like a fucking freight train¡­ we got to Liu Wei''s family¡­ but what were we going to do with them next? That was something that I never considered when the boys talked me into the rescue mission. They were damn well not going to step foot on my property. And I was not willing to stay here.

    "Liu Wei," I said with as much calm as I could. "What are we going to do with them now that we''ve found them?"

    He turned to look at me and shrugged his shoulders¡­ "Bring them home," he said like it was the most obvious answer in the world. And it was¡­ but¡­

    "Whose home?" I asked, giving him a side-eye. Saying that we were just going to take them home left a lot of wiggle room. Home could be City H. Home could be Elysian Fields (over my dead body). Home could be any ce anywhere in the entire Country K or neighboring countries. Home, in my opinion, was a really, really broad concept.

    Feeling the beginning of a panic attacking on, I struggled to breathe. Wang Chao came up behind me and started rubbing my back. "Breathe, Little Girl," he said, his voice low, almost a purr. He plucked Hades from my shoulder and passed him to the team leader behind him. Pulling me deeper into his arms, my brain thankfully when nk. "Liu Wei will exin what he means, but let''s go inside and figure things out before we start to get upset¡­ ok?" he asked, his voice continuing the gentle purr.

    I felt myself rxing in his embrace. "Ok," I said. "But the ranch ispletely out of the question."

    I felt Wang Chao nod. "Agreed."

 Chapter 70 70

    ?

    "Funny," came the soft voice from the woman hanging off of the Old Master of the Liu Family. "I don''t recall inviting her into the house."

    I looked at the woman in front of me, the air of superiority seeping from her very pores. "You don''t want me inside your house?" I asked, my head tilted. A wide smile appeared on my face. "Perfect, because I don''t want you in mine." Looking at the boys around me, my smile stayed perfectly in ce. "I''ll just go back outside and rx. You can deal with the shit here." Moving to turn around, I had forgotten that I was still trapped in Wang Chao''s arms and he was not willing to let me go.

    Dropping my shoulders in defeat, I shut my mouth and waited for the guys to sort things out.

    "You know, Wu Bai Hee, I don''t remember this being your home," said Liu Yu Zeng,pletely catching my attention. That was Wu Bai Hee? Like the same Wu Bai Hee that was engaged to Liu Wei, Wu Bai Hee? Then why was she hanging off of the Old Master like a bunny at the yboy mansion?

    Confused beyond all belief, I tilted my head back and looked at Wang Chao. ''Wu Bai Hee?!'' I mouthed and he just nodded my head. Taking a second, I quickly got over my disbelief. If she wanted to trade in Liu Wei for his grandfather then that was up to her. I stood by my statement about no kink shaming.

    Once again, she let out a high pitched squeal and looked at the old man she was holding on to, shaking her arms in protest and in return, shaking the Old Master. And the boys thought I was childish, I scoffed. Maybe I would have to keep her around to remind the boys how much better I was than her.

    "We don''t need to do that. We know how perfect you are," said Wang Chao, rummaging around in my head.

    "As long as you are aware. Now, are we going inside any time soon?" I asked, looking around. It was almost 5:00 pm and the cake from earlier was not doing much to keep me full. I wanted dinner, and to sit down¡­ and a shower. What I did not want was to keep standing here throwing insults back and forth.

    Where was a zombie when you needed one? And keep in mind, I said one¡­ not a horde, I just wanted some form of entertainment that didn''t make me feel like I was losing brain cells with every passing minute.

    Liu Wei huffed out a sigh, like he was giving up, and started to walk up the stairs toward the front door. "Come on, Sweetheart, let''s get you sitting down. You just woke up an hour ago and must still be tired."

    The obnoxious woman that had quickly let go of the Old Master when Liu Wei went up the stairs, let out the fakestugh I had ever heard. The high pitch twitter she let out literally gave me goosebumps. How could Liu Yu Zeng put up with her this long without trying to kill her?

    Swinging my head over to the man in question, he looked back at me with a raised eyebrow. "It was hard," he said and Chen Zi Han nodded his head in agreement. What the fuck! Was everyone a spirit user now?!?

    "Nope," said Wang Chao with a sigh¡­ "You still have an expressive face."

    "Hey!" I cried in protest, "It''s not my fault for what my facing is saying while she was talking."

    The three men chucked and looked back to the mansion entrance to watch the drama unfold.

    Sometime within the minutes that we were talking amongst ourselves, Wu Bai Hee had managed to get an octopus grip on Liu Wei''s arm and was refusing to let go. It was kind of funny to watch this 6''5rge man trying (unsessfully) to break out of her grasp. I would not be surprised if her feet were hanging off the ground with how high Liu Wei was holding the arm she was gripping.

    I chuckled, willing to lend him a hand¡­ but not an arm¡­ I didn''t want her hanging off anyone else that way. "Awe, thanks WeiWei," I croon, wiggling out of Wang Chao''s arms and ascending the stairs. "You are so good at looking after me."<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    The high pitch squeal that the other woman let out made me want tough. "What? Did you think you were his Sweetheart?" I said as I pushed past the men that still had their guns pointed at me and stepped inside the mansion. "Bless your heart," I finished, blowing her a kiss.

    Ignoring the chaos going on around me, I walked into the foyer and quickly found a room off to the side with couches and chairs. The gothic/modern mansion had an open-concept main floor (ish) that I found myself admiring. I say ish because the kitchen was still closed off¡­ or at least nowhere to be seen.

    And the fact that I am looking for the kitchen because that was typically where the supplies were, has nothing to do with anything¡­ I promise.

    I sat down in the middle of a couch and waited for the rest of the people toe in. Wang Chao was right, I should figure out the details before freaking out over where we were going next. The Old Master and the Octopus might not even want to leave¡­

    But then¡­ would Liu Wei stay with them?

    I shook my head at all the thoughts scrambling through it. One step at a time¡­ and if Step One was noting into y, then as a famous Queen once said back in my world: "Let them eat cake!" I thought about which dessert I wanted as first, the Old Master entered the living room, followed by Liu Wei and Wu Bai Hee, and finally, the rest of the guys.

    Deciding that key lime crumble was the order of the moment, I took it out along with a ss of water and put it on the coffee table in front of me. The water¡­ not the key lime crumble¡­ that was firmly in my hands. Just as I was about to take a bite of the graham cracker crust, tart lime filling, and streusel topping, I heard a chuckleing from behind me. Seeing that Wang Chao was on my right and Liu Wei (who sessfully managed to remove the Octopus) was on my left, I tilted my head back to see who wasughing behind me.

    I would give him credit¡­ Chen Zi Han quickly erased the smile from his face, but there was nothing that he could do about the twinkle in his eyes. I red at the man and took a giant bite of paradise right in front of him. Slowly chewing, I turned my attention back to the Old Master and Wu Bai Hee¡­ a.k.a the Octopus.

    I smirked when I saw their attention on me as much as my attention was on them. Taking another big bite of my dessert, I slowly gave them a big smile. "Can I help you?"

    "You do realize that it is the epitome of rudeness to eat in a house that is not your own unless invited to by the owner, right?" came the snarky voice of the octopus.

    Looking over to Liu Wei, I asked, "Can I eat this in your house?" I took his grunt as approval and took my third bite. I stared down at my te for a second and realized that this dessert was disappearing too fast. Oh well¡­ I guess that was why I had 59 others. What? I believe in stockpiling my food. Hardly my fault¡­ it''s a side effect of already living through this apocalypse thing once before.

    "There," I said to the manner police, "I have permission from the owner of the house to eat. Is it okay now?" I asked as I took my fourth and final bite of key lime crumble. Refusing to lick the te in front of the Octopus, I simply vanished it back into my space to save the crumbs forter. Taking a quick sip of my water, I looked around the room. "Now what?"

    "Now, we take them home," said Liu Wei, taking my hand in his and slowly rubbing the top of it.

    "I caught that the first time you said it," I snapped pulling back my hands with a roll of my eyes. If he thinks rubbing my hand will make me less stressed or angry, he had another thinging. The only cure for stress or anger was desserts and he did not have a supply of his own so he was S.O.L. "What home?"

    Liu Wei froze when I asked him that question and I realized that just like me, he had no idea. Liu Wei turned to look at Liu Yu Zeng who was standing just behind him and beside Chen Zi Han. Why those two weren''t sitting, I had no idea, but I was not about to ask.

    Liu Yu Zeng simply shrugged his shoulders and nodded his head in his grandfathers'' direction. Wait¡­ the old man was supposed to decide where we were going?!? Were they insane?!? Couldn''t we just kill the two of them and be done with everything?

 Chapter 71 71

    ?

    The look of adoring frustration that Wang Chao was giving me made me smile. Wondering if that was his way of saying yes, I started to think about how we would kill them. I voted for death by fire¡­ but since they were Liu Wei''s ''family'' it would probably be better to cut off their heads first. You know¡­ a more humane death.

    "No." Wang Chao''s voice cut through the arguing around us. I pouted but understood that if I really wanted to be humane, then a bullet to the back of the head when they were least expecting it was a much better way to go.

    "No," said Wang Chao again, this time rubbing his forehead. Trying to think about what he could be objecting to, I turned to Liu Wei.

    "Any idea what he''s talking about?" I asked him, pointing to Wang Chao. The poor man seemed to be developing quite a headache. Liu Wei simply shrugged his shoulders and shook his head.

    Wang Chao let out a tired sigh and looked me in the eyes. Making sure he had my undivided attention he spoke very, very slowly. "No," I watch his lips form the word, but I still was not clued in. "You will not kill them using fire, you will not kill them by taking their head and you will not kill them by putting a bullet in their brain."

    I was stunned. That was the stupidest Dr. Seuss rhyme that I had ever heard! He should have gone:

    ''You should not kill them very dead; you should not shoot them in the head. You should not burn them to a fine ash; you should not go and take all their stash.''

    That would have been a much better rhyme. I mean, it would need a bit of work¡­ leave it with me and I''ll try toe up with something better.

    Wait! Now I get what he was saying¡­ He didn''t want me to kill the Old Master and Wu Bai Hee! Why didn''t he just say that? Agh! Men! Soplicated.

    "No sugar and no caffeine for you for a week," Wang Chao grumbled. He seemed calm and collected, but I could see his mounting frustration clearly. Whoever said that you shouldn''t poke the bear was wrong. Sometimes poking the bear was a great thing!

    I chuckled, "Noted. Now, can we please get down to business? This is not a ce that we are going to want to be in a few days." This was only day 2 of the Great Zombie Uprising, and so the friggers hadn''t had the time to trulye together in an organized manner. Trust me when I say that the scariest zombie was one that was organized. I had no idea how the original owner of this body stayed alive for the first three years before I took over.

    I racked my brain trying to think about what I knew about City B in my past life, but honestly, I don''t remember much.

    Before the apocalypse hit, City B was practically the epicenter of Country K. It controlled almost everything from food, finance, business, research, scient and tech¡­ transportation¡­ tourism. It was surrounded on three sides by the water and was considered to be one of the most important ports in the world¡­

    It''s official, we were fucked, and not in the fun way.

    The fact that they were a key yer in the country''s research and science meant that they were probably up to their eyeballs with the zombie vine, and when all the locks opened two days ago¡­ all those zombies were freed. Combined with the fact that they were a really big tourist attraction, we had everything that zombies need to survive and do well.

    I could feel the wave of anxiety wash over me and I knew I was helpless against it. The reason why I never really heard of City B three years after the start of the apocalypse was because¡­ there was no City B to hear about.

    And if that was the case, then we needed to get out of here fast. I quickly jumped to my feet and looked around in a panic. Pulling out my cell phone, I realized that even if I had power, I didn''t have any inte to ess the information that was crucial to our survival.

    "Calm down, Little Girl," said Wang Chao as he too stood up and walked slowly towards me, his hands outstretched like I was a wild animal and he was worried that I would attack him. "Your brain is going too fast for me to process, Sweet Thing," he continued, his voice in that low purr that normally helped when I was in this mood¡­ but it was doing Jack all right now.

    I frantically looked around, ignoring the look on the Octopus'' face, and zeroed in on Chen Zi Han. He was here before¡­ Liu Wei said that this was an important city for them¡­ he would have the answers and not be a dick about it. I rushed over to him and grabbed his shirt, pulling him down to meet my eyes.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "I need to know everything about City B and I needed to know it three days ago before I started on this Hell bound trip!" I tried to calm down, I really did¡­ but when I realized that this was going to be a zombie-run city in the future, I just couldn''t.

    Liu Wei stood up this time and tried to pull my arm away from Chen Zi Han but I guess I was part octopus myself because I was not letting go. "Sweetheart, whatever it is, we can deal with it¡­ just talk to us," crooned Liu Wei, taking on the low soothing voice the Wang Chao normally used on me.

    Chen Zi Han just continued to stare into my eyes. I didn''t know what he saw, but he started nodding his head. "Alright," he said in a deep baritone voice. "What do you need?"

    Have I mentioned how nice it was to deal with professionals?

    As soon as I heard that I was going to get the information, I managed to calm down a fraction. Just a fraction mind you, because shit was stilling and I didn''t want anything to do with it. But I had to stop and take a breath, Chen Zi Han would not be able to get me the information I needed if I didn''t ask him the right questions.

    Wang Chao and Liu Wei lead me back to the couch and pushed me down. The three of us were ignoring the ''higher-ups'' in the room, but I didn''t care. Thanks to their pigheadedness, we were stuck in a ce that we really didn''t want to be and yes, I put the me firmly on them.

    "How many medical facilities here administered the vine in October?" I asked as Chen Zi Han came to sit on the coffee table in front of me. Even Liu Yu Zeng was interested in this conversation and stood beside Liu Wei, studying my face.

    "City B had officially 530 medical centers that housed people after they received the vine. There have been rumors that there are at least another 200 unofficial medical centers that also administered the vines."

    Well¡­ shit¡­ I was not prepared for those types of numbers. I closed my eyes¡­ the second most important question: "What was the poption of City B at the beginning of the year?"

    "City B is thergest city in the country and had a poption of over 25 million official inhabitants, but also has a tourism trade that sees over 300 million tourists in a year."

    Did I mention we were fucked? Yes? Good¡­ I was standing by my previous statement.

    "You mean to tell me that we might have 325 million people here right now?" I asked, trying to remain calm, but really not seeding.

    "No, you idiot. He said 300 million in a year, and this isn''t even prime tourist season. We might only have 10 million in the city right now," snapped the Octopus. I flung out my arm and a strongyer of ice froze her mouth shut. I was not really caring if I had hurt her¡­ frankly, I wish that I did.

    I closed my eyes¡­ That was a lot of people added to the lunch menu and had the potential to be a zombie. Fuck. Fuck. Fuckity fuck fuck.

    "How far away is the nearest vination center?" Please, please, please tell me thousands of kilometers away. Please! I was not above begging if it would change the answer.

    "I think there was one 5 blocks away if I remember correctly. The people in this neighborhood wanted a center for themselves," interjected Liu Yu Zeng.

    "Of course, they did," I whined. Damn rich people. At least I know why there was such a huge zombie horde so close by. They were probably the ones from the closest facility. They weren''t organized per se, just all from the same ce.

 Chapter 72 72

    ?

    Just as I was trying to figure out where we were going and how fast we could leave this ce to get there, I heard a thumping 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 eptable 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 hisck 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 tomit 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 ce 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 iting 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 wee here, I would not stay here a moment longer.

    They forgot; all theplex 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 toe could, and those that did not, were more than wee to stay here and die.

    "I think¡ª" 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,e 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 frontwn. At least this way I could have a shower, a nap, and maybe¡­ a caramel cheesecake.

    -----<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    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 nked by his brother and his brother''s second inmand. 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 pped 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 gotfortable. 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 be morefortable. He felt that his grandfather''s mental state had been decliningtely, ever since Wu Bai Hee hade to live with them. He didn''t know what she was whispering in his grandfather''s ears, but he has be paranoid about everyone and everything else besides the ck 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 ying 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 manipte 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.

 Chapter 73 73

    ?

    Liu Wei looked at his grandfather after contemting just how he was going to kill off Wu Bai Hee and spoke; "We will be leaving tomorrow morning as Wang Chao had said. It is up to you toe with us or not." He understood that once his grandfather had made a decision, that was the end of it, and there would be no point in wasting his breath. He would leave with Li Dai Lu and Wang Chao and whoever else wanted to go with them.

    "I think it would be best if we all stayed here," said Wu Bai Hee in a soft, soothing voice.

    "Yes, yes! That would be for the best, we should all stay here," agreed the Old Master looking at both of his grandsons and Chen Zi Han. Waving his hand to one of the loyal bodyguards behind him, the Old Master continued. "Lock everything down. Those that try to leave, kill them."

    Once again, the Old Master looked to Wu Bai Hee for approval, and once again, she nodded her head. The old man visibly sighed in relief and slumped down in his chair.

    "Understood, Grandfather," said Liu Wei as he stood up and bowed towards the old head of the Liu Family. "If it is okay with you, we will just go and unpack our stuff." Receiving permission from the Old Master, the three men stood up, offered a bow, and then quickly but steadily, exited the room and the house.

    "Where are we going?" Asked Liu Yu Zeng as he and his second followed Liu Wei across the frontwn and towards a camper they saw set up.

    "To find Li Dai Lu," replied Liu Wei as his strides ate up the ground between him and the RV he knew was Li Dai Lu''s.

    "Why?"

    "Because something is clearly going on and she is probably the only one to know what it could be and how to deal with it," replied Liu Wei. The scene he saw inside had set off warning bells in his head and he was anxious to figure out why.

    "How could she possibly know that?" Asked Chen Zi Han as he too quickly matched steps with the other two men in front of him.

    "Because this isn''t her first zombie apocalypse," said Liu Wei in a deadpanned voice. Making it up the two steps to the front door, he quickly barged into the RV.

    ----

    "What does it mean when I can''t read someone''s mind," asked Wang Chao, scaring the shit out of me as I came out of the shower wrapped only in a towel. I looked at the door to the RV and could have sworn that I had locked that thing. Shrugging my shoulders, I grabbed my pajamas and went back into the bathroom to get changed.

    Finally ready to deal with the unexpected visitor¡­ like seriously, I thought for sure the man would have been doing one of a million other things beforeing in here and asking me weird questions¡­ I said down on the couch beside him and handed him the towel to dry my hair. If he was going to be just sitting there scaring me, then I would put him to work.

    "What do you mean?" I asked, somewhat in a haze from how good it felt when he dried my hair.

    "What does it mean when I can''t read someone''s mind?" the man asked again as he focused on my hair. "It has not happened before."

    I searched my head, trying to think of an answer. "It''s because they are another spirit user," I finally said, suddenly remembering the one weakness that the spirit users had. However, it was also one of the biggest indicators that they were dealing with another spirit user.

    In fact, there were a lot of weaknesses that a spirit user had, and they were all limited to their own mind. They were only as strong as they believed themselves to be, and they could only control what they thought they could control.

    Like Wang Chao could manipte people with his voice or thoughts but because it was not an aspect of his power that he actually thought about, then he would be significantly weaker than someone that exercised it more. Same with the mind reading. Wang Chao was probably one of the strongest mind readers that I hade across, to the point he couldn''t turn it off because he was always reading someone''s mind. Even his ability to freeze people only happened once, and if he did not continue to practice it, it would not be strong enough to eventually use in a fight.

    Some spirit users were stronger when it came to levitation or telekinesis, while others had perfected teleportation or telepathy. However, I (and the scientists at my oldpound) had a theory that all spirit users could use all of the different aspects of their spiritual power¡­ they just make an unconscious decision not to.

    For example: if Wang Chao wanted to, he could have ess to everything that came with psychic powers including levitation, time control, telepathy, mind control, telekinesis, hypnosis, and teleportation¡­ but he was limited in that he thought that his spirit power was only reading minds and maybe freeze them in ce.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    But that was one of the biggest secrets that was never revealed before my death: while all other powers were limited to that particr power (earth to the ground and soil, water to water, air to air, fire to fire, etc.) the spirit power had no such limitations. They could control every aspect of a person, and most didn''t even know it.

    The one spirit user that I had known about before that tried to use both his telepathy and mind control was killed by another spirit user for being too powerful. He was actually able to manipte his opponent''s mind enough to convince them that they were dead¡­ and so their brain shut down their breathing and heart and they¡­ became dead. Manipting the mind was one of the most powerful offensive and defensive weapon that any individual could have, making spirit users the uncontested superpower of the new world.

    In fact, pretty much every sessful base,pound, or safe zone in the apocalypse was run by a spirit user because, even if they only concentrated on one aspect of their power, they were the strongest among all humans. The Phoenix Compound¡­ mypound¡­ was the only exception to the rule.

    Wang Chao stopped rubbing my head and froze for a second. "You mean, it is more than just being able to freeze people and read minds?"

    Realizing that he was reading my mind (duh), I nodded my head¡­ both to agree with this statement and to call his attention back to my hair which needed more attention. "You have no idea the infinite possibilities that have fallen into your hands simply by being a spirit user," I said as he went back to rubbing my hair. "Now, whose mind could you not read that started this whole conversation?"

    Before he could utter a word, the front door of my RV flew open, and a very¡­ determined¡­ Liu Wei came in followed quickly by Liu Yu Zeng and Chen Zi Han. At least Chen Zi Han was polite enough to close the door behind him, even if Liu Wei was not polite enough to knock. What was it with these men and just barging into my ce?!?

    "You okay?" I asked Liu Wei as he sat down on the floor in front of me and just stared at me. I would have called him frazzled, but I don''t think that would ever be an expression to describe Liu Wei. I looked around the small space and saw Liu Yu Zeng and Chen Zi Han taking their own seat around us¡­ on the chairs.

    I rolled my eyes at Liu Wei who was quitefortably sitting at my feet. He nodded and then shook his head. I sighed and took a deep breath. "Okay," I started looking at the other two men that might be able to make a bit more sense. "What is the problem?"

    "There is something going on," said Liu Wei as he looked up at me. That made me raise my eyebrows. "There are zombies outside, the world is plunged back into the dark ages and humans have mutated into having supernatural powers. I think there are a lot of things going on. Can you be a bit more specific?"

    "There is something going on with my grandfather," Liu Wei exined as if I would immediately understand what he was talking about. Having never met the man before today, I couldn''t really say either way.

    "In what way?" I asked, still trying to put all the pieces together.

    "He is weaker than before," came the instant reply.

    I shook my head and ced a hand on Liu Wei''s cheek. "Sweetheart," I stated. "You have not seen that man in years, and he is like 75 years old. It would only make sense that he is weaker than before."

    "Not that," Liu Yu Zeng cut in, "He is now looking to Wu Bai Hee for decisions, unable to make up his own mind. This is something that never would have been eptable in the past."

    Confused, I looked at the man, "Why not?" Ask a dumb question, get a dumb answer.

    "Because she is a woman," cut in Chen Zi Han. I red at him. But until I understood exactly what was going on, I would not snap at him.

    "Remember how you asked whose mind I couldn''t read?" Wang Chao said as he put his hand on me and drew my attention back to him. I nodded in response.

    "It was Wu Bai Hee."

    "Well, fuck."

 Chapter 74 74

    ?

    "Well, fuck," I said again as I slumped down against Wang Chao, wondering how I got myself into this mess.

    "What are you two talking about?" Asked Liu Yu Zeng looking back and forth between me and Wang Chao.

    "Wang Chao was just saying that he was not able to read Wu Bai Hee''s mind. That means that she is a spirit user, and I think I know which aspect of it she excels at," I grumbled looking at Liu Wei. "You know, you are a huge pain in my ass."

    The man that the audacity to shoot me a wounded puppy dog look, like that would make me forgive him for bringing another spirit user into my life. I was very happy back at my ranch thank you very much¡­ I didn''t need this crap. Now we were either going to be manipted to death or die from a zombie hostile takeover. Either way¡­ not how I wanted to go.

    "Maniption?" Asked Wang Chao, his confusion apparent in his voice. I nodded, my head still trying to take in all the information that had been thrown at me. I tried my best in my second life to (a) avoid power users and/or (b) not piss them off. I am pretty sure that I did not avoid Wu Bai Hee and I most definitely pissed her off. FML.

    "Ever heard of a green tea bitch?" I asked, looking at the guys in front of me as they shook their heads. Typical. The men in this room would have been targeted by green tea bitches and white lotuses all their lives and they didn''t even know what that expression meant.

    "A green tea bitch is a woman that seems so sweet, kind, and innocent to men that she finds useful in some way, shape, or form. But she is more interested in their money and their power than anything else, and she doesn''t mind destroying rtionships to get it. Does that sound familiar in any way?" I asked, looking at the four men. When they once again shook their heads, I wondered just how they were able to be as powerful as they had. Maybe they were more innocent than stupid¡­. Sure, let''s go with that.

    "A green tea bitch, in my opinion, is a master maniptor," I said like the answer was right in front of them.

    As per usual, Wang Chao was the first to catch on. "What you are saying is that before the vine, Wu Bai Hee was a green tea bitch¡­ and now that she has developed into a spirit power user, she is using that power to continue to manipte?"

    I nodded my head in agreement and settled a bit more contently into his chest. "Chances are she doesn''t even know what she is doing. She is just using the same tactics as before, but this time, she is having a lot more sess."

    "What I am having a hard time understanding is what are you guys even doing here?" Said Liu Wei as he stood up, picked up my feet, and sat down on the couch beside Wang Chao, having me effectivelyying across the both of them.

    Liu Yu Zeng studied our formation for a second before he shook his head and addressed his brother. "It was Wu Bai Hee''s insistence. She wanted toe and visit you since she hadn''t seen you in years. At first, Grandfather said no, but then she mentioned it was a good time to ensure the power of the Red Dragon Syndicate was still what it used to be. Grandfather agreed after that."

    Liu Wei shook his head as he gently tickled my legs. "I mean, in my dream, you three were still very much in City H when this whole thing started. You never left the city before or after. You tried, but Grandfather kept denying you."

    I stiffened when I heard what he had said. If his dream was a vision of his past life¡­ and let''s face it¡­ if I could be reborn, he could have visions of what once was¡­ then his family never made this trip. So what caused things to change in this life?

    The onlymon factor was Wu Bai Hee. She is the one that wanted toe here now, so what changed with her? I thought that maybe she had a dream when she was vinated and saw that Liu Wei disappeared at the beginning of the apocalypse and she wanted to rush to his side to prevent that from happening. "When did she start pushing toe visit Liu Wei?" I asked Liu Yu Chen.

    He shrugged his shoulders. "I don''t really remember¡­ I think the was the end of August or something like that?"

    "So, before she got the vine?" I demanded, praying that she somehow got her hands on the vine sooner than almost everyone else in the country.

    "Yeah, by several months."

    "Well, fuck," I grumbled realizing that maybe I really should not have woken up today. Was it really just this morning that we were still at the hotel? That was like 2 zombie hordes ago!<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Do you want to discuss your concerns?" Asked Chen Zi Han as he too looked at the arrangement on my couch. And this was why he was quickly bing a new favorite. Or maybe it was his superpower. Once this shit show was handled, I would get the boyos to run these two through the gauntlet to see what powers they might have.

    "There are four possible scenarios, and quite frankly, they all suck. First, the woman is absolutely in love with Liu Wei and wants to marry him more than she wants her next breath and so when she had a dream about him disappearing, she frantically came here in the hopes that she could stop that from happening."

    "Not a chance," said the four men. "And besides, she started pushing for this before she took the vine," pointed out Liu Yu Zeng.

    "Second situation; she wanted whatever power Liu Wei could give her through marriage and manipted the Old Master intoing here."

    Chen Zi Han shook his head. "It is highly likely, but at the same time¡­ if this didn''t happen in a previous life, why would it happen now?"

    Have I mentioned how nice it is that these men seemed to just ept the possibility of more than one life? It was truly fantastic.

    "Third; this is at least her second life and she knew what was going to happen to Liu Wei and needed to stop it before it got that far. What I don''t understand is, what are the benefits that Liu Wei can give her that she could not get from the Old Master?"

    "What''s the fourth scenario?" Asked Liu Wei, not wanting to address the third possibility.

    "That she knows exactly what is going to happen, when and why it is going to happen and she is setting herself up to be able to take advantage of it," I said simply. But as far as I was concerned, this would be the worst-case scenario. People did not get a rebirth for any random reason, there was always a purpose, a reason why they were sent back. Mine was for revenge since I died in such a bad way and just maybe, to save the lives that Wang Zi Mo took. So what caused her to be able toe back to life? And what was her purpose?

    I closed my eyes and leaned against Wang Chao''s shoulder more than ready to end the day and get out of here. But¡­ this whole situation with Wu Bai Hee was causing me to feel unsettled¡­ like something big was going to happen. What it was I had no idea¡­and there was also no way to know if it would be good for us or bad. But I knew I needed sleep before I could n out my next step.

    As my thoughts swirled, I slowly sunk further into Wang Chao''s embrace and fell into a much-needed sleep.

    ----

    Feeling Li Dai Lu rxing against him, Wang Chao looked down at the little girl carrying the weight of the world on her small shoulders. He knew grown men, military men that broke with the amount of pressure that she was carrying, and yet, you would never know it to look at her.

    He was able to follow the majority of her thoughts, but they were definitely bing overwhelming. Especially once this Wu Bai Hee situation urred. Maybe we should have just stayed at the ranch. It had only been two days since the end of the world, and in those 48 hours we experienced more issues than most people did in their lives¡­ well, at least before the apocalypse.

    "Do we start with the biggest issue on her mind or the smallest?" Asked Liu Wei as he too looked down at the girl between us.

    "That''s the biggest problem," I scoffed. "When we first came here, her biggest issue was when she could get home. When she remembered that City B had be a zombie paradise in herst life, her biggest concern was how fast she could get us out of here before they took over."

    "And now?" Asked Liu Yu Zeng.

    "Now? Now she is wondering what Wu Bai Hee knows that she doesn''t. Something big is going to happen in this city within the next little while, and whether it is beneficial or not, her brain is trying to factor it into the long list of problems."

 Chapter 75 75

    ?

    "So, what should we do?" Asked Liu Wei to Wang Chao as they both looked down at the girlying on top of them.

    "Honestly? I am not sure," replied Wang Chao with a sigh. "If Wu Bai Hee is able to manipte people with her voice then we run the problem of being manipted without knowing it. I don''t want to take the chance of that happening."

    "If we cut out her tongue, would that work?" Liu Wei asked.

    "Maybe," said Wang Chao. "But I am not able to use my powers against her. In fact, the only reason why we even managed to figure out that she was a spirit user was because I can''t read her mind."

    "It wouldn''t be the first time we cut out a tongue and made them write down the information," pointed out Chen Zi Han. "We could try that."

    "But then we would need some way of preventing her from speaking between the time we approach her and when we manage to cut out her tongue," said Liu Yu Zeng, also getting in on the conversation. He might have spent thest year living with the woman but he was really not going to be heartbroken if and when she died. As far as he was concerned, at best she was a mole for the ck Mountain Syndicate, and at worst, she had brainwashed the Elder of the Red Dragon Syndicate in order to take it over.

    Either way, she was a threat, and all threats need to be dealt with.

    "Would it work if we wore earplugs or something along those lines?" The three men turned to Chen Zi Han at his suggestion.

    "Maybe," conceded Wang Chao. "But we need that information from her, no matter how we get it. If she really has gone through this once before, she would have an advantage over anyone else."

    Liu Wei and his brother both nodded their heads. "But what are we going to do about Li Dai Lu''s need to get out of here as fast as possible?" Asked Chen Zi Han.

    "Are you going toe with us?" Asked Liu Wei, somewhat surprised. He had assumed that they would have chosen to stay with his grandfather.

    "Yes," replied Liu Yu Zeng simply. "And more so now that I know that Wu Bai Hee is manipting Grandfather." Wang Chao and Liu Wei turned to Chen Zi Han, looking for his answer.

    "I go where he goes," the man replied pointing to Liu Yu Zeng.

    "So¡­ we have a n," said Liu Wei in a tone that suggested both a question and a statement.

    "Sure," said Liu Yu Zeng, not willing tomit to admitting that they had a n.

    "Maybe we should wait for Sleeping Beauty to wake up before deciding anything," suggested Wang Chao. The other three men nodded. Li Dai Lu was their best chance at getting out of this alive and they were not willing to do something that would screw that up.

    ---

    I woke up to my stomach growling and I realized that I never got that piece of caramel cheesecake that I had promised myself. I also missed dinner, but that was nowhere near as important as missing that cheesecake.

    Still half asleep, I took the cake out of my space and without opening my eyes, started to eat it. I had to pause and open my eyes when I heard the first chuckle. "Is there a problem?" I asked, looking at the four men that had barged into my RV yesterday afternoon¡­ yesterday night? Not sure when. Time losses all meaning when there are no clocks around to tell you when it was.

    "No problem, Sweetheart," came the purr of Liu Wei''s voice by my feet. I looked down and noticed that I was still in the same position as I had fallen asleep in. Apparently, I was either so heavy that the boys couldn''t move me or they decided not to. Either way, I was finishing my slice of cake.

    "Morning, noon, or night?" I asked, looking at Wang Chao who was by my head. "Morning. We are nning on leaving within the next hour, but we don''t know what you want to do about Wu Bai Hee," Wang Chao replied.

    Wu Bai Hee¡­ the new bane of my existence. A spirit user with a strength in maniption. A potential rebirth.

    I looked at Liu Wei, "Did you see her in your dream?" I asked, trying to figure out if I could have some insight into her past life.

    Liu Wei nodded. "Yeah, she seemed really happy and content at the house in City H," he confirmed. I tilted my head from side to side as I tried to think things through. Just because she seemed happy and content then, didn''t mean that something changed in her life to make her miserable. But then again, she was a green tea bitch with strength in maniption so there should be no reason why she would suffer enough to be granted a rebirth.

    There were honestly too many possibilities to consider and potentially decades to unwind before I could figure out where she stood in this whole mess. But the only thing that confused me was why was she not scrambling to get out of here? If this was her second life, she should know that the zombies had probably taken over this area in the early days.

    But¡­.. what if she knew a secret about this city which was why she was not willing to abandon it?<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    I had a million questions, and only she might have the answers¡­

    But¡­ did it matter?

    I took another bite of my cheesecake and took a breath. I needed to deal with my stress and anxiety if I wanted to approach this whole situation with a clear mind. Finishing my cheesecake, and with a much clearer head, I looked at the four men around me.

    "We are going to pack up and leave. We will deal with Wu Bai Hee if, and only if she bes a threat to us. Not before." It was amazing how much of a clear head and caramel cheesecake helped.

    If I wanted to change the world or even potentially set up my own base, I would care about what Wu Bai Hee knew.

    But I didn''t.

    I wanted to live my life, eat my sweets and avoid the outside world as much as I could. As long as she left me and mine alone, I would leave her alone to do whatever it was she wanted.

    Given her type of personality and ability, she was probably going to do what she needed to do to be at the top. And this time around, she might not be willing to gain that power through a man. Maybe she wanted everything for herself. It would match.

    If everything she had was based on a man, then that man could grow sick of her and force her out, leaving her at someone else''s mercy. Maybe that was what she was trying to change.

    However, as it stood, I wasted too much brain power on a woman that should have nothing to do with me in the future.

    "What about your brother-inw?" I asked, looking at Wang Chao and effectively changing the subject from that woman.

    "Brother-inw?" He asked with a confused tone.

    "Yeah, Zhang¡­Zhang¡­ whatever his name is. Didn''t hee here with us?" How on Earth was I the only one that remember that man when he was clinging like a leach to Wang Chao.

    Leach¡­

    Octopus¡­

    All of these water creatures¡­

    Was my brain trying to tell me that I wanted seafood for breakfast.. or maybe lunch? Mmmm¡­ fish stew with crab cakes and lobster on the side. That was what I was going to do!

    As soon as we got on the way, I would get started with a yummy lunch of seafood.

    My mind now upied with all of the different types of seafood both frozen and fresh in my space, I forgot about the bitch and the other dude. Let the guys figure it all out. I had more important things to do¡­

    Oh! Maybe a seafood pancake! That would be fantastic!

    ----

    Wang Chao had to chuckle out loud as hebed through Li Dai Lu''s mind. Clearly she was more concerned about what she wanted to have for lunch than Wu Bai Hee. And that was more than fine with him.

    However, as much as she could ignore a potential threat, he could not. He would honor Li Dai Lu''s n for right now, but he would keep an eye on what was going on in City B. The only question was how he was going to go about doing that.

    It was not like how it was even a week ago where he could leave one of his men here and simply get updates by phone or text. Now, trying to get information would be a lot harder. Still, it involved the safety of his family so he would find away theck of technology and eliminate any threats that arose.

    It''s not like you had to be within vocal range to put a bullet into the head. Maybe he should do that anyways. It was always better to stomp out any snakes than keep them hiding in the grass.

 Chapter 76 76

    ?

    Just as Wang Chao promised, we had left Liu Wei''s house about an hour after I woke up. I was sure there had been some drama, but I waspletely ignorant of it as I chose to stay in the RV until thest possible moment. When I saw the boys and their men leaving the house, I quickly got out and flung the camper back into my space.

    Depending on the condition of the roads, I would probably take out all of the vehicles to make the trip back to my ranch a bit quicker. Maybe pick up some gas if I found any stations along our route. No point saving it for the next guy, I was the only one left in the world with a working vehicle¡­ probably¡­. I was pretty sure. Either way, I was not going to care about anyone else.

    It took us about an hour just to make our way through the city on foot.

    Day three of the apocalypse, and the humans were scrambling around outside creating more chaos than was warranted. More than a few approached us, asking to be able to follow us, but the men, having learned a lot in two days, simply pushed them aside as we continued on our way.

    My spidey senses were tingling as more and more people flooded the streets,pletely unaware of what was going on. Many were crying when they saw the devastation, the smart ones were frantically trying to get to the stores to grab supplies before anyone else thought to do so, and the dumb ones were starting fights.

    Wee to Humanity where no monster can hold a candle to the darkness lurking within us.

    But I digress. In amongst the chaos that was going on around us, not a single zombie had made an appearance, and that was what was setting me off. In nature, when there was this much bait fish in the water, the predators would be all around, waiting for their moment to strike. I think it was referred to as a feeding frenzy, but I couldn''t be sure.

    Anyways, the point was, there was a giant bait ball of humans just waiting to be eaten, so where were the predators?

    "We need to hurry," I said to Wang Chao who was standing next to me. "This isn''t right."

    I cracked my neck a few times. I now had over 300 people in my group, and not enough ''safe'' vehicles for all of us. It was going to be a life-or-death version of musical chairs if we did not get out of here.

    But then we ran into another problem. The reason why bait balls were balls was because anyone outside of it would be easy pickings for the sharks, dolphins, and whales to eat. So¡­ do we stay with the rest of the people and prayed that we did not get eaten, do we strike out on our own, hoping that the zombies were interested more in the other group of humans or did we shelter in ce and wait out the massacre?

    Unknowingly, I started to pick up my pace until I was almost at an all-out run, the men following close behind. We would have to pick all three of the previous options if we wanted to survive. Reaching the same clearing where we hade across our first group of zombies, I quickly took out the RVs, cing them in a circle with enough room at one point for us to run in and create our own bait ball.

    Although the men did not know what was going on, they quickly and quietly followed my lead and went into the clearing. Finding another RV to plug up the hole, I took out a quarter of my weapons stockpile and put it into the very center.

    "Ok, here is the n," I said as the men went to the cornucopia of weapons and picked out what they were mostfortable with. "I don''t see any zombies around, and with the number of humans that were wandering around downtown, there was no wildlife to warn us if they approached."

    I waved my hand around the clearing and pointed to the RVs. "We have now officially circled the wagons. We will wait here for about an hour and see what is going on. And if we don''t hear any screaming, we will assume that it is safe to continue on our way. If there is screaming, we will wait until it stops and then be on our way. We will not be traveling by foot but by vehicle from here on out. Any questions?"

    One of the men that I did not know raised his hand. I raised my eyebrow to him and smirked, "Ah, a newbie. Wee¡­ what is your question?" I said sarcastically. At least Liu Wei and Wang Chao''s men knew better than to question me. That meant that this man was one of Liu Yu Zeng''s men and had yet to experience the pleasure of what was toe.

    "Why are we listening to you?" Came the voice of the man I did not know. "Who are you?"<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Before I could say a word, the man was hit by the person standing beside him, "She is the one going to get us out of this mess, so shut the fuck up," he hissed.

    Huh, I could work with that. "Any other questions?"

    "What is going on?" Asked Chen ZI Han. Honestly, I couldn''t fault him for asking. He had only known me for a matter of hours and only one zombie horde during that time. Plus, I figured he was asking to settle his men that didn''t know what they were about to face.

    "This is the beginning of the third day of the end of the world and the zombies have all managed to escape their prison and they are hungry. Downtown City B is currently swarmed with humans freaking out and trying to understand what is happening. They are hungry and scared¡­ and fear lends a certain vor to our meat that ispletely irresistible to zombies," I said, trying my best to exin what was going to happen. But, like everything else, they would have to witness it to truly know what I was talking about.

    "For those that liked to watch nature documentaries, that is a feeding event where the bait fish are out in full force and the predators are outside where they can''t be seen. I don''t want to run that chance with us. It makes us too vulnerable. This should help protect us from all sides if we are attacked."

    "But you said that guns are useless when ites to zombies," said one of Liu Wei''s captains that I recognized as Hua Le Yang.

    "And for the most part, they are. What I am hoping for is that we can cause them enough damage with the guns and grenades that I have a chance at burning them to ash before they can regenerate," I said. "We don''t know how many mighte and there could be too many of them to simply cut off their heads before burning them."

    He nodded and went back to his team. "I am also hoping that once a few of them are taken out, they might decide that the humans in the city are an easier target and go there," I continued. I know it wasn''t the nicest way to go, throwing other humans under the bus like that, but I knew they wouldn''t hesitate to do that to us either.

    I took out my advance warning system (Hades) and put him on my shoulder. When he refused toy down in his regr spot, I lit a bunch of blue fireballs and had them float overhead, waiting to burn whatever they needed to.

    "Get ready," said Liu Wei since he was the only person here that everyone had to listen to, whether they were Wang Chao''s men or from the Red Dragon Syndicate. "And whatever you do, don''t let them multiply."

    The men quickly divided into three groups and rushed to the outer edge of the circle, using the RVs as cover. The first group took the middle ground as they held their guns in between the RVs and through the smallest holes that they could find. The second groupid down on their stomachs and rested their guns on the ground underneath the RVs and used that as their line of fire to the zombies. The third group, much smaller in numbers, ran into each one of the RVs and poked their heads out through the roof vents and sky windows.

    There was also about half of the men still in the middle of the circle.

    Chen Zi Han had told me it was to prevent burnout. This way we would always have rested me in case things went on for a while. I have to admit, I was impressed. But then again, they probably got into a lot more ''wars'' than I did before the apocalypse and would have a better handle on how to be sessful at it.

    I heard a low hiss in my ear as Hades let out a very cute growl to the east of us where we had originallye into the clearing.

    Apparently, the zombies had arrived¡­ now let''s see if we could make it out alive.

 Chapter 77 77

    ?

    We waited for the zombies to arrive inplete silence. There was such a heavy atmosphere in the clearing that it almost seemed like a struggle to breathe. I didn''t bother to shoot my customary first shot as they were approaching us and not the other way around.

    They were here to hunt, and like good prey, we needed to remain still and quiet until they made the first move. And like good prey, if we ran, we would be killed that much faster.

    The first zombie stepped into the clearing, walking in a zigzag manner like a shark swimming. It always amazed me just how much of their actions and responses were based on their shark gic markers.

    I stood between Liu Wei and Wang Chao as Liu Yu Zeng and Chen Zi Han had taken the first offensive shift and were hanging out of a skylight, their guns trained on the single zombie. Stupid fools. That was not the zombie to fear.

    I watched as the female with the beachball-sized head opened her mouth and tilted her opened her jaw as far as she could, showing off all of her teeth. All in all, as much of a strong impression I was sure it made on some of the men, I was not that impressed. Her horde sent her in first to see how many we were and how we would respond.

    Not getting any response from her dominance disy, she closed her mouth and looked around with her pinprick eyes. I knew that she could not visually see us. We were well hidden behind the vehicles and beyond her 20-foot eyesight limit. However, I knew she could smell us and definitely feel our electrical output. Every time we took a breath or our heart beat in our chests, she could sense us.

    We were at a stalemate for a good five minutes before she made her decision. She slowly backed out, refusing to turn her back to us. When she disappeared back through the entrance to the clearing, it was like we could all breathe again.

    However, even though the atmosphere had lessened, it did not mean that the men rxed with it. They still remained in ce, waiting for an order to stand down or remain put.

    "What is happening?" Asked Liu Wei, leaning close to me so he could whisper into my ear.

    "She is going back to discuss things with her horde," I said in my regr voicepletely calm and not bothering to whisper. These types of standoffs couldst hours before being resolved one way or another. One of the men around us looked at me with curiosity. "Discuss things? Zombies?"

    I chuckled. "Yes," I said, wanting to pat him on the head as he disyed a child-like innocence. "That was the advance scout. A tester if you will. Her job is to gather numbers and determine if it is a situation that would be beneficial to her horde or not. If she dies in the process, another one wille, and so on and so forth until the horde either leaves or attacks in return."

    "So, she is going to report our numbers," confirmed Wang Chao. I nodded in agreement, "And our chemical scent," I added.

    "We do not smell like fear, so we would not only not be tasty to them, but it would prove that we felt on the same level as them. Especially after she gave her dominance disy."

    "So?" Asked Liu Wei, looking down at me.

    "So, we have a 70% chance that they will not attack because we are not easy prey and there is much better-smelling prey in the city," I said, giving them my opinion on the matter. But there were several factors that I had not considered¡­ like how hungry they were, their numbers, that sort of thing.

    I stopped talking and started counting.

    300¡ªstill nothing; but Hades refused to rx.

    600¡ªnothing.

    There had been no movement for 10 minutes, but I still didn''t dare drop my guard.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    900¡ªnothing.

    910¡ªthere! Off to the side of the clearing, a rustling in the bushes!

    "It''s just an animal," said one of the men around me when he noticed where my attention had gone.

    "There are no animals around," cut in Wang Chao as he too looked to the bushes. When the first zombie stepped out from behind the bush, I shot her in the middle of the forehead and then doused her in blue mes. I managed to do it in quick enough session that it made her pause for a second, but it was only a second before she continued forward, staggering under the onught of the mes.

    I concentrated on my blue me, trying to raise the temperature as much as I could. I was able to smell the burning flesh from here, but it still didn''t deter the zombie. I raised my gun and shot her one more time, this time in the eye, and pictured the blue me entering her body through that small hole and burning her from the inside out.

    This method proved to be the most sessful as she finally fell to the ground meters from where the RVs were. Within 20 seconds, her ashes blew away, leaving no trace of her but footprints burned into the ground.

    Silence reigned once again in the clearing, and I started to count again. And then it happened, in less than a minute the clearing when from dead silence to a low rumble as a tidal wave of zombies poured through the narrow entrance.

    The men that were positioned as the first offensive team opened fire, and the sound of gunfire echoed around the area. I pictured the blue me burning through the holes that the bullets made and going deep inside the zombies. I only half watched what was going on outside the circle as my focus was on what my mes were actually doing, but I saw line after line of approaching zombies falling to the ground and being engulfed in the blue mes until there was nothing left.

    Thunder sounded, causing the earth around us to tremble at its might as lightning struck the heads of the zombies with deadly uracy, my mes swooping in to finish them off. I watched as Wang Chao got better and better with every strike of lightning and every p of thunder. The fact that thunder was able to disguise our vibrations did not go unnoticed by either me or the zombies.

    Within a matter of minutes, the tide of zombies slowed down as more and more of them were killed and then turned to ash. The rest of the horde that did not attack with this first wave swayed at the entrance to the clearing, pacing back and forth, but not going near us.

    When thest zombie in thebat zone fell, no one moved. It would be up to the zombies to decide what to do next, I would amodate them either way. After all, they just lost 80 zombies from their horde while the men on my side stood strong.

    A single zombie stepped forward into the clearing, not stopping until he was equal distance between my men and his.

    Understanding what was going on, I stepped out from between my men and squeezed between two of the RVs to approach the leader of the horde. I heard my men shouting for me, but I simply waved my hand, hoping that they realized that they needed to stay put and let the adults deal with what came next.

    I waited until I was about 2 feet away from the zombie leader in front of me beforeing to a stop. I raised my chin and looked down at the 6-footvender male in front of me. I refused to show fear or to even consider it.

    He puffed out his chest and showed me a brief glimpse of his teeth. When that didn''t get the response he was looking for, he tilted back his head and let his jaw drop open as far as it could. He didn''t roar, didn''t make a sound, but he was trying to imitate me.

    When he closed his mouth and looked at me again, I let out a smirk of my own, also showing off my teeth, and then proceeded to call on both my blue and pink mes, allowing them to surround me until I was covered with an almostvender haze of my own. Seeing him still staring at me, I increased the temperature of my mes as well as the height until I looked like a human torch, the ground beneath my feet catching on fire. mes spread in a straight line from either side of me, letting the zombie know that I was protecting those behind me.

    He might be the leader of his horde, but I had my own as well, and I would protect them from anyone and anything. They were mine.

    I let my shackles of civilization fall and allowed my true nature to appear. Cracking my neck, I shed a smile to the Alpha in front of me, showing off my own teeth at the same time. Raising my arms, I let the fires grow until the sight was almost blinding¡­ and then I let it slowly start to crawl toward the zombie in front of me.

 Chapter 78 78

    I watched as fear entered the zombie''s eyes the closer my mes got to his feet. In fact, he even broke eye contact with me in order to watch the mes eat up the ground between us. I clicked my tongue, bringing his attention back to me as I widened my smile, showing off as much of my own teeth as I could.

    Of course, I was still wrapped in thevender me as I allowed the fire to go where it wanted to with free reign. It rushed at the Alpha stopping just short of his feet and raising up like a tide of its own.

    ''Wang Chao, if you can hear me, get Liu Wei to breathe some air into the clearing. Make it wrap around my me like a fire tornado,'' I said in my head, hoping that Wang Chao could hear me. I wanted to make an impression on this Alpha so that if he ever saw me again, he would know to stay away.

    When I felt the air around me start to whip up into a frenzy of its own, I burst outughing. There was always something freeing about getting into a dominance battle with a zombie. You could shuck the human trappings and tap into a baser version of yourself.

    I continued tough as three purple fire tornadoes raced across the clearing, two toward the zombie horde at the entrance and one that continued to circle where the men were. When the Alpha saw the fire tornadoes cutting him off from the rest of his horde, I could practically smell the fearing off him in waves.

    I parted my hands, moving the mes away, and allowed him a safe path back to the entrance of the clearing. He took off, almost turning into a blur with how fast he went. Within seconds, there were no more zombies in the clearing and I could hear Hades meowing from where he was left with Wang Chao and Liu Wei.

    The coast was clear and we had won.

    I called back my mes, allowing them to reabsorb into my body, and marveled at their color. I had never seen purple mes before; I hadn''t even heard of anyone with them. Even the strongest fire user that I had ever heard of in the past only had red mes. I would have to experiment with them when we got back to the ranch.

    The air started to die back and I turned around and made my way back to where the boys were waiting. I slipped back between the two RVs and faced the men. While I had a huge smile on my face, they clearly were not as impressed about the situation as I was. In fact, they looked downright pissed.

    "Are you going to exin yourself?" Asked Liu Yu Zeng from where he stood beside his brother. I raised my eyebrows and cracked my neck. I was no longer facing the Alpha so I would have to bring myself back a bit and not think of everything as a challenge. This was the worst part getting into a dominace battle with an Alpha,ing down from it, and wrapping part of you back into the chains of civilization.

    "What is there to exin?" I asked, holding back my temper at being questioned. Taking another breath, I pulled out a Snickers bar, praying that some form of chocte would help me take a step back and not bite off the men''s heads.

    "What was that?" Asked Chen Zi Han as he walked up behind me, his gun resting on his shoulder.

    "A different type of battle," I said with a shrug. Honestly, I was surprised that the zombie was willing to do that. In most cases, the Alpha would stay back until his or her horde waspletely destroyed before backing off. There were not many that would be willing to stand up for the rest of their team by putting themselves at risk like that.

    "As cute as your half-answers are, Sweetheart, you are going to have to give us a bit more than that," said Liu Wei and he took a step closer to me and enveloped me in his arms.

    I shook my head, still trying to clear it. "It was a dominance battle between me and the leader of the horde. They are normally just referred to as the Alpha," I said, assuming that that would be enough for the men. "Once you guys get a handle on your powers, you could do them too, they are just a bit tricky and not many Alphas would be willing to risk themselves for it."

    "You are about as clear as mud, little girl," grumbled Wang Chao as he pulled me from Liu Wei and into his own arms. I could hear the frantic pounding of his heart. Huh, I guess I scared them? Confused about how I could have scared this Prince; I was not expecting the hit to my head.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Yes, you scared us," said Wang Chao as he took one hand and tipped my chin up enough that I could look into his eyes. "Now, could you carefully and clearly exin what just happened for those of us in the ss that have not been through a zombie apocalypse before?"

    "Sorry," I pouted, really not trying to upset them. "The zombies are more animal than human or mindless beings. So there will be ranking fights between the member of a horde to determine the one at the top, and that one would lead to a horde is called the Alpha. Just like the leader of a pack type thing. Sometimes, they will issue a challenge to see who is the more dominant one in a battle. Since we had wiped out most of his horde, he issued an Alpha challenge to save the rest of his team."

    "And if you lost?" Demanded Liu Yu Zeng.

    "Then one of you would have fought him or would have given him our team to control as part of his horde."

    "And when you won?" Asked Chen Zi Han.

    "If I had killed him, then technically I would have been the new Alpha of the horde, but because I had allowed him to live, he remains the Alpha but will steer clear of us in the future," I said, a yawning out. My fire disy was impressive, but I needed Liu Wei to help at the end because I was bing too drained to keep it up. Luckily the Alpha didn''t realize that I had help or he would have killed me on the spot once my mes were extinguished.

    "Now let''s get onto the road and get back to the ranch," I said, as I made sure all of the men were out of the RVs before I vanished them. I would take them out once we got onto the highway, but for right now, they could go back into my space. What? I needed to save gas where I could. That was a lot of RVs and ATVs.

    The men formed up into their lines again, this time, the two groups were somewhat intermingled. I don''t know if that was something that they did a lot, or was something that they worked out while I was in battle. But frankly, I didn''t care.

    Pulling out a couple of peanut butter cookies, I lead the way out of the clearing in a leisurely manner, not worried about what was waiting for us on the other side of the forest. After all, I just defeated the Alpha of this area, what else was there to worry about?

    The four men fell in line on either side of me and their men behind them. As we exited the forest path and stepped back onto the highway, I took onest look behind me at the skyline of City B. I didn''t know what actually happened to all of these cities when they rose or fell, but I found a new sense of hope as we left behind the soon-to-be zombie paradise. Hopefully, we would never have toe back here in the future. City A rose as a safe haven for humans, and I couldn''t wait to get back home and just rx. There were a lot of cake recipes that I wanted to try out and a harvest to process and put away.

    Home was calling me with the same lure as a siren and I sighed as I started walking in the direction of City A. "There is nothing else that you guys are going to spring on me at thest minute, right?" I asked, looking at Liu Wei and Wang Chao from where they stood on either side of me.

    Both men shook their heads. At least I knew that there were no more family members to rescue. Liu Wei''s important people are with us. Zhang What''s His Face was lost somewhere in City B, and all of Wang Chao''s family was back in City A. All in all, I could rest and eat sweets as soon as we got a bit further away from the city and I could take the RVs out.

    Happy and content in my own head, I didn''t pay attention when the boys came to a dead stop. Wang Chao quickly grabbed my shoulder and pulled me back, causing me to stumble a bit. Looking at him, it took me a few seconds to see that he wasn''t even paying attention to me. Instead, his gave was fixed firmly in front of us, and the line up of soldiers,plete with fatigues and weapons pointed at us.

    "Ah, fuck."

 Chapter 79 79

    ?

    "Did I mention that I had no more fucks to give?" I grumbled as I started at the military soldiers that were preventing us from going forward¡­ that were preventing us¡­ me¡­ from going home. "My fuck fuse has just blown; I''ve hunted for my fucks all day but they''ve upped and fucked off home," I hummed, trying to get myself into the good mood that that song was always able to put me in.

    But I guess that thest few times that I hummed it, I wasn''t in the middle of a standoff with guns pointed at my head. I tried to find a silver lining, I really did. But there was none. I was tired, I was cranky, and I was pretty sure that my Aunt had just started. I was done for the day.

    Step One: Let them all die.

    I was about to take a step forward to implement mytest n when Wang Chao grasped my shoulder a bit harder, not letting me move.

    I looked at him again and raised my eyebrow. "Excuse me?" I demanded. I would not be held back like this. They wanted to stand in between me and where I wanted to be?! Then like the Alpha, they would quickly learn how foolish they were.

    Liu Wei took a step in front of me, pressing me closer to Wang Chao at my back. When Liu Yu Zeng and Chen Zi Han closed me in on my right and left effectively preventing me from being able to move, I let out a humorless chuckle. "Do you boys really think this will work?" I asked my voice in a low purr that caused goosebumps to appear on the back of Liu Wei''s neck.

    "Hush," crooned Wang Chao as his thumb rubbed back and forth on my neck, trying to calm me down.

    Spoiler alert: It wasn''t working.

    I felt the four men around me stiffen as footsteps approached from the other side. I stretched my neck back and forth, my nervous/pissed-off tick out in full effect. Did they really think that pinning me between all of them really did anything? Did they really think that my fire couldn''t burn a target 100 meters away?

    I went incredibly still, a trick that I had learned in my past life from the zombies. I straightened my back and slowed down my breathing, concentrating on my heart, I even managed to slow down its beat. Wang Chao might be able to control time, but I hadplete control over myself. I closed my eyes, prepared to disappear into my space as soon as Wang Chao rxed his guard enough to allow it.

    "Liu Wei!" Came the overly loud, joyful voice of the other side of the wall of men. I saw Liu Wei nod in response, but he didn''t say a word. "Wang Chao!" Said the voice again, every syble ying on my nerves like nails on a chalkboard. "I didn''t expect to see you two here! And walking!" The chuckle that followed that sentence made me see red.

    It was too soon from the battle with the Alpha for me to pretend to be human again. Even the ever-present pressure from Wang Chao''s hand was doing nothing to help the mounting rage.

    "But then again, I guess we are all walking now, huh?"

    "Is there something we can do for you, General?" Asked Liu Wei in his perfect assistant voice that I had not heard for a while. A small smile managed to make its way out before I could recall it. I had forgotten that when I first met the man he was only an assistant for Wang Chao. It seems like they have been part of my life forever.

    Thinking about the boys allowed me to rx a fraction, my anger no longer as pressing as it was before. Just as I started to calm down even more, Fuck Face had to open his mouth and ruin it all.

    "Oh Liu Wei, there are many things that you can do for me now," said Fuck Face. My eyebrows rose so high that they managed to disappear within my bangs.

    "General, I suggest that you hurry up and tell us why you have stopped us like this," interjected Wang Chao, hoping to diffuse the situation. Unfortunately for him, Fuck Face did not appreciate his efforts.

    "What''s the rush? It''s not like there is any ce to go right now. Why don''t we all head into City B and sit down for a nice conversation."

    He was going to die¡­ maybe slow and painful, or maybe fast and furious¡­ but he was going to die. I was not stepping foot back into that citye hell or high water so he could tell us his problem now, or he could take his problems to the grave and maybee back a second time to deal with them.

    Whatever way they chose, I was done with this conversation before it even started. I was supposed to be going home! In my luxury RV, with all of the cookies, cakes, and pies that I could possibly eat in the three days it would take us to make it here. I was not going to listen to some pretentious ''General'' who knew the boys before the end of the world.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Read my mind: It. Was. Not. Happening!

    I practically shouted my thoughts at Wang Chao and got a small sense of satisfaction when he flinched. Okay, so maybe I felt a bit guilty¡­ but they said that there was nothing that woulde up at thest minute¡­ and this is definitelyst minute!!!!!!!

    I huffed in exasperation. I guess the sound alerted Fuck Face that I was there and he leaned to the side and tried to see me where the boys had me blocked off. "And who are you hiding back there?"

    Have you ever heard a voice that just set off every warning bell in your head and caused you to shudder in disgust? Yeah, that was Fuck Face''s voice.

    "Someone that would be better if you didn''t meet," said Liu Wei, the honesty practically ringing around him. I tried to figure out if I should be insulted because they didn''t want me to meet him, but then again, he was saving me from interacting with a grease ball so I might as well go with it.

    "Well, now, you have me mighty curious," replied the General.

    "And you have 2 minutes to say what you need from us before we leave. We are no longer with the military and as such, don''t have to obey orders. Especially from someone that does not outrank me," snapped Wang Chao, clearly as done with this situation as I was. And I didn''t know he ranked higher than General¡­ that''s kind of cool.

    Somewhat impressed by the man standing behind me, I leaned back and let him take some of my weight. The longer I was touching him, the better I felt so I didn''t hold back anymore. Closing my eyes, I would let the men handle things and I would catch a few minutes of sleep.

    "It''s not like you to be this protective of something, Si Wang," said the General as he looked down on Liu Wei.

    "Si Wang? As in death?" I asked, confused. This man had so many names I couldn''t keep up. And I was pretty sure that Liu Yu Zeng had called him a third name.

    "His birth name is Liu Yu Xuan, his everyday nickname is Liu Wei and his military code name is Si Wang," said Wang Chao as he tried to lessen my confusion. It was really not working.

    "Just keep calling me Liu Wei," rified Liu Wei while still staring back at the General. They had been out of the military for years, so I guess that calling him anything other than Liu Wei or Liu Yu Xuan was inappropriate. I just nodded my head in agreement.

    "So you are hiding something from me too, Zhan Zheng." I swore to God, the man had a death with and, as I felt Wang Chao stiffening under me, I was pretty sure we were going to grant him his wish.

    "And you are War?" I asked, this time trying to reign in his temper instead of the other way around. I guess the best way of getting me out of a pissy mood was to annoy the boys.

    "I''ll have to keep that in mind," said Wang Chao as he forced himself to rx and ignored my previous question.

    Removing myself from Wang Chao''s embrace, I didn''t try to escape the little box the four men had put me in. If they didn''t want me to deal with the man in front then I would respect their wishes.

    "For thest time; what do you want?" Asked Liu Wei, not allowing any type of emotion to pass through the wall that he had erected. Assistant Liu Wei was a dick¡­ just saying.

    The General decided to ignore my presence and finally answered Liu Wei''s question. "I don''t suppose you boys remember Rear Admiral Zhou Gang Jia? Well, I guess he is Vice Admiral right now. Anyways, he was on base in City J three days ago and we haven''t been able to get in contact with him since."

    "Ah, fuck." I really should have seen thising.

 Chapter 80 80

    ?

    So, a quick recap of how much my life had gone down the drain:

    I won an alpha battle with an Alpha zombie, was on my way home to get a cup of hot chocte to deal with the cramps and overall pain associated with my Aunt arriving, and the boys have been asked to go find someone.

    Did I miss anything? No? Didn''t think so.

    Fuck Face stood there smirking at men around me like he knew just what buttons of theirs to push in order to get the results that he wanted. Clearly, this Rear Admiral or Vice Admiral really meant something to the boys.

    I closed my eyes and slumped back into Wang Chao''s arms. There goes getting home in the next three days¡­ Hopefully, wherever this City J was it wouldn''t take me too far away from home.

    "I am so sorry, little girl," whispered Wang Chao as he wrapped his arms around my waist and held me securely. I nodded in understanding. I knew that it was not like the boys were willing to go out of their way and rescue any random people, so this had to be important to them. "The man was like a father to us after our own had died," said Wang Chao, rifying the rtionship between him, Liu Wei, and this Vice Admiral.

    Well¡­ fuck¡­ I guess it is a done deal then. I closed my eyes as a wave of pain overtook me. I had wanted to have already been in my RV,ying down in bed under my nkets with a heating pad on me and a cup of hot chocte in my hand. But the bestid ns and all that crap.

    "Can we just hurry up and leave?" I asked him in a low voice of my own. Liu Wei and Fuck Face were discussing the ns, but I wasn''t really paying them any attention. I wasn''t worried about any zombies nearby as it was still too soon after thest battle for them toe out of the woodwork. Not to mention all the easy prey in the city.

    Wang Chao hummed in agreement, "Just a few more minutes, little girl," he croon again, causing all of my tense muscles to simply want to melt into the man. I gave him more of my weight as I turned around and cuddled my face into his chest and breathed in his scent. The smell of leather and wood with just a hint of sage and bergamot hit me. Taking in a few more breaths, I realized that I could quickly be addicted to that scent.

    I let the world fade away and concentrated on the feeling of Wang Chao''s arms around me, his scent in my nose and his heartbeat in my ear.

    But I probably should not have let him affect me as much as he did, because I missed a few crucial pieces of information as I wallowed in his embrace.

    Crucial piece #1: City J was even further south than City H and would take us at least 3 weeks of traveling to get there. And that would be traveling by foot.

    Why, you ask. Why on earth would I be traveling by foot when I have like 25 campers, 2 heavy-duty ATVs, and at least 15 of the smaller ATVs?

    Well, that would be part of crucial piece number 2 that I missed.

    Crucial piece #2: Fuck Face and his men were nning on traveling with us. Fuck My Life.

    I would like to point out that I didn''te out of whatever spell Wang Chao had me under until after everything had been settled and we were on our way. Stupid fucking men.

    "So¡­" I said, wondering how I was going to keep my temper AND tell the men off at the same time. "Could someone let me know how exactly this happened?"

    "Which part?" Asked Liu Yu Zeng, not aware of thend minds that were littered all around him. There was a reason why Liu Wei and Wang Chao had not volunteered a response.

    "The part where we are going in the opposite direction as home, with Fuck Face¡­ while walking," I replied, taking a deep breath and putting one foot in front of another. My cramps wereing out in full force, and my Aunt was worse than anything I had experienced in thest 15 years of all of my livesbined. Normally, I skated by just fine¡­ but no, not today. Today my body had to knock me on my ass while the boyos around me made it so I couldn''t do anything about it¡­

    Because¡­

    Of¡­.

    Fuck Face!!!!!!!!!

    Okay, so I will fully admit to spiraling down into a hopeless rage inside of my head, but clearly I was doing a great job at hiding it from anyone else around me. For fucks sake, I couldn''t even take 5 minutes to deal with things and clean myself up because men were selfish bastards that did not understand anything!

    Breathe Dai Lu¡­. Just breathe.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Ok, how about we take a quick stop here," said Wang Chao, clearly listening in to my thoughts. "If the rest of them want to keep going, let them. We are taking a 15-minute break. Let everyone know."

    I sighed in relief and without another word, disappeared into my space.

    I remember back on the ranch thinking that this ce was redundant as I had everything that I needed at the ranch, but now I was ecstatic as I stepped foot into the house, peeling off my clothes as I went. Since time froze inside my space, I could take hours, even days to myself and have it be less than a second away from the guys.

    And I was going to take advantage of that.

    Turning on my shower, I stepped inside and let the hot water fall down on my head like a waterfall. Once the heat had worked through some of the tense muscles in my shoulders and back, I grabbed my shampoo and started to wash my hair. Taking my time, I washed it with shampoo twice and then put in the conditioner. I found my favorite body wash and quicklythered myself up as the conditioner continued to work its magic.

    Once I felt clean enough, I stood back under the shower head and let everything rise off. It was amazing what a good shower could do to your outlook.

    Getting out, I quickly dried myself off, got everything settled as far as my Aunt was concerned, and then dove into bed and under the covers.

    Taking just long enough to turn on my heating pad and cing it on the small of my back, I fell asleep, a contented smile on my face.

    After a good 10 hours of sleep, I got up, make myself some breakfast, got a travel mug of hot chocte and a piece of vani cake with vani icing and sprinkles over top. Walking out the door, I sat on the porch swing of my wrap-around deck and looked out into the fields where the pigs, horses, and cows were enjoying themselves.

    The chickens and ducks were in another part of the farm that I couldn''t see from my ce, but I was fine with that. Chickens and ducks were way too noisy for what I wanted from this morning.

    Finishing my cake and hot chocte in peace and quiet, I returned the dirty tes to the kitchen and after a quick wash, was willing to go back to the real world and face whatever was going toe my way.

    Closing my eyes, I reappeared in the exact spot that I had left. Cracking my neck, I nodded to Wang Chao. "Ready when you are," I said, looking around me. The men had just started to take a seat and rx when I had returned.

    "We''ll be ready in 15," assured Wang Chao as he looked me over. Seeing that my hair was washed, I was in clean clothes and in a much better mood, he smiled at me. "I''m d you have that ce to be able to recharge."

    I nodded in agreement. "Maybe one day I''ll take you there and show you around," I said, looking up at the man that had stood by my side for the past year.

    He nodded in return, understanding that it would take more time for me to bring them into myst sanctuary, andpletely fine with that. That was one of the best parts about Wang Chao, he didn''t push unless it was necessary.

    Liu Wei on the other hand¡­. "Hello, Sweetheart, don''t you smell sweet, like cherries and vani," the jerk whispered in my ear causing goosebumps to break out over my skin.

    "Oh no," I said, pushing him back. "You, Sir, are in the doghouse."

    Liu Wei pretended to shudder, "Call me that again, Sweetness," he said, trying to seduce me with his voice. The fact that he was seeding was something that I would never admit to.

    "Doghouse," I enunciated. "Why the sweet Hell do we have to travel with Fuck Face and his men?"

    "I''m sorry," said Liu Wei, gathering me in his arms. The fact that he was speaking to me in his normal voice made me rx. He understood that I was not happy. "I tried to convince him otherwise, but he insisted. It will only be for a few weeks and then we will part ways as soon as we get Zhou Gang Jia, or at least, make sure he is ok."

    I nodded my head. At least with Fuck Face and his men we would have enough cannon fodder for the zombies.

    See¡­ silver linings.

 Chapter 81 81

    ?

    Traveling with Fuck Face was like traveling with a mother-inw that hated you. I mean, the boys tried their best to keep him away from me, but as the only girl in the group of Wang Chao''s men, I stood out like a sore thumb.

    And then there were the female soldiers that were part of Fuck Face''s group. I am sure that there were some lovely women, and I can''t fault them with how many times they had invited me to travel with them, but me and socializing never went well. I politely turned them down, preferring to stay with my boys.

    By the time Fuck Face was ready to call it a day, I was more than willing toply. The sun was just starting to set and we were still on the main highway that would take us from City B all the way to City J. I didn''t know exactly what he had in mind, after all, this was not the most secure location for a camp, but clearly, I was not the General.

    Wang Chao, Liu Wei, and I stopped and watched the General''s army begin to set up came in the middle of the highway. "I''m sorry, but does he have a screw loose or something? I am pretty sure that it would be safer to camp in the middle of a zombie horde than right here," I grumbled as Liu Yu Zeng and Chen Zi Ha came up to where we were standing.

    "Really?" Asked Liu Yu Zeng as he looked around. "Honestly, this ce is in a t, open area, with no unobstructed vision, and still on our route, what is wrong with it?"

    "That it is in a t, open area with an unobstructed view of all around us and on a major highway that will be taken by both zombies and humans alike," I said, not at all impressed. "Any fires we light will let people know our exact location, we have nowhere to actually run if it came down to it, and we could easily be surrounded on all sides in the dark."

    "Then where would you suggest we camp?" Asked Chen Zi Han as he too looked around.

    "There," I said as I pointed to the forest off of the shoulder of the road. "Frankly, if I was just me, I would be up a tree, but since I don''t think that is possible, then the best ce to be is on the ground in the forest. It is easy to get rid of any pursuers, there is no way that they could be quiet enough to sneak around us and the trees would be able to hide our fire," I continued, pointing out all of the benefits of being in the forest vs the trees.

    In my past life, I preferred to stick to the forest for just that reason. Heck, I would have no problems being on the highway if we never left the vehicles. But we were sitting ducks for both man and monster and I didn''t want to be on either menu.

    "OK," said Wang Chao as he made a few hand motions. The men behind us quickly slipped into the forest and disappeared among the branches.

    "What are you doing?" Demanded General Fuck Face as he came storming up to us. This was the first time I had managed toy eyes on the man and I was really, really unimpressed. His military uniform was wrinkled, sweat-stained under his armpits and the poor top could barely cover his belly from where it rode over his pants. His muddy brown hair was in disarray and his yellow teeth had pieces of¡­ something¡­ stuck between them.

    If the boys didn''t know him, I would have assumed that he had stolen the uniform for some reason or another. I shuddered as he looked down at me and licked his lips like I was some type of delicacy that he couldn''t wait to try.

    I mean, I was¡­ but he was never going to get a taste. He would be the human torch before that ever happened.

    "Well, hello there," he said in a slimy voice. Not wanting to deal with him, or even acknowledge him in any way, I turned my back to him and rolled my eyes. Wang Chao nodded his head and I slipped between the four men and made my way to the edge of the forest to wait for them.

    "Bitch," I heard him grumble under his breath, like calling me that would make me want to show him more attention. I waspletely fine if he thought I was a bitch.

    I watched the five men exchange some words before my men left the General standing alone on the highway and walked toward me.

    "All good?" I asked, a smirk on my face.

    "Just peachy," grumbled Liu Wei. "But let''s just get our own camp set up." I nodded in response and looked around the clearing, not able to see any of our men.

    "They will find a spot to hide and will meet us back on the highway tomorrow morning," said Chen Zi Han. I nodded my understanding and then proceeded to trek a few meters into the forest to find a camp for the five of us.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    I found a small circle of trees, the middle of them no more than 6 feet in length, and decided that this was going to be the best ce I could find in the almost dark. Although it wasn''t long enough for all of the men to stretch out, it did provide us with a lot of cover and a few trees for me to perch in overnight.

    Honestly, the idea of sleeping on the ground gave me the creeps and I didn''t want to disappear into my space and leave the guys to fend for themselves. "It really stresses you out being on the ground, doesn''t it?" Said Wang Chao, a trace of confusion on his face.

    I nodded like it was no big deal. "I was caught on the ground a few times by the Reavers and I didn''t want to¡­ deal¡­ with that again."

    "What are Reavers?" Asked Chen Zi Han as he found a spot and leaned against a tree. Liu Yu Zeng was starting a small fire in the middle of the clearing and Liu Wei was out finding wood and kindling for it.

    "Reavers is what I called them, I don''t know what anyone else called them," I said, not sure how to describe them. "They are humans that just¡­ aren''t right. They are Asymptomatics, but instead of going into hiding when they were being hunted down, decided to do some hunting on their own. They can easily create zombies with just a simple exchange and reveled in the power that it gave them."

    "How can they create zombies?" Asked Liu Wei,ing back with his arms full of wood.

    "Do you really think that everyone went out and got the vine simply because the government required it?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "Approximately 30 percent of the poption is human. Not zombie, power user, asymptomatic, or normal. Just pure human. They are the holy grail that everyone seems to want to find simply because of the fact that they are still pure." I shrugged my shoulders, not really caring one way or another.

    But the Reavers liked to y zombie and would eat any people and or zombies that they came across. Or did other things¡­ much, much worse things.

    I shuddered as I remembered the feeling of being put in a cage, of the men with flesh hanging out of their mouthsing close to me and peering in like I was a piece of meat to be purchased for consumption¡­ of some kind or another.

    Never again would I sleep on the ground, unaware of what was going on around me.

    Pushing those thoughts to the side, I took out 5 ready-made tes of spaghetti and meatballs. I wanted thesagna, but I was worried that that smell would carry on the wind and attract people to our location. Handing one to each guy, I sat down at the base of one tree and quickly ate my meal. "I''ll take the first watch," I said as I vanished my tes and pulled out a steaming cup of coffee. "Anyone want a coffee?"

    When I heard the four grunts, I quickly pulled out four travel mugs of coffee with milk and sugar waiting on the ground. The only smell more attractive thansagna as far as I was concerned was that of coffee. At least the lid on the travel mug would stop the smell from traveling.

    "You sure you''re okay with the first watch?" Asked Chen Zi Han as he took his cup of coffee from me.

    "Yeah," I replied nodding, "I got a good 10-hour nap a few hours ago. Combined with the coffee I''ll be good for a while."

    The boys grunted in assent and as soon as Liu Yu Zeng put out the fire, I turned around to climb up my tree. Once I was happily settled on my branch, I looked down to see if the guys were handling the ground ok. I was startled to see that not a single one of them was on the forest floor.

    Looking around, I saw each man up in a tree, resting on branches of their own.

    Smiling in approval, I gotfy and let the boys sleep as long as they could.

 Chapter 82 82

    ?

    Apparently, being able to sleep meant only being able to sleep for about four hours before the echoes of screams woke the boys up. I watched as they startled awake, ready to jump into action and the sound of gunfire burst out in rapid intervals.

    But before they could do that, I shot out a small pink fireball at them, hoping to keep them on their perch without hurting them in any way.

    ''Wang Chao, I hope you can hear me. The sounds areing from the road, not the forest, don''t draw unnecessary attention to us. If you can, tell the others to stay put,'' I said, secured in the knowledge that Wang Chao had an open connection to my mind. Watching as he let out a series of hand gestures the others seemed to understand, I rxed back into my tree and the other four men did the same.

    ''Do you know what is going on?'' Came a deep voice from inside my mind. I smiled.

    ''Yay! You picked up telepathy! This will be handy. And no, I don''t know what is going on, but rule one of the Zombie Survival Guide is to mind your own damn business. Whatever is going on on the highway is not affecting us or our men, so just leave it alone. Hopefully, your men are smart enough to ignore things too.''

    I felt Wang Chao''s nod inside my head, and I settled back, ready to fall asleep now that someone else could take over the watch.

    The sound of screaming and gunfire continued until the sun started to rise the next morning.

    I woke up slowly and stretched my poor, abused body. I had gotten spoiled in the past year and now one night''s sleep not on a soft mattress made my body want to fall apart. Groaning at one particr knot in my shoulder, I rubbed it and looked around our small clearing. The four men were already awake and staring at me like I had grown a second head.

    "What?" I asked as a round of gunfire cut through the stillness of the morning.

    "Were you able to sleep through that?" Asked Liu Yu Zengpletely shocked at the idea that I could sleep with a firefight going on a few meters away.

    "Yeah," I said, "I mean, it happens a lot. But by about year 5, humans run out of bullets so¡ª" I continued as I started to climb down my tree. Once on the sold ground, I started to stretch out more, listening to all of the cracks and pops of my spine as I worked out some kinks. The men just looked at me like I was crazy.

    "What?" I asked, hands on my hips, trying to figure out why they were looking at me like that.

    "Nothing," said Liu Wei, shaking his head and heading back towards the highway. The men should be ready to meet us at the very edge. Hopefully none of the decided to y herost night.

    I looked at the remaining three men and raised an eyebrow as I followed Liu Wei back to civilization. I chuckled at that thought as another volley of bullets sounded in the morning sun. There was nothing civilized left in this world.

    I came to a stop beside Liu Wei as we stared at the carnage before us. There was really no other way to describe the scene on the highway. The General and his hundred-plus men and women werepletely surrounded by wave after wave of zombies. I was going to assume that they created most of them as there were maybe only 20 or so individual zombies that I could see. The rest, numbered in the thousands.

    "And that, my friends, is why I don''t sleep out in the open at night," I said as another zombie got cut in half by gunfire and two emerged. As s¨¦ as I was being, I was secretly panicking inside. There was no way our small number was going to defeat a horde of this size and there was no way that there were enough people on the General''s side for the zombies to be full after eating.

    "What the fuck are you waiting for!" Screamed the General as he looked in our direction and saw us. "We need help!"

    I looked at Wang Chao and Liu Wei to see their reaction to the tant call for help. Would they go? Or stay here?<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "I told him to go into the woods to make camp," said Liu Wei, not appearing to be too choked up on the ughter in front of us. I leaned against him to offer my support. Hopefully, he wouldn''t take that as encouragement for going into battle.

    He wrapped his arm around my side and pulled me in closer. I could hear the rest of the mene up through the forest behind us and spread out.

    "What do we do?" Asked Hua Le Yang as he came to stand beside Liu Yu Zeng.

    I tilted my head, not really looking at him, but wondering if he was looking at the same thing that I was. "Do you think you will win?" I asked as this time there was an explosion from a grenade being tossed into the horde.

    Hao Le Yang looked at me and didn''t say a thing. "Ok," I said, still not bothering to look at him. "Are you willing to sacrifice the lives of your men and yourself to go to their rescue?"

    Again, silence met my words as I could feel the men around me shifting from side to side with nervous energy.

    "Anyone?" I asked, waiting to see what the majority would decide. "Wee to the end of the world boys, take a good look," I said. "There will always be a battle and there will always be people that are more concerned with themselves than those in the middle of the battle."

    I threw out my blue fire and watched as it epassed some of the zombies. Nothing really happened other than the smell of burnt flesh traveling to where we stood. I was originally going to see just want my purple me was capable of, but I decided to test the men out instead.

    "Alright boys, time to see if you got any superpowers," I said in a joking manner. I got Liu Wei and wang Chao to go to each end of our not-so-little group to be able to help those that were out of my range.

    "First things first. We are going to start with the elements. Try to picture earth, air, water, or fire responding to yourmands. Visualize it in your head and then extend that picture to your hands. Picture a ball of water or fire, think of how it would feel," I said demonstrating with my own powers.

    I let out a little jump for joy as I saw a vineing out of Chen Zi Han''s hand. Earth was so important for the food that we would need to grow. When I saw the vine being surrounded by fire, I was less happy but still impressed. When the fire was put out by water, I was downright sulky. Chen Zi Han walked away with three elements and we were just getting started.

    Liu Yu Zeng, like his brother, was able to call air, but that was the only element that he had. Thank God for a normal person. As I moved on to trying the metal elements, neither one of the men had ess to it, although there were about 5 or 10 of their men that had it in addition to Wang Chao.

    We continued to work down the list frommon powers to umon to rare, and I discovered that Liu Yu Zeng, like the other three, was aplete anomaly with three powers; air, fighting, and toxicity.

    I was a bit ufortable when I found out about him being a toxic user, simply because of Wang Zi Mo in the past, but Liu Yu Zeng was Liu Wei''s brother and I was willing to trust Liu Weipletely. I took a breath and looked back at the ongoing situation on the highway. The General and his men were doing their hardest to stay alive, but they were only making the situation worse.

    "Do you men want to try out your powers on this horde or move on?" I asked. It wasn''t like I was intentionally trying to save Fuck Face, but the best way to get stronger was to constantly use your powers. The men talked amongst themselves and agreed that they wanted to test out their powers, but not necessarily when it was against such bad odds.

    I was impressed with their thinking. "Get ready then," I said as I clicked my tongue a few times. The zombies at the edge of the horde turned to look at us for the first time. I was honestly surprised that it took them this long as we had been working on our powers for the past hour, but hey, it worked out in my favor so who was I toin?

 Chapter 83 83

    ?

    At the sound of my clicking tongue, about four zombies broke off from the group and turned towards us, the others still lost in the carnage in front of them. The men once again dispersed into groups of ten and each took a zombie to try their powers on. Technically, Liu Wei, Liu Yu Zeng, and the other fighters had it the easiest. They simply went up to the zombie from behind and ripped off their head.

    Requesting a me, I sent my purple one to dispose of any downed zombie. I needed to figure out this new power just as much as anything else. The purple me ran much stronger than my pink or blue me alone, turning the zombies to ash in less than 5 seconds.

    Wanting to see what it would do to a fully healthy zombie; I picked a random one still in the horde and ignoring uspletely. Sending out a ball of the purple me I watched as it engulfed it. A strange feeling passed through me, it was like there was a small me inside of where my purple me burned. The closer the purple me got to the smaller one, the more the smaller one struggled to hang on until the waspletely extinguished.

    I shook my head, snapping out of whatever trance I was in, and watched in delight as my purple me reduced the zombie to ashes in under 10 seconds. I now had a way of killing the zombies without having the extra pressure of trying to dismantle them beforehand. The strangest part was that after I used the purple me, the exhaustion that I was expecting never came, in fact, I felt stronger for some reason.

    I picked out my next target and closed my eyes, concentrating my purple me on it and trying to see if I could see that weird me again.

    There it was. It looked like a flickering candle in a darkened room, a silver me instead of the normal yellow, orange, or red. I started at that me and saw the moment that my purple me entered the dark space around it. The silver seemed to flicker faster and faster as if it was trying to return the darkness that my purple me was eating away.

    But my me absorbed the darkness faster than the silver me could fix it. Once again, I opened my eyes and watched as my purple me burned the zombie to ashes.

    I looked around to see if anyone saw what I had been doing, but they were all concentrating on their own battles more than on me. I watched as a dark mist spread out and around a lone zombie that Liu Yu Zeng was battling. Wanting to prove something, or maybe disprove it, I closed my eyes and once again saw the silver me in the center of darkness. This time, I watched as the darkness slowly snuck up on it, the mepletely unaware that part of the darkness was not its own. I saw as it only managed a short defense before the darknesspletely consumed it.

    Liu Yu Zeng looked up and saw me, "me please," he shouted as he turned his attention to another zombie that had seen us and was making its way over here. I shook my head, not sure what was going on, and called the purple me to burn the body to ash. But this time, there was no boost of energy that I had experienced when I burned the other zombie before. Unfortunately, I only felt tired and drained after calling on my me.

    Concerned and confused, I shook my head, trying to banish the thoughts in my mind. This had never happened in my past life. There was no blue me and no purple me. In fact, there was hardly any pink me because I refused to use it around others.

    But what was the silver me? And why did it give me so much energy when my purple fire consumed it¡­ and why didn''t I get that same energy when I just burned Liu Yu Zeng''s zombie?

    I couldn''t be thinking about this, I couldn''t let Wang Chao know that there was something wrong with me. I closed my mind and refused to dwell on what I did not understand. I turned back around and let out a mass of small purple fires that would burn the zombies that the men had managed to kill.

    Me? I was going to go deal with the horde in front of me and find out exactly what I could do with my powers.

    ---

    Wang Chao looked up from the zombie that he had just turned to ash with his lightning, his eyes searching for Li Dai Lu. He could feel her uneasiness, and he felt her conviction to keep him from finding out what was going on with her. His connection to her was so strong that it felt like a thick rope was tied between them, no matter the distance. He could hear her thoughts and she could now hear his.

    He continued to strengthen the bond between the two of them as another zombie made its way over to him from the original horde. He would allow her her private thoughts, he would not bring them up, ask questions, or go where he was not wanted, but at the same time, he would not allow her to hide from him.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    He could feel a sense ofpleteness when she was around in a way that he never knew he wascking before she swept into his life. He knew that Liu Wei felt the same, and it was bing a bone of contention between them. Neither one of them was willing to give up this feeling for the other. Even thinking about it caused a jolt of devastation to go through his body.

    He would not give her up. Li Dai Lu was his, and he would bring the world to its knees to keep her.

    An almost feral snarl escaped his lips as he turned another zombie into ashes. Yes, he would bring the world to its knees and then offer it up on a silver tter to his queen. But if Liu Wei thought that she was his alone, then he had another thinging. Wang Chao was holding on to the rope with both hands, refusing to let go.

    ---

    Liu Yu Zeng looked around the stretch between the highway and the forest where he and his team were fighting zombies. If you had told him even a week ago that he would be out on the highway, on foot, and fighting for his life, he would haveughed at you and suggested you get your head checked.

    And yet, here he was, using a superpower to fight zombies, his second inmand and his brother at his back. He had never felt this...pleted¡­ this whole before. He was almost too young to remember when his brother left, only 7 years old, but remembered feeling like arge part of him was missing.

    But now it was back, and he would never let his brother leave his sight again.

    He watched as a zombie came gliding towards him as if he was the prey and not the other way around. Letting out a soft breath, he released a few tendrils of ck smoke that Li Dai Lu had told him was poison. He guided the mist up and around the zombie and saw the moment that itpletely engulfed it. He could feel the mist pulling something out of the zombie, almost like a living creature slurping up its meal.

    And then it released it, letting the zombie crumble to the ground, no longer moving. There was a rush of power, of adrenaline that filled him as his mist killed the zombie. It was such a heady feeling that he almost shook with delight. He could see this power bing addictive as he looked around once again.

    Li Dai Lu was staring at him with an indescribable look. Did she know the rush that he felt when he killed the zombie? Did it matter if she did? "me please," he called out as if everything were normal and his body did not just get a pure jolt of power.

    Looking around, he saw another zombiee towards him, thinking that he would be easy prey away from the group. Joke''s on him.

    Liu Yu Zeng smiled as he let the dark mist engulf another zombie, and another one after that. He didn''t know what it was that gave him thisplete feeling of contentment, but he was happy not to be under his grandfather''s thumb anymore.

    ----

    The more I burned the zombies and the more mes that I engulfed, the stronger I felt. I finally knew why so many power users abused their powers, there was something so freeing about using them, about knowing that you were the strongest being around.

    But all too soon the zombies were gone and we were left with a very pissed-off General Fuck Face.

 Chapter 84 84

    ?

    To say that General Fuck Face was pissed, I think was an understatement as Liu Wei, Liu Yu Zeng, Wang Chao, Chen Zi Han and I stood in front of the enraged man. I am sure that he was trying to be intimidating¡­ like we were called to the principal''s office or something, but honestly, the vibe was more of a child throwing a temper tantrum in front of his parents.

    I shook my head at that thought, trying to get that image out of it. There were some things that I didn''t need to picture.

    "What the ever-loving Hell took you guys so long toe to our rescue? My men have been battling those¡­ those things¡­ since the middle of the night! And what were you doing?!?!"

    "Sleeping?" I asked, wondering if he really felt the need to ask what we were doing in the middle of the night.

    General Fuck Face¡ªyou know, I don''t think I was actually introduced to the man¡­ I probably should know his name given that Fuck Face was really not appropriate¡­ I was pretty sure.

    ''Yang Bo Wen,'' came Wang Chao''s gravelly voice from inside my head. ''His name is Army General Yang Bo Wen, but Fuck Face is more than urate.''

    I softly giggled at the fact that the straitced Wang Chao was giving me permission to call one of his coworkers Fuck Face. ''Not a co-worker,'' said Wang Chao as he moved to stand behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist. ''More like a pain in the ass. I was originally in the Navy but I was asked to transfer to the Army due to various reasons. The only reason why I am a general like him was because of that transfer. Otherwise, I would have made it to Admiral before I retired,'' Wang Chao continued to exin as the five of us watched General Yang Bo Wen pacing back and forth, throwing up his hands.

    I wondered if I should remind him of the soldiers behind him and maybe point out the injured ones, but then again, why interrupt something that he seems to take great enjoyment in doing?

    However, after a while, even I got tired of watching him pace. I needed it toe to an end and quickly. "Did the boys tell you that it was unsafe to remain on the highway at night?" I asked, interjecting myself into his rant. He stopped pacing to try to stare me down. "I''ll take that as a yes."

    "Did the boys not tell you that the woods would be safer for you and yours?" I continued. When he continued to re at me, I let out a tiny smirk. "I''ll take that as a yes as well."

    "So," I continued since I was at the beginning of my own rant. "You purposefully chose to disregard sound advice from two men, that it is clear you don''t like, in order to do what? Prove that you were the bigger, more capable man? How did that work out for you?" I asked, tilting my head to the side as I studied the General. It was clear that a night without sleep was not an improvement on his previous look.

    "I don''t know who they fuck you think you are, but you better keep your mouth closed around me," snapped Fuck Face as he pointed his finger at my face.

    Leaning back further into Wang Chao''s embrace, I smiled, "I am the one that helped the boyos save your ass. So, a little respect will go a long way if you want us to save your ass again in the future. I am not military, it would be best for you to remember that."

    My Aunt was still riding me hard and it took a lot for me to not go ballistic on the man. I could ignore the pain when fighting zombies, but for the most part¡­ not so much. But we had to deal with this situation before I could curl up in a ball and die, so let''s get this shit done.

    "We will be leaving in the next 5 minutes, whether or not you guys are ready," I said, not really caring one way or another. The General''s deal was with the boys, not me, so as far as I was concerned, it didn''t count for anything.

    "You have to escort us," said Fuck Face, causing me to burst outughing.

    "No, I really don''t," I said looking the man in the eyes. "Apparently, I have to go get this Admiral¡ª"

    "Vice Admiral¡ª" came three voices around me. I rolled my eyes. Who really cared about ranks right now? Did they think that the country''s military still existed? No¡­ all there was were once highly trained people that were now under orders of their direct supervisor who would use them for his or her own benefit.

    "Anyways¡­ all I have to do is go get this¡­Vice Admiral¡­ and then get back home. In no way, shape, or form are you included in my list of things to do. So, 4 minutes and then we leave. The choice is yours, General." With that, I tapped Wang Chao''s arms to get him to let me go and then proceeded back to the group of men that were mine.

    "3 minutes," I yelled. I was not going to give them a second longer than the original 5 minutes. The best way of dealing with someone that thought they were hot shit was to prove that they were nothing but the shit under your shoe.

    Wang Chao and Liu Wei''s men, who I was now officially iming as mine, along with Liu Yu Zeng and Chen Zi Han''s men were all lined up and waiting for the boys to give them some direction. "What''s the n?" asked Chen ZI Han as the four men made their way to where I was standing. I looked over my shoulder to see the General staring at us. Holding up two fingers, I smirked when he suddenly turned around and started issuing orders to his men.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "The n is to go get the Vice Admiral and go back home," I said, scanning the area around us. It felt like we were being watched, but since none of the guys were picking up on it, I was probably losing my mind.

    "Where is home?" asked Liu Yu Zeng as he too started to look around. Huh, maybe it wasn''t just me.

    "My ranch just outside of City A," I said as I turned around and started walking in the direction of City J. I knew that we would have to get off the highway in the next city so we could try and find supplies. If the General was really going to be following us for the next three weeks, then I would not be able to ess anything from my space.

    Stupid Fuck Face.

    Giving a brief outline to the other four, they nodded in agreement that me keeping my space a secret was best unless we really needed to use it. Which meant¡­ I got to gather supplies!!!

    Okay, so maybe I really missed being able to gather supplies, but when you have done it every day for 10 years only to stop cold turkey¡­ you get a bit antsy¡­ rubbing my hands in delight, my Aunt decided to make her presence known and I almost dropped to my knees in pain.

    Chen Zi Han and Wang Chao, who were the closest to me when it happened quickly grabbed my arms so I would not fall.

    Fuck, what do I do?!

    I whispered "Space," right before I blinked into my sanctuary¡­pletely forgetting that two men were hanging onto me when I did it.

    Fuck it. I would deal with thatter.

    I stumbled up the steps of the house and waved at the boys to do what they wanted while I took some time to myself. Heading straight into the bedroom, I grabbed my heating pad and went to sleep. The world would still be a mess when I woke up so I might as well enjoy some sleep.

    ---

    "What is this ce?" asked Chen Zi Han as he looked around the luscious, rolling fields. He could see horses off in the distance while the cows and pigs were in their own barns off to the side.

    Turning around he saw a whole parking lot filled with RVs and ATVs of various sizes. There were even two SUVs parked with the others.

    He quickly snapped out of his daze when he heard Wang Chao walking up the wooden steps to the wrap-around porch. The white railings were a startling contrast to the green fields and he saw some chairs and a swing set up close by. Wang Chao sat down in one chair and stretched his legs out in front of him like he didn''t have a care in the world.

    "This is her space," he said, finally answering Chen Zi Han''s question. "The fact that it is set up a lot like the ranch is absolutely amazing."

    "Is this what her ranch looks like?" asked Chen Zi Han as he took his own seat beside the other man.

    "The house is different," admitted Wang Chao, "but outside? It''s identical¡­ in fact, I think she snuck some animals in here before we left," he chuckled shaking his head. Closing his eyes, he leaned back further into the white Adirondack chair he was stilling in, allowing his head to be supported.

    Chen Zi Han followed suit, allowing himself to drift off to sleep. Trying to sleep with all the gunfirest was almost impossible, and he could definitely use a nap.

    They would figure things outter when they woke up. Until then, sleep was calling.

 Chapter 85 85

    ?

    After a much-needed sleep, I felt a million times better. This was only day two of my Aunt, and I knew that I would have at least one more day of it kicking my ass before bing easier. I felt like I was forgetting something, but deciding that it couldn''t be that important, I went into my bathroom and took a nice long hot shower.

    Dressed in clean clothes that still looked simr to my old ones and feeling like apletely new person, I went down into the kitchen to get myself a cup of coffee and maybe¡­ cheesecake? Blueberry pie?

    While I thought about my options, I came to a dead stop when I saw Wang Chao and Chen Zi Han drinking coffee at my kitchen table¡­ in my space. "Do I want to know how you guys got in here?" I asked as I walked over to the coffee pot to see if there was anything left in it. Seeing as they were smart enough to leave a cup for me, I added milk and sugar and then went to sit down with the boys.

    "You pulled us in yesterday," said Chen ZI Han as he pushed over a te of muffins that they must have found in one of my cupboards, grabbing my favorite carrot one, I pushed the te back into the center.

    "Huh," I said. I must have been in some pain to drag these two into here. I didn''t want anyone else but me in this space. Then again, I don''t have to bring them here again. "And it''s still the same day," I rified as I took a big bite of the muffin. The only thing better than carrot muffins was carrot cake¡­ did I have carrot cake around?

    "What do you mean? We spent a night here," said Chen Zi Han, not understanding what was going on. Taking a sip of his coffee I smiled to myself.

    "And we can spend 5 years here and have it be less than a second back there," I said, gesturing to the outside. I wasn''t sure what they called their world, so I always felt hesitant about saying Earth.

    "It''s referred to as Xangdu," interrupted Wang Chao as he took a bite of his blueberry muffin. Huh, I would have taken him as more of a bran muffin type of guy... or one of those abnormally healthy ones.

    "What is?" I asked, my brain still too focused on his muffin choice.

    "Our world, we refer to it as Xangdu," he said. Nodding my head in understanding, I turn my attention back to my coffee and muffin. If I ever bring the boys back here, I need to train them to be making bacon and French toast for breakfast¡­ I would just have to find some table syrup or maple syrup first.

    "Wait," said Chen Zi Han trying to get my attention back to him. I looked at him through one eye, the other still too tired to open. "What do you mean we could stay here for 5 years and only have it be less than a second outside?"

    "My space literally freezes time. It''s how I can keep all of my food from going bad. But that doesn''t mean that there is not some type of time here. However, every time I hop in here, I end up back in the same time and space as I left. Like the outside world is the one to freeze instead of this one."

    "That''s kind of handy," said Chen Zi Han with a smirk. I rolled my eyes.

    "Hardly. It''s not like I can use this ce to wait out an enemy or escape from something. As soon as Ie out I would be ced back in the same situation."

    "Still," said Chen Zi Han, not willing to concede.

    "Still," I replied nodding. If he thought this ce was paradise then who am I to disagree?

    "So, Liu Wei and Liu Yu Zeng won''t have any idea that we were even here?" asked Wang Chao for rification.

    "Nope," I said, shaking my head. "As long as we don''t show up with anything that we didn''t disappear with, they won''t even notice that we were gone."

    Both men nodded in understanding and we finished off our breakfast in peace and quiet.

    After the men washed the dishes, and grabbed my arms on both sides like I was about to copse because that was what we were doing before I dragged them in here. With a tired sigh, I brought us back to Xangdu and whatever drama Fuck Face decided to stir up.

    Seriously, I would not put anything past that man.

    -----

    The men let go of me once they realized where we were, and Liu Wei came running up to hold me. "You okay?" He demanded, looking me over from top to bottom to make sure I was in one piece.

    I tapped his arm and smiled up at him. "I am fine, just my Aunt Flow trying to make a point."<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Aunt Flow?" asked Liu Yu Zeng in a confused manner. When his I widened with understanding he took a couple of steps away from me like I was contagious or something.

    News sh: I wasn''t.

    "Isn''t that like ringing a dinner bell for the zombies?" he demanded as he took another few steps back.

    "No," I said rolling my eyes. "Well, maybe typical zombies? But these shark zombies don''t really care about that type of blood."

    "That type of blood?" asked Liu Wei looking down at me like my bottom half would spontaneously burst causing blood to spill all over the ce.

    Already fed up with the whole conversation I held up my hand, "The zombies won''t be extra attracted to me, and we are done with this conversation." Feeling more than a little ufortable with the whole topic, I cringed and walked away from everyone, and started on the long journey ahead.

    Like seriously¡­ cringe-worthy.

    Then men quickly fell into step behind me and I could hear the General in the background yelling at us to stop. Holding up my middle finger for him to see, I continued forward. Not my circus, not my monkeys. They could do what they wanted and if they managed to catch up¡­ well then, good for them.

    I just wondered if he would leave the injured behind in his attempt to stay with us. But once again, not my problem.

    I took my long hair out of my customary bun and let it fall around my shoulders and back. Covertly taking out my cell phone and headphones, I hid everything within my hair as I put in the earbuds and cranked the music. If I had to walk because of Fuck Face, I was at least going to enjoy some music at the same time.

    Finding a good song, I picked up my pace and bobbed my head to the song. I might not be able to dance, (not because of the situation, but because I really can''t dance) that didn''t mean I couldn''t enjoy the music¡­ it just meant that I knew my limits.

    Time slipped by without me noticing and soon enough we were at the exit for District S.

    Taking out my headphones and putting my hair back up, I started to mentally and physically prepare for battle. I had no idea what we would find, but either way, getting supplies was a full-contact sport and I was going to be ready.

    Going down the offramp, the men and I weaved in and out of the cars that had been abandoned. While the highway was pretty much clear with only the asional car or truck to go around, this offramp was packed bumper to bumper.

    Not bothering to look into the cars to see if there was anyone or anything inside, I continued to go straight until we got to the first intersection. Not having any idea where we are or where we need to be going, I looked at Wang Chao when he came up beside me.

    "Left, right, or straight?" I asked.

    "What are you looking for?" asked Liu Yu Zeng. I gave him a weird side-eye look.

    "Supplies," I said as if the answer was obvious.

    "Yeah, got that part," he snapped, giving me his own ''Are you stupid'' look. "Are you looking for warehouses, shopping malls, grocery stores, or something else?" Ok, so maybe I did earn that look, but still...

    "All of the above. If it will have supplies, then we need to go there. Start where there are fewer people, but we will be checking any and all warehouses, shopping malls, grocery stores, gas stations¡­ and wherever else would have food, clothing, shoes, and daily necessities. It is going to be winter soon so we will want to be prepared for that too," I said, ticking off the inventory list in my head.

    I had prepared enough supplies for Wang Chao, Liu Wei, and their men, but the majority of them were still at the ranch¡­ since you know¡­ that was where we were supposed to be right now. But that really doesn''t change things at the moment and Liu Yu Zeng and Chen Zi Han''s men needed things too. We needed a lot of supplies and we needed them fast.

    I could make the majority of them disappear into my space, but we would need enough on hand to fool Fuck Face.

    "And we will need something to carry them all in."

 Chapter 86 86

    ?

    "Then left," said Liu Yu Zeng after taking a second to think about my requirements. Shrugging my shoulders, I assumed that he knew more than I did about this area, so I would follow his lead.

    After walking for less than half an hour, we came across the warehouse district of District S. I will fully admit to squealing in happiness, but there was not a single other soul around besides us¡­ it was perfect for loo¡ªI mean, getting supplies.

    "How do you want to do this?" Asked Wang Chao as he looked around. All in all, there were about 15 different warehouses that, ording to their signs, stored everything from drinks and water to food and outdoor camping gear.

    "We will take Honeybee Food," said the General as he came up from behind and pushed us aside. Confused, I looked at Wang Chao.

    "Honeybee Food is another subsidiary of Phoenix Conglomerate," he replied, seemingly unworried about it. I could only assume that this was the General''s poor way of trying to give us the middle finger. To be perfectly honest¡­ the food warehouse was thest ce that I wanted to go.

    "You have your hands in a lot of pots, don''t you?" I asked not really paying attention to what I was saying. It took me a moment to realize all the responses to what I just said, but my faith in men was restored when not a single one said anything.

    "Let''s head into Mountain Valley," I said, trying to put myment behind me. But, like most people, that potentially embarrassing moment was just ying over and over again in my head. "Tell the men to literally grab thergest bag they can find and start filling it up. Leave two at the front door and two at the back door to act as guards, but I want the entire building gutted in under an hour," I continued.

    Liu Wei, Liu Yu Zeng, and Chen Zi Han left right away to sort out the men and get to the camping warehouse as fast as possible. There was only one of its kind here and I wanted those supplies for myself.

    "Just so you can stop thinking about it," said Wang Chao as he spoke so close to my ear, I could feel his very breath, "There is one more honey pot that I would love to get my hand into."

    And there it was folks, the one line that kept circling through my head ever since I spoke those words before. How on earth I could have ever thought that Wang Chao was in any way an icy,posed, CEO, I had no idea¡­ but that man was starting to make me want to crawl out of my skin with some of the things that he did and said.

    Trying to shake off the unfamiliar feelings, I quickly followed the men into Mountain Valley Outdoor Goods.

    As soon as I entered the ss doors of the giant warehouse, I saw the men scrambling around to grab everything and putting it into a pile by the front door. I would worry about sorting out everything after, but I quickly scooped it all up and put it into my space. Then I made my way towards the back of the warehouse where I knew would have the most number of supplies that I was looking for.

    Guns were not as easily essible in an outdoor store as they were back in Canada, but this one still had a huge supply of bows, arrows, and knives that would be a big help in the future. Walking through shelf upon shelf of supplies, I gathered them all inside my space, trying to stop myself from doing a happy dance.

    By the time I was done with the back, the rest of the men had cleaned out the top floors and around the front. It mostlyprised of tents, cooking utensils, but also a few hundred winter jackets. Letting out a small sigh of relief, I got the men to grab a backpack and divide the supplies up between them. I would take whatever they didn''t, but it was important that everyone had what they needed on hand.

    After giving out the directions, I proceeded to grab a bag of my own and filled it with some dehydrated meals, a water bottle, cups, tes, a jacket, numerous socks (cause you can never have enough socks), a fire starter and a few other small things.

    I knew I could use the backpack as a way of being able to hide what I take out of my space (thank you online novels) so I wasn''t going to fill my bag so full it was a pain to carry. I was about to reach for a tent when a hand shot out from behind me and took it from me.

    "I''ll carry it, Sweetheart," said Liu Wei and he tried the tent to the bottom of his own backpack. "No need to have you carry it when we''ll all be using it."

    I raised an eyebrow at his statement and then thought it through more. If I was going to be staying in a tent, then yes, I would have to share it. And if I was going to share it, it might as well be with the boys. But¡­. I didn''t want to be ever sleeping on the ground. <novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    I tried toe up with a way that we could build a tent city in the trees that coulde down every day, but as much as I could conjure it in my head, it was just not practical. Something like that would be a long-term solution to our problem, but I was not willing to go there. I did not want to be sleeping outside for the rest of my life. That was why I bought the ranch.

    Anyways. There was no tent city in the trees, and I would have toe up with a better solution than sleeping on the ground once people truly got the hang of the new world.

    Within half an hour, every single item in this warehouse was either stored away in a backpack or put into my space. Now, it was time to move on to another.

    The warehouse next door was a clothing store. Since I really didn''t care about clothes (we had enough), but it killed me inside to not take supplies, I just quickly stuck my head in and put everything into my space. Once again, I would sort through everything when I had a chance, but better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.

    And for anyone else that needed it? Too bad, so sad.

    Realizing that I was off in my own little world, the four men in charge (yes, I do let them think that), divided up their teams to make better use of time. I think they were supposed to put everything into one pile and then I woulde along and take it.

    I recognized this as simply a way to keep the men upied and the General less suspicious than anything else. After all, I didn''t need to see the supplies to take them, I just had to wish them away.

    After rai¡ªhunting for supplies for a couple of hours, we had sessfully cleaned out 14 of the 15 warehouses. The General was still in the food one¡­ why, I wasn''t sure, but good on him.

    I looked at the time and saw that it was close to setting up camp, but I was not sure if I wanted to do it here or try to find a few other stores before calling it a night. The biggest problem with option B was that I might run into people at the other stores and therefore, might have to call it a night while they are around.

    And let''s face it¡­ people are not high on my list of desires.

    "Let''s try to get a few more stores in," said Liu Yu Zeng as I presented the options to the men. "And if there are people, then there are people."

    Ahhh¡­ spoken like a man that had never gone through an apocalypse. But then again, he was advocating for more supplies so I guess I could go with his decision. We went back the way we came and this time continued to go straight and into the shopping district of this ce.

    The walk didn''t seem to take us that long, and truth be told, there still didn''t appear to be any people around. This could either be a good thing or a really, really bad thing, but either way, there was no way for us to tell until we came across it.

    The first thing that we came across was a huge shopping mall, and I am talking about one of the biggest ones that I had ever seen in three lifetimes. Standing outside of it, we all looked up. Not a single person to be seen¡­ do we take the risk for the supplies?

    Or should we be smart and pass it up for something else?

    Well, no one ever used me of being smart.

 Chapter 87 [Bonus ] 87

    ?

    Ok¡­ so maybe I went a bit overboard with trying to teach the guys that the post-apocalyptic situation that we have found ourselves in was full of things trying to kill us because as soon as we got within 100 feet of the mall, they had spread out, their guns drawn and looking for their next target.

    Too bad the entire area around us was empty, but you know¡­ better to be safe than sorry, I guess.

    As covertly as I could, I weaved around the soldiers using overturned cars as cover as they brought their AK-15s up to their line of sight. Walking up the three steps to the main entrance of the mall, I looked through the ss door.

    I will fully admit that theck of people, zombies, and animals had started to take their toll on my nerves, but there was a mall in front of me with probably more supplies than I could store in my space (not really, but you get the idea) and no one topete for them.

    I opened the door; the groaning hinge was the only sound for miles around. Stepping foot into the mall, I felt the four guys and their men quickly follow in after me. Taking out Hades and putting him on my shoulder, I was relieved to see him look around before trying to find afortable spot to sleep.

    Walking up to the map of the mall plete with the ''You are here'' dot) I got my first understanding of why most people would not be looking for supplies in this ce, no matter how big it was.

    "Whelp, this is useless," Iined as I took a quick look at the shops offered here. Turning my attention to the bottom right corner, I saw a phoenix symbol. "Are you kidding me?!? This one is yours too?" I screeched, turning around to re at Wang Chao. He shrugged and looked at Liu Wei as if to confirm or deny my statement.

    Liu Wei adjusted his sses in a very reminiscent way and nodded his head. "You took this over a year and a half ago," he confirmed. "But we didn''t pay much attention to it as it always had a decent profit and there were other things on our mind."

    "You couldn''t have at least useful stuff in this ce? I mean, it''s not like I can take out a zombie with a red-soled stiletto heel," I grumbled as I continued to look through the long list of stores for one that would possibly be beneficial.

    "Okay," I said, making up my mind. Even if they were brand names, it didn''t mean that they didn''t sell winter clothing, especially in November. "We are going to split into groups of 5 and each one of us will take an area. Take what you can, or that will be beneficial. I see that there is one pharmacy here so maybe they will have band-aids and other first-aid supplies," I continued, pointing to the lone pharmacy on the first floor.

    I roughly figured out in my head that it would take several hours before we could go through everything here and would probably end up making this ce our base camp for the night. Heck, if we weren''t in a hurry to save that guy, I would have insisted that we remain here for a whole week or more.

    I might disparage the designer clothes and the brand names that were so popr before the end of the world, but in all honesty, at the end of the day, they were still clothes and could be used. And let''s face it, I would not let anything of use slip through my fingers.

    Each one of the boys took their own group and dispersed through the mall. For me and mine? Our first stop was the food court. I knew the majority of it would have gone bad or on its way to going bad, but there still should be some canned goods that I could take.

    Unfortunately for me, the food court was on the very top floor (5th floor) and I had to walk every step of the way (stupid EMP) while trying my best not to disturb His Royal Hades from his perch. With my team following behind me, I quickly made my way up the stairs and onto the fifth floor.

    Wanna know the worst thing about having a very clear picture in your head about what you need to survive? Most people had the same idea.

    I was quickly running down the hall to the food court when I pulled myself up short, almost falling on my ass in the process. Thankfully, the men behind me were able to stop and catch me in time before any of us were injured, but unfortunately for me, a hissing cat made his displeasure known as his ws dug into my back as he frantically tried to hold on.

    Why would we be injured running down an empty hall?

    That would be because of the extremely thin wire strung from one side of the hallway to the other, right at throat level for the men behind me. Personally, I was thanking myself for being vertically challenged and the wire was right at my eye line, allowing me to see it fairly easily. ''Wang Chao, be careful, ambush set up at the food court. I don''t know if it will be elsewhere. Please tell the others,'' I thought. Who needed cell phones when you had someone that can read minds?

    ''Done,'' came the quick reply. ''Be safe.''<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    ''Always,'' I said with a small smirk as I studied the wire in front of me. Deciding that since my head had almoste off, it would be best for me to put Hades back into my space where he would be safer.

    Hades taken care of, I turned my attention back to the wire. It didn''t look like something that had been set up by an inexperienced person. In fact, the perfect way that it was made me think of someone that I would rather not have.

    Taking out a pair of wire cutters from my space, I hesitated. If this was an ambush set up by those two, then I was in for a nasty surprise if I simply cut the wire. Deciding to not take the chance, I followed the wire to the right where it was embedded into the wall. Seeing a small package of thumbtacks, I was happy to have followed my gut. I had seen one of these traps explode and the guy looked like a pin cushion afterward.

    If I remembered correctly though, right behind the pressure-sensitive trap was the release mechanism to disengage it. But¡­ because those two were my best friends and aplete pain in my ass, there would be another trigger that needed to be dealt with first.

    Sighing, I cracked my neck and pulled out a paper-thin surgical scalpel, and got to work. Luckily for me, the men in my team wereplete professionals and while I was lost in my head, they made sure to guard my back. "If you see someone approach, don''t do anything," I said, worried that they might try and kill the two that set up the ambush.

    Hearing their grunt of ascent, I quickly used the scalpel to peel away the wall all around the wire''s anchor. They had one exined how to set one of these things up and how to take it down, but that was so many years ago and I was a bit rusty on the actual details.

    That was a polite way of saying that I was winging it.

    I could have just let the wire stay here, but I hand more than 300 men crawling around this mall and I was not going to leave a trap for them to find the hard way.

    It took me almost 30 minutes to try and figure out how to disarm the thing in front of me and I spent the whole time cursing them out. Why couldn''t they just make life easy and have a simple trap set up?

    They had exined that when they were going through military university, this was one of the things that they learned how to do. Apparently, there was a whole ss dedicated to ambushing and guerri warfare and the two of them simply fell in love with the idea.

    I used to tease them that they found their true love by learning how to take someone out without their knowledge. Like typical university students, thete-night study sessions quickly lead to something more.

    I couldn''t help the smile that bloomed on my face as I began to remember more and more about them. And then I remembered how they died. The pain and loss that I felt that day swept all over me again, almost causing me to lose my breath. ''You ok?'' came the voice inside my head.

    ''Yeah,'' I replied as I carefully removed the bundle of tacks and then proceeded to cut the wire. ''Just some memories,'' I continued, giving Wang Chao an exnation even though he didn''t ask.

    ''Let me know if you need me and I''ll be there,'' he said, and I could almost feel the physicalfort of his presence beside me.

    ''I''m good. You go get me my supplies,'' I said with a chuckle.

    Hey, a girl had to have her priorities in order¡­ and mine were supplies.

    "How did you know how to do that?" I spun around when the sweetest voice in the world called out from down the hall. My team raised their guns in the direction of the voice, but they couldn''t see a target.

    "You wouldn''t believe me if I told you, Hua Chan Juan."

 Chapter 88 88

    ?

    "Want to tell me how you know that name?" came the voice again, this time apanied by the sound of a gun''s safety being released.

    "Want to tell me where Hubby is? I don''t want one of my men to shoot him by ident. Then again, if you are there then¡ª" I paused as I looked down the opposite end of the hall and the direction that we just came from. "Then he must have been following us since we got on this floor," I concluded as I heard footsteps echoing down the corridor behind us.

    "Ah, there he is," I said. I will fully admit that all I wanted to do was rush forward and fling my arms around Hua Chan Juan and never let her go. I needed to apologize for not believing her when it came to Colin and even more so for the fact that I lead to her death. If I hadn''t told Colin what she had said about not trusting him, he never would have targeted her in the first ce.

    Closing my eyes as visions of her and her husband''s death yed in my mind. I thanked God that I was brought back to rectify all the wrongs that I did.

    "And how do you know about me?" Came a low baritone voice from the opposite end as Huan Chan Juan.

    "Like I told your wife, you wouldn''t believe me even if I told you. So why waste my breath?" I smirked. Huang Tian Kuo was one of those men that I always wanted to have in my past lives and thought that I had with Colin. He was so overprotective of Hua Chan Juan that he drove her insane more often than not, but she had confessed one night that she secretly loved it. He wouldn''t normally speak to a woman, let alone acknowledge her existence. I was the exception simply because I was Hua Chan Juan''s best friend and also themander of thepound.

    I still remember their easy touching, their closeness, and how she was just as protective as him when it came to the world outside.

    ''You can have that too,'' came the gruff voice inside my head.

    ''I don''t think that I will be that lucky. And I don''t think that I even deserve it,'' I confessed in a quiet voice, all joking aside. It was like my body craved a rtionship, almost like I had a huge gaping hole inside of me that was slowly bleeding out and killing me. But after what I helped Colin do, I didn''t deserve happiness.

    I forgot that sometimes with the boys around. They made me want things that I shouldn''t want. They make me crave their touch in a way that I never had before. My very essence was calling to them, but I couldn''t do it.

    I didn''t deserve happiness for what I did to my best friends.

    "If you don''t want to be killed, then you might want to offer some type of exnation," Huang Tian Kuo said as he came into sight. My men were not happy with his response, but I could do little more than chuckle.

    "Don''t you need your wife''s permission for that?"

    Silence met my words. "Fine," I said, halfway between a chuckle and a groan. "I was your best friend in our past life and we saved each other''s lives for almost 10 years before you two were killed."

    "You''re right, I don''t believe you," snapped Hua Chan Juan.

    "Always the realist. Fine, the truth is we are here to collect supplies before going on our way. Are you going to stand in our way or let us through?" I asked, giving them the chance at the truth in case they were reborn themselves. It''s not like they died a pleasant death after all.

    "I''ll choose the first option," growled Huang Tian Kuo, raising his gun in response to my words.

    Racking my brain on how to get out of this without anyone dying, I quickly improvised. "General Wang Chao is downstairs waiting for us. Surely you won''t kill any of his men," I said, knowing that they would recognize Wang Chao. I might not have known who the man was before I met him, but Huang Tian Kuo and Hua Chan Juan lived and breathed the military since they were teenagers.

    "General Wang Chao?" Hua Chan Juan said as she held up a hand to stop Huang Tian Kuo.

    "Yes," came the extremely pissed-off voice of Wang Chao from even further down the hall than Huang Tian Kuo, his men marching in perfect formation behind him.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    His entrance seemed to suck the very air out of the hallway and silence reigned.

    "Is there a reason why you are holding a gun to my people?" Wang Chao snapped. I could almost see how he would have looked in uniform, how imposing he would have been. Even I wanted to salute and that had never happened before.

    "Sorry, Sir," said Huang Tian Kuo returning his gun to the holster at his side. As soon as he stood down, Hua Chan Juan stepped out from around the corner and Iid eyes on her for the first time in 2 years. She looked so young, like a blossom that had just started blooming. In my past life, she looked a lot older, harsher, and more mature, but then again, I had met her three years into the apocalypse and a lot could have happened in that time.

    Wang Chao didn''t reply to Huang Tian Kuo and simply brushed by him as if he wasn''t there. I was surprised to see the two of them side by side even for a brief second.

    While I had always held Huang Tian Kuo as the epitome of masculinity, so big and strong that it never urred to me how much smaller he was than Wang Chao.

    Wang Chao''s stride ate up the distance between us and he reached out to cup my cheek in the palm of his hand. "Are you ok?" he asked out loud for those around us to hear. ''I could feel your pain, little girl. Tell me what I can do to make it better,'' he said inside my head. I rxed into him, not realizing just how much I needed him beside me at this moment.

    Coming face to face with my past was leaving me more weak and vulnerable than I would like to be in the middle of a public space. Taking thest step, I buried my nose in his chest and breathed in his scent until I felt moreposed.

    Pulling myself together, my shields back up, I retreated a step and looked up at the man. "Right as rain," I said, responding to the part that everyone could hear.

    ''Nothing Wang Zi Mo did was your fault, you have to know that, right?'' he pleaded in a soft voice. He bent forward to be able to look me in the eyes. ''Do not take the weight of what he did onto your own shoulders. Think of this as a fresh start, a new chance at making friends. Or don''t,'' he continued, trying to make me see reason.

    He was right, sted man. I could not be held responsible for what Colin did, I didn''t want him to do it nor was I aware of it at the time. It was not until Colin let it slip did I even realize what was going on.

    Straightening up my back, I nodded at his words. This was my chance to start fresh, with nothing hanging between us. We had been friends once, and we could do it again. And even if we didn''t be friends, we could bring them into our group and help them where we could.

    I froze as that thought crossed my mind. I didn''t want to help people in this lifetime, I wanted to live my own life¡­ but was I really going to sacrifice my only two friends in the past for potential heartache in the future?

    Frankly, I didn''t know. I would take it one day at a time and go from there.

    Wang Chao took a step back of his own as he felt me calm down. Sweeping his arm to the side, he invited me to continue on my journey to the food court. Smiling, I walked forward with him at my side and his arm wrapped around my waist.

    Our two teams followed us, leaving Huang Tian Kuo and Hua Chan Juan to decide if they wanted to follow us or go out on their own. Either way, I knew that they would have their own path to follow and it was not my ce to interfere with their fate.

    I just hoped that there were no more traps between here and the food court. Knowing these two though, I could leave nothing to chance.

    "Hey! Hua Chen Juan," I yelled behind me, refusing to turn around and look back. "You don''t have any more surprises for us up ahead, do you?"

    I heard a small yelp as Hua Chan Juan realized that they did indeed have a few more ambushes nned for the unsuspecting. Rolling my eyes, I came to a stop, pulling Wang Chao to a halt beside me. "Better let her go first," I advised, not willing to take any chances.

    Just because I remembered our friendship didn''t mean that she did.

 Chapter 89 89

    ?

    It took Hua Chan Juan about 15 minutes topletely clear the passageway. Not counting the first one that I almost ran into, she had 8 others that she needed to take down before we could make it to the food court. I had to roll my eyes at them. Nine booby traps within a hundred feet seemed like overkill, but who was I to think that?

    Once she gave the all-clear, I quickly entered the food court and looked around. I would be the first to admit that the smell was¡­ fresh(?)¡­ how do you politely say that it stunk to high heaven? Anyways¡­

    To make my life easier, I started with the closest restaurant and took everything that seemed like it would still be good. Even only a few days without a working fridge made most things turn to rot before I could get my hands on it, but that was fine. There were still a lot of juices that didn''t need refrigeration, breads, canned fruits, vegetables, and meats were all there, waiting on the shelves for me to take.

    Grabbing what I could, I moved on to the next restaurant until I had gotten everything edible. Wang Chao followed wordlessly behind me, not onceining about the smell or having to help. Just a constant presence. I looked up at him and smiled.

    "Aren''t you supposed to be getting your own supplies?" I asked, a small smirk on my face as he looked down at me.

    "And where am I going to put them? I need you to store them away," he replied, not once looking ashamed of his answer.

    "Yeah, yeah," I grumbled as we exited thest restaurant. I stopped suddenly when I saw Hua Chan Juan and Huang Tian Kuoughing in the middle of Wang Chao''s soldiers like they had always belonged with them and not someone that held a gun to me just minutes ago.

    The crashing wave of betrayal shocked me enough that it made me take a step back, but I couldn''t pinpoint where I felt betrayed, just that I was. I mean¡­ it''s not like they have the decade of memories that I have, and I understand that¡­ mostly¡­ I am not expecting them to be my friends¡­

    Was I feeling betrayed by the men befriending them? Like they were supposed to be mine but here they were,ughing withplete strangers?

    Or did I feel an overwhelming sense of panic that maybe, just maybe when Liu Wei, Chen Zi Han, and Liu Yu Zeng meet them, they would behave the same way? And where would that leave me?

    My mind was spinning and I started to realize just why my therapist told me that I had abandonment issues. I had never really experienced it to this extent before, but right now, I was almost choking on my fear.

    I didn''t want to feel this way, I think that it made me weak and pathetic that I was threatened by having another woman, and a married woman at that, in our group. But I was.

    I knew Hua Chan Juan, I knew how strong and powerful she was, how she could always adapt to any situation, and just how phonemical she was at leading people. She was my second inmand at thepound, but everyone went to her when they had a problem with something. She used tough it off when Iined about it, saying that as my second, it was her job to be doing all this work. But then, after a while, people just assumed that she was the one who built thepound or got the supplies for it.

    Back then, I didn''t really care what everyone thought, about me or my role within thepound. But then, when they decided to sacrifice me to the zombies to protect themselves, a small part of myself wondered if it was because they didn''t know that I was the one that did everything for them.

    And if they could do that when I gave them everything, what could these people do when I have technically given them nothing? I mean, I am friends with their leaders, so they follow my directions, but if push came to shove, they would leave me in a second for them¡­ I might be the one keeping them alive right now, but that won''tst long.

    Soon they will know how to navigate the new world and then I will be nothing¡­ and then what?

    Could I go back to my ranch alone? Now that almost every part of it has been infected with the boys'' presence?

    I closed my eyes. I knew that I could im period hormones for this wave of weakness¡­ but I also knew that there was more to it than that.

    I knew that I was not the main character in this novel. I was not the one with unlimited power, that no matter what I did, I would stille out on top¡­ I was not the leader, I was not a doctor that could bring back the dead, I was not an alchemist, not an assassin, I was¡­ just not.

    I was following what the boys wanted to do and pretended like I had a choice in the matter. For fuck sake, I didn''t even want a choice in the matter. I wanted to stay alone on my ranch, eat my sweets, and let everyone die¡­

    And now, just thinking about that dream made me feel like my heart was being ripped out.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    I opened my eyes and continued to watch the scene in front of me¡­ and I prayed that I would not be kicked out of the group because now they had Hua Chan Juan.

    I waspletely unprepared for the feeling of weightlessness as Wang Chao picked me up into a princess carry and spun us around. Carrying me into the restaurant we just vacated, he plunked me down onto the counter so he could put both hands on either side of my hips and leaned into me, leaving only millimeters between our noses.

    "I will put up with some things," he said in a low growl that I could feel in my very bones. "But there are other things that are justplete and utter bullshit."

    My eyebrows disappeared into my bangs as I heard Wang Chao swear for the first time ever. "That¡ªthing¡ªoutside will not take your ce, could not take your ce in any way."

    "That''s only because I''m single and she''s married," I said. I knew that it wasn''t true, but a part of me was still scared and insecure.

    "Bull. There could be a whole army of women out there, and there would still only be you in my eyes. Do you understand that?" he asked, searching my face like it would give him an answer that I was unaware of.

    "But¡ª"

    "No buts," he growled, moving his hands until they grabbed my hips and pulled himself between my legs. Straightening up he looked down at me. "You have me and Liu Wei wrapped around your finger and it has nothing to do with whether or not you have been in the military or if you started your ownpound. You are you, and that is all that I care about."

    "That''s probably a good thing," I said with a wetugh, tears flowing down my cheeks. "I''m not in the military and I have never been."

    "Little girl, Sweetheart, you are you and that is more than enough for me. Besides, I have enoughpetition, I don''t need more," he grumbled under his breath, the sound loosening a knot in my chest.

    "That is another part," I whispered, burying my face in the crook of his neck so I didn''t have to see him when I said this next part.

    "What is?" he asked in a gentle voice, pulling me deeper into his arms. I had a small panic attack at how I was going to say what was going on in my mind. "Ahhh," he said in understanding.

    I guess when you are talking to a mind reader, you don''t really need to figure out how to say things¡­ they just understand.

    "I would not ask you to choose," he reassured me as if he was waiting forever to be able to say this to me. "All that I ask is that you include me too. As scared as you are of me leaving, I am just as scared that you will do the same."

    Startled, I leaned back and looked at him, "What? Why?"

    "I am worried that at some point in time, you are going to be tired of all the shit we bring to the table and leave us," confessed Wang Chao.

    Was it bad that his confession made joy spread throughout my body causing me to practically vibrate in his arms?

    "Yes, it is bad," he chuckled, "And yes, we both have the same fears, so from now on, instead of letting them fester, let''s talk about them."

    I nodded, so happy that we had this talk. "Now, let''s get out of here because the smell is really starting to get to me," he joked as he took me down off the counter and pushed me toward the door.

    Laughing, I followed his push, allowing us to go back out to where everyone was waiting for us.

 Chapter 90 90

    ?

    Stepping out of the restaurant for the second time, with Wang Chao at my back, I waspletely unprepared for Liu Wei to storm through the food court and pull me into his arms. "Are you okay?" he asked. "Wang Chao said that you hade across an ambush."

    Iughed as he refused to let me go, even going so far as to lift me up so far that my feet were dangling off the floor. "I am just fine," I reassured him, "You know what a worrywart Wang Chao is."

    "That''s the thing¡­ he''s not a worry wart. He''s like one of those emperors that lets everyone else do the worrying while he makes the final decision," Liu Wei said as he put me back down on the ground and held me at arm''s length. Looking me up and down, and from back to front, he confirmed for himself that I was fine before tucking me into his side. "Who''s the new people?" he asked, pointing his chin to where Huang Chan Juan and Huang Tian Kuo were.

    "The people who set the ambush," said Wang Chao as he came over to my other side.

    "Then what are they doing with us?" asked Liu Wei, clearly not impressed that the men were getting along so well with people that tried to kill them.

    "They''re military," said Wang Chao as the three of us made our way over to therge group of people.

    "And?" volleyed Liu Wei, clearly not impressed with the fact that they were military.

    "And you will have to ask them," replied Wang Chao, clearly not wanting to be involved with the whole situation. Their s¨¦ manner in discussing Hua Chan Juan and Huang Tian Kuo made me rx all that much more. No longer feeling threatened, I was in a much better mood to talk to my previous best friends.

    "Why the traps?" asked Liu Wei as we stopped in front of the two.

    Huang Tian Kuo shrugged his shoulders, not really bothering to say anything. In contrast, Hua Chan Juan looked Liu Wei up and down. "Major?" she asked in a hesitant voice. Liu Wei looked at her briefly before turning his attention back to Huang Tian Kuo.

    "The traps," he snapped. I looked at Wang Chao in question, but he was simply looking at Huang Tian Kuo as well. ''We would have lost you if you didn''t notice the wire. Liu Wei is feeling a bit¡­ upset over that idea,'' said Wang Chao without looking at me. ''Honestly, I am not that impressed either.''

    Finally understanding what was going on, I let the men handle it. I was not overly upset about what happened, but if the situation had been reversed then I would have been out for blood. It was a sheer coincidence that I had recognized the trap and knew how to disarm it.

    Technically, if I hadn''t been reborn, I would have died just then¡­ or at least been severely injured. When I heard Wang Chao growl beside me, I quickly blocked those thoughts from my mind. I was here, safe and sound, and in desperate need of supplies.

    Feeling both men rxing, I gave myself a quick cheer. At least I can help them out of whatever mood I manage to put them in.

    "We needed a safe ce and this was the best one that we had found," said Huang Tian Kuo as he shrugged his shoulders.

    "You needed a safe ce, but you didn''t care about anyone else that would havee down those halls?" Liu Wei sneered, not impressed with his answer.

    "We are sorry," said Hua Chan Juan, trying her best to diffuse the situation. "But we couldn''t be sure if the next personing here was friend or foe."

    Liu Wei scoffed. "Did you really think that something like those booby traps would save you from the zombies? Best case they heal ande back more pissed, the worst case is that you would then have two zombies on your hands. Then what?"

    The two looked at Liu Wei, their eyes wide. "You''ve fought the zombies?" Huang Tian Kuo demanded.

    "You haven''t?" Liu Wei asked as he pulled me towards him and towards the exit. "Did you get what you needed here?" he asked turning to look at me. Nodding my head, he smiled. "Perfect, now let me show you what I managed to collect for you."

    -----<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    It was going to take Liu Wei more than a few minutes to calm down for the idea that he almost lost Li Dai Lu. Gripping her wrist tighter, he continue to pull her down the same hall that she once almost lost her head and towards the stairs. He didn''t really care if this was uncharacteristic of him, or if he was being abrasive in some way, his mind was still focused on the idea of losing the one person that made him feelplete.

    All of his life, he felt like there was a part of him missing. For the most part, his brothers managed to fill it up, but at the same time, there was the feeling that sometimes, they were not enough.

    His thoughts shed to the nightmare that he had when he was suffering from the more mundane side effects of the vine, especially the part where he and Wang Chao watched Li Dai Lu being ripped apart by zombies. To say that it felt like they were being ripped apart at the same time was not an understatement. I was like he could feel exactly what she felt, the pain, the betrayal, and the anguish.

    Liu Wei was finally feeling a sense of beingplete, that when he was with his brothers and Li Dai Lu, he was finally bing who he was meant to be. He could not, would not live with the feeling of being iplete without her. Now that he found her, he would reign death down on whoever sought to hurt her.

    And to have his men, men that he personally trained,ughing and joking around with the people that almost destroyed his life? He needed to leave that ce as fast as possible before he did something he might regret.

    Then again, he probably would not regret killing everyone at that moment. What was there to regret when killing someone? Death was simply a part of life¡­ if they lived, then they should expect to die. It was really quite simple... well, everyone but Li Dai Lu.

    Rubbing his thumb back and forth across her wrist, he was able to feel her pulse, and he could count her heartbeats. Reassuring himself for the 100th time that she was alive, he took a deep breath and slowed down his pace.

    "Are you ok?" Li Dai Lu asked, looking up at Liu Wei. He could feel the concern in her voice like he was the one that could have been dead.

    "You could have died," he repeated, trying to push back the thoughts of going back to the food court and killing everyone there.

    "And yet, I am still alive!" she said with a smile, trying to cheer him up. The brightness of her smile was enough to push back the darkness a bit, but at the same time, another voice inside his head wanted, no, demanded their deaths. He would have sacrificed all of his men to prevent her death¡­ why weren''t they going down the halls first?!?

    She was a precious package that they were supposed to protect and yet, they sent her through first?

    Feeling his rage rising up inside him again, he tried to steady himself. Cracking his neck back and forth, he tried to think about something else¡­ anything else than this burning rage to kill everyone and everything.

    Hearing the soft giggle beside him, he looked down at Li Dai Lu. "I think we have been spending too much time together," she said while gentlyughing at him. He looked at her in confusion. As far as he was concerned, there was no such thing as too much time together.

    "You have officially developed my tick of cracking my neck when stressed. Are you stressed about something?" she asked, her wide bright blue eyes looking up at him inplete innocence.

    "Did you miss the part where your head was almost taken off?" he asked, part in sarcasm and part in disbelief. How could she just shrug off such a thing as if it waspletely inconsequential? Did she not know just want her death would have done to him? To Wang Chao?

    "Nope, caught onto that part," she said with a wirily half smile. "But if I kept focusing on what might have killed me, I will never be able to see what actually does."

    As soon as those words left her mouth, Liu Wei spun her around to face him, the two of them standing inches away from each other. Leaning down until their faces were level, Liu Wei said with gritted teeth, "You will never see what actually kills you for the simple fact that you will not die. If you die, I can promise you that this world will die with you. And as soon as I have killed everything, I will join you in death so even then, we are not separated."

    Li Dai Lu looked him in the eyes, studying his face. Nodding her head, she let out a bright smile, "Then I will wait for you."

    Turning back around and walking to the top of the stair, she looked at Liu Wei. "Now, about those supplies you promised me."

    "Of course, my Queen. You''re wish is mymand."

 Chapter 91 91

    ?

    I collected the pile of supplies that Liu Wei and his team had managed to collect on the third floor. There were lots of winter coats, hats and mitts, scarves, and even a few boots. Mind you, I didn''t think that any of the women''s boots would have been all that practical for me seeing as they were between 3- and 5-inch heels.

    I knew how horrible those boots were in Canada, and I was not going to risk breaking my ankle in the middle of a battle. But I still put them away in my space. What can I say? They were cute, and maybe, once we got back to the ranch and not in constant danger, I could find an asion to wear them.

    Now, between you and I, I really wish that fur coats were still in mainstream fashion and that we could get our hands on some. Those coats would have kept us warm for winters toe, but yes, I understand why they weren''t¡­ it was more of a wish than anything else so no need to take off my head for that thought.

    Although there might not have been any fur coats, there were several outdoor winter coats that would be thick enough to keep us warm for a short period of time. The only problem with them was that the outside was too flimsy to be able to resist a swipe of a zombie w.

    Maybe I should be the first post-apocalyptic fashion designer¡­ you know, high-end clothes that were warm, practical, and zombie resistant. Giggling at the thought, I continued to go through the piles of offerings, storing them all away in their proper ce in my space.

    I was just thinking that until you have experienced below -50 Celsius with the windchill, you really have not experienced a true winter and don''t know what you would do to keep warm. Shivering as I remembered Canadian winters, I was d thatst winter was not nearly as bad. But then again, the winters in the apocalypse were nothing to sneer at. I was pretty sure they were on par with a Canadian winter. Maybe creating my own line of things to keep me warm was not as ridiculous as I had previously thought.

    Starting to feel a bit tired after such a long day, I took out enough raw food and cast iron propane burners to be able to cook it and proceeded to set up a camp on the third floor for me and the men.

    ''If you are done doing whatever it is that you are doing, I have dinner ready on the third floor for everyone,'' I called out to Wang Chao in my head.

    ''Sounds good. I just wanted to give Liu Wei some alone time with you,'' came the reply, a faint chuckle filled my head.

    Going back to ignoring him, I finished stirring the pot of soup that I had made. Each team had their own campfire going and whatever they wanted to eat on it¡­ for the most part. No one was eating steaks, that''s for sure.

    I had made enough extra chicken and rice soup for me, the boys, and the two teams upstairs. I debated about whether or not to cook for Hua Chan Juan and Huang Tian Kuo but figured that they should be responsible for their own food. They were not part of our team, yet, and as much as they were my friends in our past life, that meant nothing now.

    And knowing them as I do, I knew that they would not hesitate to sacrifice any of us to protect themselves. Truth be told, I didn''t me them, that was the way the world worked. But I would wait until they made the first move before bing friends with them again.

    My mind drifted back to the first time I had met them, three years after the end of the world. I had just taken over this body and didn''t really understand what was going on. Thinking that it was fine to be sleeping on the ground, I never even heard the Reavers hunting in the forest around me.

    Shuddering at that though, I quickly wiped the whole experience from my mind. New life, new start, and all that. Anyways, once I had managed to get out of the Reaverpound, they were the first people that I had met. Seeing my state, Hua Chan Juan felt bad for me and allowed me to stay with them for a while.

    After I proved just how useful I could be (thank you online videos) they decided to keep me around for longer taking care of most of the logistical side of things; camps, food, etc. In fact, it was Hua Chan Juan that taught me how to fight. But because they were Asymptomatic, they didn''t have any additional powers, so I hid my me just in case they would kick me out because of it.

    Mind you, as much as I stayed with them for 10 years, it was me who decided to set up our ownpound, it was me that picked the location and did everything to make it thrive. I figured that since they kept me alive for so long, the least I could do was build a home for them.

    And then other people arrived and one thing became another¡­ and then there was Colin.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Feeling arms wrapping around me, I was startled out of my thoughts. Looking up at Wang Chao, I let out a small sigh of contentment. ''Sorry, sometimes I get lost in my head more than I should.''

    ''Never worry about that,'' said Wang Chao as he pulled me in closer so that my back and head were resting against his chest. ''The men invited them toe with them,'' he continued, giving me a heads-up before the rest of the people entered our makeshift camp. I nodded in understanding and tapped the arms around me to be let go.

    When Wang Chao obliged, I sat back down at our tent (yes, getting the tents were more useful than I thought) and continued to stir the soup. I waited for Liu Wei, Wang Chao, Chen Zi Han, and Liu Yu Zeng to sort out their men and figure out where the two new people would go before I started dishing out our soup and bread.

    The five of us sat around our makeshift fire, eating our dinner when Chen Zi Han spoke up, "So, I hear you almost died," he said before taking another spoonful of soup.

    "Yup," I said, following his actions and looking up at him. "But then again, it is hard to kill me¡­ I''m worse than a zombie- constantlying back," I joked with the men. They all knew that this was not my first life, although we kept that information from the men¡­ kind of. There were a few chosen ones that were there when I told Liu Wei and Wang Chao about the zombies, but I never specifically said that I had been reborn.

    Chen Zi Han chuckled at my poor attempt at a joke and went back to eating his soup.

    "What is the n for tomorrow?" asked Liu Yu Zeng as he ripped apart the tbread that I had made on the open fire.

    I shrugged my shoulders and looked at Wang Chao. "We only got about half of the mall''s inventory today so we are going to grab the second half tomorrow before we have to meet back up with the General," said Wang Chao as he finished off the rest of his soup.

    Liu Wei had filled up a container of water for washing the dishes and Wang Chao made his way to the makeshift sink.

    Liu Yu Zeng nodded his head. "And then?"

    Wang Chao looked at Liu Yu Zeng. "What do you want to happen?" he asked. Even I could guess that Liu Yu Zeng was trying to get at something.

    "There is no real food here to keep up stocked up for any amount of time and the General took whatever food was in the warehouse district. There are a few grocery stores nearby that we can hit up before we meet the General," Liu Yu Zeng said as he kept his head down. "What do you think?" he asked, all of a sudden looking at me. It was then that I realized that as much of an ass Liu Yu Zeng could be, he also took many things into consideration.

    Like me and my need for supplies.

    I smiled at him, "I think that would be perfect," I said as I gathered the rest of our bowls and brought them over to be washed. The water was ice cold when I put my hands in it and I didn''t know how Wang Chao could stand it. Warming it up with a bit of my pink me, I waited until it was a decent temperature before I started washing all of the dishes.

    Putting them away, I looked at the four men sitting around the fire talking to each other. Never before had I felt this sense ofpleteness as I did just then. Shaking my head over my foolishness, I walked over and took my seat between them, entering into the conversation as if I had never left.

 Chapter 92 92

    After a great night''s sleep, even with Liu Yu Zeng snoring the whole time, we were more than ready to get started on the tasks for the day. It took us a few hours to go through all of the remaining floors including the overstock in the basement before we were satisfied that we managed to grab everything.

    Well, let''s face it, the only one that had to be satisfied with the amount of supplies was me and I was practically giddy. We managed to get enough winter clothing to supply all of the men between Wang Chao and Liu Yu Zeng''s teams with jackets, hats, mitts, and boots. I was still looking for snow pants for everyone, but there were not that many avable in the stores.

    Mentally going through all of the supplies and things I wanted more of, I was caught off guard when Hua Chan Juan approached me and put her hand on my shoulder. Jumping a bit in surprise I turned around and looked at the other woman. "You know," she said, looking at me. "If you want to survive what is toe, you need to be a lot more in tune with your surroundings. I should not have been able to surprise you like that."

    I smiled at her; she wasn''t wrong. But then again, surrounded by over 300 men, I was pretty sure that no threat was going to be able to get so close to me that I had to worry about my survival. "You can''t be so trusting of people," she continued as if she knew what was going on in my head. Knowing that she couldn''t read my mind, I smiled.

    "If I can''t trust these men, then they would not be alive," I said in a whisper as if confessing something to her that no one else knew. Pointing to where Wang Chao and the other three I continued. "Even if they could get through one, no one could get through all four." I might have doubted my standing with them, but after the rification of Wang Chao and Liu Wei yesterday,bined with the fact that Liu Yu Zeng and Chen Zi Han hadn''t even looked at her once, I was feeling on top of the world.

    "Still, as a woman, you should know how to fight for yourself. It''s not like there is always going to be one of them around," Hua Chan Juan said as she scanned the area around us. Men were quickly taking down our makeshift camp before we headed to the first grocery store on Liu Yu Zeng''s list.

    "I am pretty sure that there will always be one of us around," said Chen Zi Han as he stepped out from behind us, startling Hua Chan Juan. I chuckled at the reverse scenario as I looked at the man beside me. "And I am sure that she is quite capable of protecting herself," he continued as he tentatively put his arm around me. When I didn''t shrug it off, he gripped my waist a bit tighter and pulled me closer to him.

    "Still," said Hua Chan Juan looking at the two of us. I simply raised an eyebrow, waiting for her to make ament. I knew what was on her mind; she had seen me in this exact position with Wang Chao and Liu Wei before.

    "Ready to go!" shouted Liu Yu Zeng from the middle of the men, breaking off our conversation. Nodding his head, Chen Zi Han escorted me to where the other three were waiting for us.

    "Let''s go!" I said, extremely excited about what we were going to do next. Heck, even the possibility ofing across a zombie horde or two was not enough to bring me down. The boyos chuckled and followed behind as Chen Zi Han, Liu Yu Zeng and I lead the pack. Pulling out Hades, I put him on my shoulder.

    He let out a series of meows that sounded like a scorned wife, but all I could do wasugh at his disgusted face and scratch him under the chin. "What can I say? You are my best advanced zombie warning system. But I don''t want my little baby getting hurt now do I?" I asked, my tone bing coaxing as I continued to scratch him where he wanted me to.

    I really loved the cat, and if I had my way, he would be free to live whatever life he wanted back on the ranch. But I wasn''t kidding when I said that he was my best way to figure out if zombies were around. "Would you prefer me to find another animal?" I asked, looking at my shoulder where Hades perched. It was my turn to hiss as his murder mittens dug into me. "Ok! Ok! I''ll take that as a no! But then don''t get mad at me when I toss you into the space where you are safe," I grumbled as the two men on either side of me opened the doors to the outside.

    Squinting my eyes in the morning sun, I waited to see what Hades would do. As soon as he settled down and gave me a quick meow, which I took as his sign for no zombies around, I nodded to Liu Yu Zeng to lead the way. He gave Hades a quick scratch of his own before taking us down the street and to the first grocery store.

    There were more people out on the streets today than yesterday which I took to be a good sign, but they seemed to avoid us like we had the gue or something. Not really caring, I stepped into the first grocery store and into absolute chaos.

    People were grabbing items off of the shelves as fast as they could, most of the time not even considering what they were grabbing. Like seriously, I wasn''t too sure who was doing that muchundry right now to warrant 5 of the extrarge jugs of liquidundry detergent, but who was I to judge? <novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Over in the middle aisles (cause let''s face it, the outer fridge and freezer aisles were just useless) I watched two men getting into a fistfight over some crackers while two women who must have been their significant others grabbed what they could. When one man was dered the clear winner (the other one was knocked out and on the ground), he grabbed as many cookies as he could before scrambling out of the crowd and directly toward us.

    I quickly moved to the side, grabbing Chen Zi Han and pulling him to Liu Yu Zeng, and let the frantic couple dash out of the store. Looking around, I saw that there was no end in sight to the chaos, but that the people were all so focused on the middle aisles that they couldn''t see anything else. Smiling, I dragged the two men out of the store.

    "How is it looking?" asked Liu Wei as he quickly got out of our way. There was not enough room inside the small grocery store for all of us, so we had to split the teams up again and had them go up and down the street to find other supplies.

    "Busy," I said with a chuckle. This was what I was waiting for, theplete chaos calling to a deeper, darker part of me. "Let''s go to the expressne," I continued, still pulling Chen Zi Han and Liu Yu Zeng beside me. Taking us down the alleyway beside the store, I quickly found the service entrance.

    Giggling in delight that this area was absolutely empty, I walked up to the locked door. Calling upon my poor, neglected ice, I froze the lock,pletely engulfing it in ice. Ok, so maybe I wasn''t trying to engulf it in ice, and maybe¡­ just maybe¡­ it had gotten a tad bit out of control after not being used as much. Making a note in my head to practice with it more, I motioned to Wang Chao to shatter the lock with his lightning.

    And yes, I knew that as a metal user, it would have been a lot easier if I had just got him to open the metal door, and yes, I am sure that he needed to practice his metal as much as I needed to practice my ice, but I was too¡­ happy¡­ to really take that into consideration. Like, seriously, it felt as if I had just chugged three energy drinks without the heart palpations and rush of anxiety that I normally got when I drank that many.

    I would try to figure out where all this extra energy hade fromter, but for now¡­ supplies!!!!

    As soon as the door opened, Chen Zi Han took out his 9mm gun and entered the back room of the grocery store. I looked at Liu Yu Zeng in confusion. He simply shrugged his shoulders and said, "It''s kind of his thing."

    Well, that was helpful.

    "As one of the enforcers of Red Dragon Syndicate, he is normally the first one into unknown situations. The fact that he has not been doing thattely had been driving him crazy. When he has determined it to be all clear, he will let us know," said Liu Wei expanding on his brother''s statement. See, that made a lot more sense.

    It only took a few minutes before Chen Zi Han was back at the door and telling us that it was all safe. I smiled up at the giant and patted his chest twice, letting him know without words that I appreciated what he had just done.

    "If I had gone down that hallway in the mall first, you would not have almost died," came the gruff voice from over my head. Looking up at him with a confused look, he simply pushed a strand of hair off my cheek and turned around to gather what food we could.

    I guess none of the guys were going to forgive me for almost getting my head taken off any time soon.

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    ?

    Following Chen Zi Han into the unloading bay of the smallish grocery store, I spun around to see the other three guys. "See!" I eximed sweeping my arms around to show them all of the shelves and supplies. A little-known fact was that the storage area for grocery stores was equal to or bigger than the actual part where you shopped.

    But since most people never considered it¡­ after all, why would they when all they knew was where they had traditionally bought their groceries, these back storage rooms wouldn''t even be touched until monthster.

    Wang Chao chuckled and gave me a brief kiss on my forehead. "Then what are you waiting for?" he asked, looking at me like I was the most precious thing he had ever seen in his life. Stunned, I realized that he looked at me like how Huang Tian Kuo looked at Hua Chan Juan. Reveling in the feeling, it took me a couple of seconds and a nudge from him before I realized that he was waiting for me to take all of the supplies. In fact, all the men were standing around me with a smile on their faces.

    Feeling stronger than ever standing in the middle of the four men, I opened my arms wide and called everything to me. In seconds, the entire 900 square feet of floor-to-ceiling supplies were brought into my space. I debated if I should leave theundry detergent for the person from earlier, but then I realized that if everyone at the ranch was doing theirundry then we just might need it all.

    We left the back of the grocery store, returning the metal door back to its somewhat original appearance thanks to Wang Chao''s gifts, and started to walk down the street, Liu Yu Zeng and Chen Zi Han in front of me, me in the middle and Wang Chao and Liu Wei bringing up the rear.

    Seeing the stores that had one of our men with their AK-15 guarding the entrance, we entered them, took the supplies, and continued to make our way down the rest of the street. It if wasn''t for the chaos going on around us with people running all over the ce, screaming and yellinging from all directions, and just general pandemonium, it would have felt like a nice date.

    But, like all dates, this one had toe to an end, and once we had enough supplies (for now), we turned back around and made out way back to the warehouse district. I will fully admit that I was hoping Fuck Face had given up waiting for us and had started on his own¡­ but I wasn''t going to be that lucky.

    "Where the Hell have you been?!?" came a demanding, high-pitched voice as soon as we stepped foot into the warehouse district.

    "Getting supplies," said Liu Wei as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. I was pretty sure that it was, but then again we were talking about General Fuck Face.

    "And why didn''t you take us with you," the General responded, ring at us from where he stood in front of his men. For their sake, I was hoping that they would be downwind since the smelling off of the man''s body rivaled that of the food court.

    "I''m sorry," said Wang Chao, sounding anything but sorry. "But you were still gathering the supplies at the Honeybee and we didn''t want to interrupt you."

    "Still, that was yesterday, why did no onee back this morning to advise me what was going on? We have been waiting all day for you to show up."

    "Well, Sir, you could have left without us," said Liu Wei, looking around at the men and women of General Yang Bo Wen''s unit who were either just standing around or sitting on the ground, waiting for whatever came next.

    I know I had bugged the boys about how disciplined their teams were, but with such a stark contrast between the two, I finally understood why they would want such discipline in their men. I couldn''t believe that these men and women represented this country.

    Shaking my head, I opened my mouth, "Since everyone is ready, should we get going? We probably have about 6 hours of sunlight left before we will want to make camp."

    The General just red at me, like my very presence was an annoyance that he did not want to deal with. Unfortunately for him, the feeling was very much mutual.

    Grunting in assent, he let out a sharp bark and his men quickly scrambled into order, holding what supplies they could in their arms.

    Raising an eyebrow, Liu Wei looked at the General. "What?" Fuck Face snapped. "You guys didn''t leave a single backpack for us," he grumbled pointing to where each and everyone on our team had a huge, oversized backpack almost bursting with supplies.

    Shrugging his shoulders in response like it wasn''t his fault that they didn''t get anything to store their food, Liu Wei and the rest of us turned around and started to walk back towards where the onramp of the highway was.

    Day 2 into our trek to City J and I was already done. I wanted to take out the RVs just so I could travel infort, but I was not going to deal with General Fuck Face once he realized that we had working transportation and he didn''t. Knowing him, he would insist that he be able to be in it with us, and I was pretty sure that that was a special punishment in Hell having to share a small space with that man.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    ''We wouldn''t have to take him,'' said Wang Chao as he walked beside me.

    ''If we didn''t have to take him with us, what are we doing right now?'' I asked, not bothering to look at the man offering stupid suggestions and he wisely remained quiet. We both knew that General Fuck Face wasn''t going anywhere for a while.

    Speaking of the man, he was walking ahead of the five of us, scanning the area like he actually knew what to do with a zombie if one pounced on him. He didn''t even have his gun up to shoot anything but continued to walk like he was hot shit and controlled the whole group behind him.

    I wasn''t going to be the one to tell him that normally, the first one in front was the first one to be killed¡­ I was hoping that he would find that out the hard way.

    I felt Hades'' interest peak as we got further down the highway, not enough to warn me of zombies, but his movements let me know that there was something waiting for us up ahead. Slowing down my step, I pulled the four guys back with me. When Liu Yu Zeng looked at me in concern, I simply shook my head but continued to slow down more and more until we were almost at a full stop.

    The men and women that followed General Fuck Face began to quickly pass us as they tried to catch up to the man at the very front of the pack. Our men were smart enough to not overtake us and slowed down their pace until they were all standing at attention behind us.

    -----

    "What''s going on?" asked Hua Chan Juan as she looked at the men around hering to aplete stop.

    "No idea," replied Hua Le Yang, the Captain of her team.

    "Then why are we stopping?" she asked again as her husband came up beside her.

    "Did your old unit allow you to ask questions?" came the voice of another man from Team A. Hua Chan Juan just looked at the two men in front of her as everyone else came to a stop and divided themselves up into their teams.

    "Just answer her question," growled Huang Tian Zou as he red at the men around him. Since his wife was the only woman in the whole group, it was his responsibility to make sure that the others treated her with the respect that she deserved.

    "We are stopping because our leaders stopped. It is not our ce to ask why, just to do what we are told to do," replied Hua Le Yang staring at the front. Whatever it was that Wang Chao and Liu Wei were doing, he had the utmost belief that it was necessary to keep them safe. He had been one of the men to question Li Dai Lu when the world came to an end and he was one of the ones that quickly realized exactly how powerless he truly was.

    They wanted them to stop? He would stop.

    "I''ll go and ask," said Hua Chan Juan as she tried to weave in between the men of her team.

    "Not a good idea," said a third man, Zhou Hui Fen, said stepping in front of her. He was the Vice-Captain of Team A and he was also one of the ones to learn their lesson the hard way. Their team was considered the best of the best in the Wang Family troops, but they would have all been dead if it wasn''t for Li Dai Lu.

    "If you insist on going, feel free to join a different team," said Hua Le Yang, putting the whole discussion to an end.

    ----

    "Wee to The New World, there is an official toll to pass this point and continue on your way. If you don''t want to pay or can''t pay, that is fine. You will just leave your life as forfeit," came the muffled voice of the man that stepped out in front of General Yang Bo Wen, his own gun up and ready to kill.

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    It happened in less than a minute. Assuming that we were the only ones around, none of us were paying particr attention to our surroundings. Luckily for me, Hades was able to warn me that somethinging our way, but it was only a general warning and nothing specific.

    As soon as the General passed some type of barrier or monument or even a piece of garbage on the road, he was swarmed on all sides by at least 30 men, all carrying automatic rifles of some kind or other. These were not trained military men by any stretch of the imagination, but I knew that they could be a lot more deadly if necessary.

    "Wee to The New World, there is an official toll to pass this point and continue on your way. If you don''t want to pay or can''t pay, that is fine. You will just leave your life as forfeit," came the muffled voice of the man that stepped out in front of General Yang Bo Wen, his own gun up and ready to kill.

    And that, my friends, is the reason why you always send a guinea pig out ahead of you.

    Hanging back even further, I whisked away all of the supplies that the boys and I were carrying. Not too worried about the soldiers behind us, I knew that they could handle themselves, but the leader would be looking at me and mine as soon as his attention was off of the General.

    Seeing people sneak out of the forests on both sides of us, I stretched out my arms to the side to show that we didn''t have any weapons on us. Even the men behind us had all of their guns hidden away just in case this happened.

    "Hello boys," I said as the one in charge of this group came up to me, his gun raised and aimed at my head. "Awe, do you really consider little old me that much of a threat?" Iughed. I mean, he was well trained to not disregard any type of threat and we all knew that I could be a major one at that.

    "You heard what he said," said the second inmand as he nodded to where the one in charge was dealing with the General and his men. "You two part of the same group?"

    "I really wish I could say no," I admitted, "but I am not that lucky. He is forcing us to go with him," I continued with a nod of my own to the General.

    The man grunted in sympathy but never once lowered his gun.

    "Now, you and I are going to have an issue," I said as I stared down at the man in front of me. "There is absolutely no way in Hell am I going to hand over any supplies and you have bitten off much more than you can chew if you think you can kill us before we killed you." Calling on my blue me, I allowed it to consume my hands and showed the man in front. "What is your decision?"

    The second inmand looked around nervously but never dropped his gun. I could hear the mumbles of the men around me but I didn''t bother to look at them. I knew they would not like this situation, but it was going to be a verymon sight in the future. Especially for those that traveled by highway.

    Let''s face it, at the end of the day, people were just trying to do whatever they could to stay alive. However, they would not live long if they were eyeing my supplies or my men.

    The second inmand made a hand motion and his men that originally had us surrounded faded back into the woods to wait for the next unsuspecting traveler. Nodding my thanks, I threw him a few pounds of ground beef. "Here, for you and yours," I said, as I allowed the meat to appear on the road between us. Putting aside his gun, he looked at me wide-eyed. "There is always going to be someone more powerful than you. If you are smart, you will be able to keep your head."

    With a nod of my head as thanks, the men and I passed the second ambush and approached where the General was arguing with the head of this group. "You can leave her too," said the leader as he looked me up and down. With a scoff, I took a good look at the man in front of me.

    "Your second inmand has more brains than your do. Should I make him the one inmand of your group?" I asked, my head tilted to the side. I had not lied when I said that you had to be smart to keep your head, and this man was not being very smart.

    However, when he heard what I said, he quickly straightened up and looked around. Letting out a high-pitched whistle, he called his men to his side. The original group of 30 quickly became a group of 50 as the second group that ambushed us appeared beside their boss.

    I rolled my neck a few times before my eyes snapped open. "What is your name?" I asked, looking at the leader of the group in front of me.

    "None of your business," he grumbled back. I could feel Chen Zi Han twitch beside me when the leader spoke to me like that, but I ignored it.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "That''s fine. Then I guess there will be nothing to write on your headstone," I said nodding. "Liu Yu Zeng, would you like to do the honors or would you be morefortable if I was the one to kill him?" I asked.

    I could feel Liu Yu Zeng chomping at the bit for some reason or another, and I understood that like me, his power was probably shimmering under his skin, begging to be released. But then again, the man in front of us, still holding a gun to the General, was human and I didn''t know if it would upset Liu Yu Zeng to kill a human.

    There was always that fine distinction between a human and a zombie that most people ignored, seeing it as okay to kill a zombie, but not a human, and I didn''t know where he stood on the whole issue. When I heard him snort, I had to smile. "This would not be the first person I killed," he admitted as he took a step up beside me. "Does that bother you?" he asked, a rare serious look on his face.

    "Clearly you are not aware of Step One," I chuckled trying to put him at ease. "Kill them all."

    The look on his face showed that he was still concerned about my reaction, but I let it go for now. He and I would hash things outter. "What is your decision?" I asked the leader, "Let us leave or leave your life in forfeit," I continued, paraphrasing his deration when we first arrived.

    "Let them go, Guo Yan," said the second inmand as he looked at me and Liu Yu Zeng. "We will not win this."

    The leader, Guo Yan, looked at his second inmand and put down his gun.

    Maybe the man was smarter than I originally gave him credit for. Thinking along those lines and knowing the reason why men like him were on the highway, I turned to the General. "One food item per person in your team needs to be donated to Guo Yan. I will make sure it happens," I said earning looks from everyone around me.

    As hard as I tried, there was still a part of me that wanted to save everyone that I could, just not at the expense of me or my supplies. The perfect way to get everything that I wanted was to make the General donate the supplies.

    "You bitch," he growled, wanting to lunge at me, but Wang Chao ce a hand on his shoulder preventing him from moving.

    "Your point?" I asked, already tired of his go-to response every time I made a decision. He needed me and mine around to keep him and his alive. As far as I was concerned, that made him a parasite as he had nothing to offer this rtionship. If he didn''t want to donate the supplies, he could stay here with Guo Yan until an agreement between them could be reached. Saying as much to the man, I watched as his face went white¡­ then blue¡­ and finally purple.

    "What is your choice? Leave some supplies or have us leave you?" asked Chen Zi Han, knowing that he was one of the few people that could actually put out that question. After all, Wang Chao and Liu Wei felt that they needed some level of civility between them and the General.

    The General grumbled when Chen Zi Han stepped forward but quickly started to give the supplies he and his team collected to Guo Yan and his second inmand. After he ''donated'' the necessary food, he quickly hightailed it out of there before we could demand anything more from him.

    Watching him and his unit leave, I waited until they werepletely out of hearing range before I turned to the two men in front of me. "You will be killed doing this sooner orter," I warned them. "There is always someone stronger than you, and they might not bepletely human."

    "You mean those zombies I''ve heard about?" asked Guo Yan as he looked at me. Nodding my head, I gave him the best piece of advice that I could.

    "Go as far into the country as you possibly can with your families and set up a safe haven for yourself. The world hase to an end, it is time to focus on your and yours."

    With those parting words, my men and I continued on our journey, letting the General get as far ahead of us as he could. I guess he did have a purpose after all.

 Chapter 95 95

    ?

    I didn''t know what I did to deserve having to travel with the General, but whatever it was, I was really, truly, sorry.

    The first few days after encountering Guo Yan were great. The General left us alone, pretending that we just didn''t exist and that was pure perfection as far as I was concerned. I was sure that he felt it was a punishment, but in reality, I considered it a reward. I spent my time talking to the guys, sleeping up in trees with the rest of the team, and generally living a good life. But then it all came crashing to an end when we entered District J¡­

    The General, in a rare show of goodwill, allowed us to separate in order to gather supplies. I was pretty sure that this was more strategic than him trying to be nice, after all his team had a more desperate need of supplies than we did, and I think he wanted to do it this way simply so that we didn''t ''steal'' what he wanted and needed.

    Either way, it was great for us as Wang Chao and Liu Yu Zeng took their men in different directions to gather whatever they could. I was not as desperate anymore to take absolutely everything, and I trusted their discretion. Chen Zi Han and Liu Wei decided to escort me on my own excursion into the great unknown. And by unknown I mean District J.

    While Wang Chao took the warehouses, Liu Yu Zeng took the outskirt shopping malls and I attempted to hunt down the grocery stores and scavenge whatever I could downtown.

    The boys were quick learners and instead of going in through the front doors of the grocery stores, we always took the back route and whatever supplies were in the warehouse attached. We managed to get through at least 4 grocery stores withouting across anyone, but our luck ran out on the fifth.

    After opening the back door, Chen Zi Han couldn''t even step foot inside to make sure everything was clear when he had to duck a baseball bat being swung at his head. Hitting the steel doorframe at full force, both the bat and the holder started vibrating with the impact.

    Not at all impressed, Chen Zi Han grabbed the bat when the owner tried to bring it back and ripped it out of her hands. With a low growl, he tossed it back to Liu Wei before staring down the scared womanying on the floor in front of us.

    Raising an eyebrow, I looked at the man in front of me. "Honestly, I thought you would have kicked her," I said, surprised at how the fight yed out.

    "If I hadn''t figured out she was a woman as fast as I did, she would have been," came his response, still on a bit of an adrenaline high from almost having his bell rung.

    "Honeybear, I can appreciate where you areing from, but your misguided attempt at chivalry is going to get you killed. Women can be, and more often than not are, more dangerous than any man. And that includes doing whatever needs to be done in order to gather supplies. Right?" I asked looking at the woman on the ground.

    "I¡ªI don''t know what you are talking about," she stuttered, trying to crawl back on the floor away from us.

    "Of course not," I agreed, nodding my head. "But how did you get back here?"

    "I¡ªI just wanted more food," said the woman, tears streaming down her face. I had seen this look hundreds of thousands of times. Especially as the years went by and food became even scarcer. I actually apuded the woman in front of me. I appreciated her determination ining out as the winner in this situation. She wouldn''t... but the very fact that she was trying was enough.

    I smiled at her response. "Of course, let me guess, you used to work here and so knew where they kept the majority of their stock?" I saw her think through what I just said before nodding frantically in agreement.

    "Yes¡ªyes, I used to work here," she agreed.

    "Did you get what you came for?" After all, firste first served and all that.

    She looked around frantically, probably trying to see where the person or people that she came with were. "If you are nning to attack us, I can promise you, you will not survive. Take what you can and go," I said, staring off into the darkness between the metal racks. If I was hiding, that would be my spot.

    I was willing to work with people up until a certain point, but then my temper just got the better of me. When no one emerged and the woman hadn''t moved, I was done. "Alright, since you want to y it that way¡­ you have 15 seconds to get what you came for before I start shooting," I said, pulling a small 9mm from behind my back.

    Not many normal people would have essed their new powers this early simply because they had note across any zombies yet so I was not worried that she was a space user and would take absolutely everything. But as the saying goes ''necessity is the mother of invention'' and humans would quickly discover exactly what they could do when pushed into a corner.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "10¡­9¡­8¡­7¡­" I continued, starting to count down while still holding the gun to the woman''s head. "And I can assure you, I am more than happy to kill you and spare you the agony of theing days." The smile on my face might have been a bit unhinged as Chen Zi Han took one look at me, went behind me, and ced his arm firmly around my waist. I wasn''t sure what it was with the guys and this position, but I really wasn''tining.

    Taking the gun out of my hand, Chen Zi Han then held it to the woman stillying on the ground. "She might not have a problem killing you, but I am here to make sure her hands stay clean from dirt like you."

    So I am guessing that a 6 foot 6, heavily muscled enforcer of a crime syndicate, with tattoos running up and down his arms was much more intimidating than my 5 foot 2 frame, but a part of me was a bit insulted by that.

    Everyone knew that crazy things came in small packages¡­ or was it good things came in small packages? No, I''m pretty sure that I was right the first time.

    Anyways¡­ we had long gone past the 15 seconds that I had originally given her, and her aplices were still nowhere to be seen.

    "Boo-" I said just as Chen Zi Han took a shot just to her right. "Hey!" Iined when I saw that he missed her. "You really should practice more."

    "Sorry, Princess," he replied, willing to y along with my game. "I''ll try harder next time."

    "See that you do," I replied, unwilling to admit to how much his calling me a princess affected me.

    This time, the woman didn''t have to fake the fear in her eyes as she scrambled to her feet and grabbed whatever she could from the shelves behind her as she bolted out of the back of the warehouse and through the front of the grocery store.

    "Should I be insulted that people think that you are scarier than I am? I mean, I don''t really see how anyone could think that you were scary," Iined to Chen Zi Han as I quickly emptied the shelves. I debated taking the shelves too, but they were bolted to the ground and would have been more of a pain than it was worth.

    "Don''t worry, Sweetheart, only an idiot would not take you seriously," reassure Liu Weimenting for the first time since we got here. But then again, that was him. He was the type of person to study the situation first before making his move. That was probably why he was overlooked so much. Both he and Chen Zi Han had the ability to just blend into the background when they wanted to.

    Giving him a quick kiss on the chin, because let''s face it, that was the only ce on his face that I could reach. We turned around and left the grocery store¡­

    And directly into yet another trap waiting for us.

    "That''s them!" yelled the woman from before as she frantically pulled on the sleeve of the man beside her. "They are the ones that wanted to kill me!"

    Looking at her, the man beside her, and the 10 other guys that were blocking our way out of the alley, I couldn''t help butugh. The men, to put it politely, looked like wannabe versions of what Chen Zi Han really was, and the difference was startling.

    I don''t know what was wrong with me, but I found it so funny that I was practically doubled overughing as I saw the men the woman brought to ''intimidate'' us.

    "You might want to shut your bitch up," grumbled the leader/boyfriend/friends with benefits to Chen Zi Han with a nod of his head in my direction. Whatever he was, the woman beside him had just gotten him killed.

    Chen Zi Han lowered his head and chucked as he took a step in front of me. "Do you want to repeat that?" He asked in a very soft tone and he pulled out a pair of ck leather gloves from his side pocket.

 Chapter 96 96

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    Chen Zi Han lowered his head and chucked as he took a step in front of me. "Do you want to repeat that?" He asked in a very soft tone and he pulled out a pair of ck leather gloves from his side pocket. He very slowly and meticulously put them on, almost bing absent-minded in the process.

    I had once asked him why he carried the gloves with him but I had never seen him wear them. He simply replied that they were a memento of the past. I never questioned him on it. Everyone was entitled to their own secrets, but I was surprised as I watched him putting them on now.

    The Chen Zi Han that I knew seemed to be a whole other man as the gloves went on. As the final snap at the wrist was done up, it was like a wall shut down over him.

    "No?" He said in a deceptively soft voice. "I think it was something about my bitch," he continued as he ced his hands to his side and looked at the man in front of him. In contrast to Chen Zi Han, the man was much smaller, with a definitive beer belly and gold chains around his neck. Coupled with his overly colorful,rge print, button-up shirt, it was hard to take him seriously. However, sometimes those that looked like a joke were very much a threat.

    The man scoffed as the woman shook his arm again. "Wu Long," the woman whined, not saying anything else.

    "I''ll take care of it," said Wu Long as he patted her hand where it rested on his arm. "Don''t you worry about a thing."

    I walked up to the side of Chen Zi Han and noticed the slightest flinch as I leaned against him. Confused as to why he would flinch at that since he was starting to touch me more, I put it to the back of my mind until we could discuss itter. "It would be better for you to worry about yourself," I suggested, shifting my weight as Chen Zi Han crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Or did she not tell you that we shot at her?"

    I chuckled as I once again pulled out the gun and aimed it at the woman. There was nothing I hated more than someone that tried to make trouble for others. As far as I was concerned, the end of the world would be a much better ce if everyone just concentrated on surviving and not stirring up shit.

    But then again, there would always be shit disturbers. And let''s face it, it was nice to watch the drama unfolding, especially when you didn''t have television anymore and it didn''t involve you.

    The man in front of me, Wu Long, didn''t flinch when I moved my arm and took aim at him instead of the woman whose name I still didn''t know. Seeing hisck of a reaction, my impression of him improved. "Are you dumb enough to be killed for a woman?" I asked, looking at him seriously.

    "No," he assured me. "But that is my woman." I could respect the fact that he would back his partner up, even if he had to know that he was on the losing end of the fight.

    I nodded, "So, how do you propose we go about this?" I asked.

    "We fight."

    "You won''t win," I assured him. Chen Zi Han remained stoic beside me and Liu Wei came up to my other side, the baseball bat that Chen Zi Han took from the woman over his shoulder.

    "There are more of us," Wu Long pointed out.

    "There are," I agreed, not arguing with the number. "But I''m pretty sure that he alone could take out all of your men," I said, pointing the Chen Zi Han. "We wouldn''t even have to lift a finger."

    "I think you are underestimating me," said Wu Long as he looked at me seriously.

    "And I think that no matter what, you think that you are nothing but a big fish in a small pond," I replied, not at all intimidated.

    "Does the Golden Phoenix mean anything to you?" he asked, his head tilted to the side like he was trying to give me an advanced warning on what we were trying to bite off.

    "Does the Red Dragon mean anything to you?" Liu Wei returned, gently swinging the bat around in a small circle as if he was just stretching his wrist. Finally catching on to what the two were trying to say without actually saying anything (stupid men), I kept my mouth shut while waiting for a reply.

    "They are not here," said Wu Long full of confidence. I watched the posturing between the men and rolled my eyes. This was taking much longer than I wanted it to and I still had supplies that I wanted to grab.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Yes, they are," I said, twirling my hand in what I was sure was the universal gesture of hurry the fuck up. "But nothing matters at the end of the day except for thest one standing. So, if this ising down to a fight, let me know. If not, get out of our way, we have better things to do than waste time on this dick-measuring contest."

    This time all the men turned to look at me. "What?" I snapped. "I am tired, I''m hungry and we still have to do some more shopping before meeting up with the other boys and Fuck Face."

    Liu Wei let out a chuckle at my tantrum. "Okay, Sweetheart, we are sorry."

    Wu Long scoffed at his reply. "You are going to let a woman lead you by your balls?" he sneered, seemingly unaware of the exact same thing happening to him as well.

    "This woman is more than wee to any part of me, including my balls,"ughed Liu Wei, letting the perceived insultpletely pass over him. "But I also know that once she is done with a situation, she is more than likely to set it on fire than deal with it for another moment. I was trying to give you an out, but if you don''t want it¡­"

    Wu Long didn''t appreciate the warning, and I was done. I needed the ice cream in my space if this day was going to go on any longer. Putting away my gun, I subtly called my fire, and once again ignited my hands. "You boys want to bring a knife to a gunfight? Then let''s see who is standing at the end of the day." Taking a step forward, I was stopped by Liu Wei''s hand on my shoulder. Quickly putting out the fire before anyone could really notice it, I looked at him.

    "We can''t let you fight all of our battles," he said into my ear before nodding to Chen Zi Han.

    I had never seen the man move as fast as he just did. In less than a minute, he had already taken out three of Wu Long''s men, a single punch to the jaw in every case. The men dropped like a sack of potatoes allowing Chen Zi Han to move on to the next one. The fourth man put up a bit of a fight but Chen Zi Han quickly had him on the ground and was working over his face until blood and teeth were sttered all over the alleyway.

    Is it bad that a part of me was turned on as I watched it? I looked over at LIu Wei, but the man''s eyes never left me.

    When the fifth man tried to pull Chen Zi Han away from the fourth. Chen Zi Han came up swinging, his uppercut practically causing the fifth man to go flying backward. Now very much distracted from #4, #5 knocked out, Chen Zi Han stood up, not even winded.

    Adjusting his gloves, he looked at the remaining 5 men like how a lion looked at a hyena. They were not a threat to him, only an annoyance. It was up to them if they wanted a beating like the others had.

    Wu Long studied Chen Zi Han as he returned to my side, this time, standing behind me and a little to my right. "Who is he?" he asked, a note of warinessing out for the first time.

    "Chen Zi Han," Liu Wei said simply as he looked at the man in front of us. "Of the Red Dragon Syndicate." As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Wu Long dropped to his knees.

    "I''m sorry I didn''t recognize you," he stuttered turning only for a moment to re at the woman beside him. Liu Wei simply nodded in response to his apology.

    "Unfortunately, there is going to be a price to pay for this," said Liu Wei looking like this whole thing was not rted to him in any way. Wu Long, still on his knees in front of Liu Wei could only cringe in fear.

    "Of course," he said after a few seconds.

    Liu Wei looked at me and smiled gently, "What price should he pay?" I looked back at the manpletely stunned. I had nothing to do with their world and knew nothing about what they were talking about.

    Price? What price?

    I looked at Chen Zi Han, hoping that he would be able to help me out, but the man stared stoically ahead of him, refusing to even look at me, even though I knew he must be able to feel my re. Looking back at Liu Wei, I frantically opened my eyes wide.

    He simply chuckled. "It''s okay, My Queen. Since apparently, you have my balls, you should decide this man''s fate."

 Chapter 97 97

    ?

    What the fuck! Why should I be punished for something this guy said?!? How the Hell was that fair?!? The worst thing that I could possibly think of was having to give up my supplies, but I didn''t think that counted as a ''mafia-style'' punishment.

    Cutting off a finger? Nope, wrong criminal organization.

    I was having an inner panic attack at what Liu Wei was expecting from me. I opened my mouth to say something sinister like ''the head of the woman beside you'', but what came out was: "Half of your supplies."

    I froze in embarrassment and wanted the ground topletely swallow me up when Wu Long looked up at me inplete disbelief. Even Liu Wei froze for a second before I heard him chuckling. Even the stoic Chen Zi Han let out a snort of disbelief when he heard what I said.

    I wanted to backtrack and pretend that I didn''t just say that, but that would be worse than keeping with my decision, so I kept my mouth shut and simply raised an eyebrow like I meant to say that this whole time.

    Sure, let''s go with that.

    "Well, that is the worst punishment imaginable when ites to you. I am pretty sure you think dying is preferred to giving up supplies,"ughed Liu Wei, giving me a look that may or may not have melted me a bit. But let''s be perfectly clear, I was pissed at the man and no puppy dog eyes or¡­ whatever his eyes were right now¡­ would get me out of my mood. Probably.

    "Death is easy, living without supplies is not," I said as if it was obvious. And to me, it was. Not to mention you didn''t need supplies once you died¡­ unless you were me and had a habit ofing back from the dead. Then having a previous stockpile would be amazing!

    Wu Long frantically started nodding his head, most likely scared that I would change my mind and offer up a worse price for insulting one of thergest syndicates in Country K. He quickly motioned for the remaining 5 guys that were still standing to put all of their supplies in front of me.

    Looking down at the 4 boxes of crackers, a box of instant noodles, 5 boxes of chocte chip cookies, and 3 bottles of water, I was stunned. Was this all that they had?

    I hadpletely forgotten how hard it was to get your hands on supplies, let alone make off with them without being a space user. Technically this would have been a fantastic day''s haul for me before.

    Looking down at the meager offerings, I grabbed one of the boxes of chocte chip cookies and opened them. Taking the first one out of the package, I looked at Wu Long in front of me. "Well?" I asked him, wondering what was taking him so long to grab the remaining food. Clearly, this was why he wasn''t doing such a great job of getting supplies even though they knew about the warehouse secret of grocery stores.

    Wu Long looked at me nkly and then at Liu Wei. "She is waiting for you to grab the rest. She took her price."

    "Chocte chip cookies?" Wu Long asked, stunned. Liu Wei nodded his head.

    "Never underestimate the magic a box of chocte chip cookies can work on a pissed-off woman," said Liu Wei sagely.

    "This is stopping me from being pissed off at him. You are an entirely different story¡­ and you don''t have the magic of a box of chocte chip cookies," I said as I crunched on yet another cookie. I could practically feel the sugar melting into my bloodstream making me happy.

    Hearing what I had said, Liu Wei quickly snatched up another box of cookies from the pile that Wu Long had yet to take back and offered them to me. I rolled my eyes. It didn''t count if he didn''t get me the cookies himself. Those were still Wu Long''s cookies so even if I took them, it would count towards him and not Liu Wei.

    Refusing the box, I walked past Wu Long who was now inadvertently blocking my way out of the alley by kneeling in the middle of it and back out onto the street.

    Liu Wei quickly caught up to me, gently shaking the box to me like I was a puppy and that was my treat. "Go give it back," I snapped, refusing to look at him. Chen Zi Han followed behind me slowly, as if he didn''t want to get too close to me. "What?!?" I said, this time spinning around to look at him. "Do I smell or something?!?"

    I mean, I know I haven''t had a shower in a few days, but it shouldn''t be so bad that he refused to be near me. He was just fine like 10 minutes ago.

    Since I hade to a stop, he walked a couple of steps forward toe to a stop a few feet from me. "Unlike Wang Chao, mind reading is not one of my superpowers. You are going to have to tell me what is going through your head before I call you stupid."<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    His gaze down on the ground, Chen Zi Han stayed silent. Realizing what was going on, Liu Wei went back into the alley to give me and Chen Zi Han some time to ourselves and hopefully to return the box of cookies to Wu Long.

    "Honeybear," I said and watched the scary enforcer that just took down five guys in less time than it took me to finish a chocte bar flinch when I called him Honeybear. "You don''t like Honeybear?" I said, a mild panic in my voice. Was he offended that I had given him an endearment?

    I thought that it would be okay because he was starting to touch me and hug me. Did I read that wrong? Or was it the name itself? "Would you prefer Honey Badger? I mean, badgers are kind of ugly so I didn''t want to call you that, but I guess they are fierce too so maybe you would prefer that to bear? Or did you just not want me to call you anything other than Chen Zi Han?" I knew I was a bit stressed when my words ran together like that, but Chen Zi Han was bing as important to me as Wang Chao or Lie Wei, even though I hadn''t known him that long.

    Apparently, he took pity on me and grabbed me roughly into his arms as he put his face between my neck and shoulder. "So¡­" I started, now confused about what just happened. "Is that a yes to Honey Badger over Honeybear?"

    I felt more than heard him chuckle, but as he tightened his grip around me, I figured I would let him have his moment and then he could tell me where I went wrong.

    "I am sorry," he muttered, not willing to lift his head.

    "Sorry? For what?" I asked my confusion in no way lessening with his confession. "For not helping mee up with a suitable punishment for Wu Long? Because if that is the case, then that whole thing falls on Liu Wei¡­ there is nothing to be sorry for."

    "I am sorry that you had to see me like that," Chen Zi Han confessed, still refusing to look at me.

    "Like what?"

    "Like that," he said again, this time releasing one of his arms to indicate the alley.

    "I am really sorry, Sweetheart," I said, honestly not understanding what he was apologizing for.

    "I am sorry that you saw me beating those guys. I am sorry that you saw that part of me."

    "Oh, Honeybear," I said, "You really are stupid," I continued, this time understanding what was going on. "Maybe, in the previous world, before the EMP and before I died twice, that¡­ disy¡­ might have been off-putting or would have caused me to be scared, but not right now. Not in this ce and time," I tried to reassure him without confessing to how hot I found it that hepletely dominated those men.

    But what I said was also true. In my first life, seeing violence like that would have made me sick to my stomach and left me shaking in fear for a long time after it had passed. But I was pretty sure that even then if it had been Chen Zi Han, I would have gotten past it.

    Now, however, the world has changedpletely, and here, only the strongest survived. It was¡­forting¡­ to see him like that, as a protector because someone called me a bitch. And there was no way I would ever turn away from him for that.

    As if realizing that he still had his gloves on, he frantically tried to pull them off and threw them to the ground like he wanted no part of them. But now I understood their significance. I saw their connection to Chen Zi Han the enforcer.

    Gently unwrapping him from my body, I leaned down and picked up the gloves, carefully brushing the dirt and dried blood off of the soft leather. "Keep these," I said calmly as I handed them back to him. "I might have some ideas involving them."

    He looked at me confused, but I refused to borate. He would figure out what I was talking about when the time came.

    Convinced the crisis between us was over, we waited for Liu Wei to rejoin us before looking for the next supermarket to raid.

 Chapter 98 98

    ?

    We got through the remaining two grocery stores with no drama¡­ thank God, and after meeting up with the rest of the guys, we quickly made our way to the rendezvous point with the general.

    I had made sure to put away most of our supplies and instead, everyone carried their own backpack with the bare minimum to keep up appearance. There was no point in having the General know how many supplies we actually had.

    Now, I don''t pretend to know what goes through Fuck Face''s mind on a daily basis, or even an hourly basis at that, but I had assumed that since he was a General in the prestigious army of Country K, he should have some level of intelligence.

    But apparently, I had given the man much too much credit.

    Because, standing next to him and his team (you know, the ones that depended on us to save their asses from the zombies a few days ago¡­) was about 50-100 people. Clearly civilians¡­ and clearly high on the list of not my problem.

    I tried to figure out what General Fuck Face''s n was with all the civilians, were they simply there to help him collect supplies, provide him with information, or something else that would have proven equally beneficial. But no, that would be too easy. The longer I looked at them, the more I noticed their bags of supplies being closely guarded by the people and in no way meant to be shared.

    This lead me to another conclusion; he was nning on taking these people with him. But how on Earth would he be able to take care of a bunch of civilians when he couldn''t even take care of himself? And he was a ''highly trained'' member of the military!

    Stunned stupid at the man''s audacity and stupidity, I could only watch as more and more people flocked to the General as if he would be their savior from the situation they had found themselves in.

    And¡­ the most incredible part was that they really hadn''t even seen anything yet in terms of hardship as the zombies had yet to arrive at these more rural districts.

    I rubbed both my eyes with one hand, trying to rub the picture in front of me out, but it kept on returning every time I removed my hand and looked in front of me.

    These people were more useless than tits on a bull (pardon mynguage) seeing as they were fleeing their district because they simply lost power and couldn''t function anymore.

    If they couldn''t deal with a loss of electricity, how were they going to deal with the zombies, and the Reavers, and the other difficult situations that were brought about by living outside? At least here they still had their houses for shelter, warmth, and security!

    And judging by the way most of them dressed, they were not your average viger either. Based solely on the fact that their designer clothes were only avable in the big cities and the women were wearing some of the most impractical shoes I had ever seen, they should have more than enough means to be able to fend for themselves here in the vige. So, what the Hell were they doing here trying to hitch a ride with us?!?!

    "Do we really, really need to take him with us?" I asked Wang Chao who was standing in this typical spot to my right.

    "I''m afraid so," he confirmed, also watching thetest drama unfolding in front of us.

    "Why?" I asked for the hundredth time.

    "Because he told us to take him and he is a General," came the reply.

    I was stunned when I heard his rationalization for the first time.

    "You do know the country''s military is no longer a thing, right? Like Fuck Face doesn''t have any authority anymore other than whatever strength he can prove in a fight. And based on what I saw? He is really far down on the list of powerhouses."

    Wang Chao looked at me, really looked at me for the first time in a long time. "As long as there is Country K, there is the Country K''s military, and we willy down our lives to protect our brothers and sisters and the civilians that cannot protect themselves."

    How the Hell did I not notice that this man was a fricking Mother Theresa earlier?! "My case in point," I said with a sad smile. "There is no longer a Country K, so how can there be a Country K military?"

    All four men turned to look at me with varying degrees of shock on their faces. <novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Have you guys really not understood that up to this point?" I asked,pletely dazed and confused over their reactions. "There is no central government maintainingw and order, there are no syndicates doing whatever it was that they did before all this happened. Hell, there are not even any idiots dumb enough to walk across half of the country to find someone that may or may not be alive anymore."

    How could they look out, see the world, and not understand where this was all leading to?

    "Us, people as a whole, go somece where we feel safe and stay there until it isn''t safe anymore. The one in charge of that area is the boss, the ruler, the King¡­ and what they say goes because the worst thing that could happen is you being able to be kicked out of that safe ce. We are back in the Warring States period, only we aren''t fighting each other, we are simply doing our best not to be eaten or killed by another force that is Hellbent on wiping us out."

    I shook my head at their foolishness and walked towards the General. I was thousands of miles away from my safe haven and if I ever wanted to get back there, I would need to hurry up and finish this mission that the boys started.

    "You ready to go, General?" I asked, approaching Fuck Face and his team of military and civilians behind him.

    He smirked at me as if wanting to see me explode for having so many people around him. But unfortunately for him, they had nothing to do with me and mine. He wanted them? Then he could feed them and protect them himself. My obligation began and ended with traveling him to whatever city we were going to. Anything he got caught up in, including death, dismemberment, or bing a zombie was entirely up to him. I was washing my hands of his matters.

    "Of course," he said smoothly, "We are just waiting on a few more people and then we can be on our way." He smiled in such a way that I knew he was trying to push my buttons, but I had enough crap for the day that I was not going to bite.

    Not my circus¡­

    Definitely not my monkeys.

    I went back to where the four men were huddled in a group and waited outside of their circle for them to realize I was there. After about a minute I cleared my throat. "He''s waiting for a few more people and then we can take off." Message delivered, I disappeared into my space and the ice cream that was calling my name. Hell, a shower and a nap seem to be in order too.

    ----

    "Why is it that every time she opens her mouth, I realize how little I actually know about the world around us," grumbled Liu Wei as he and the other three men closed ranks.

    "Well, big brother, I always figured you were blessed with the looks in our family rather than the brains," smirked Liu Yu Zeng, trying to add some levity to the bomb that Li Dai Lu just dropped.

    Liu Wei simply red at his brother, not bothering to dignify his statement with a response.

    "Then what are we supposed to do?" asked Chen Zi Han as his eyes followed Li Dai Lu''s route to the General before turning his attention to the others. "If there is no military, no government, no syndicates¡­ what good are we?"

    An ufortable silence descended over the men as they thought about what her words meant. They didn''t doubt her ount. After all, everything else she had said up to this point was true, so this had to be as well.

    But they never had to doubt their ce in society before. They were born and raised knowing who they were and what their destiny held. There were no questions about doing something else or being someone else. They knew their role and by the time they could speak they had stepped up to fulfill it.

    But now, if those roles were no longer there, what did that make them?

    "Then we redefine our roles," said Wang Chao as he looked at the three men around him who he had always considered to be his brothers. "We were told what it was that was important and what we needed to do as a result, so now, we figure out what is currently important and what we need to do as a result of that."

    Liu Yu Zeng scoffed when he heard Wang Chao''s decree. "We know what''s important, but defining our roles is much more difficult," he said.

    Once again, silence reigned as the men attempted to figure out their new roles in the ever changing new world.

 Chapter 99 99

    ?

    After a well deserved union breakplete with chocte peanut butter ice cream, a 5-hour nap, and a bath (with mandatory face mask and candles), I was ready to take on the world again. Or, at the very least, I was willing to put up with General Fuck Face and his ever expanding circus of ipetence.

    Humming a song about letting it go, I reappeared in front of the guys again. This time, they were all looking at me. "Yes?" I asked, not sure what was going on. Technically it was less than two seconds since I wasst here and they knew I had a space so it shouldn''t be that much of a surprise that I was showered and changed.

    And I showered after I had my ice cream so there is no way that I could have chocte on my face.

    "No more military?" asked Wang Chao as he looked at me.

    "Not in the traditional sense, no," I confirmed. I mean, it was not like all the soldiers up and died. And we all knew that once a soldier, always a soldier, so there were soldiers around, but they switched from a ''public'' army to a much more private one.

    "And syndicates?" asked Liu Yu Zeng.

    "Same," I replied shrugging my shoulders. "Powerful people remain powerful, I have yet to see someone willingly give up power once they had it. But instead ofmanding a troop ormanding a syndicate, they be the head of their own safe zone or territory and rule over that. Not to mention for syndicates, if there is no supply there can be no demand."

    "No supply?"

    "Nope. Where would ite from?" I scoffed at the very idea. There were no more international trades or goodsing into and out of the country and each safe zone acted as their own separate nation. Not to mention no one had enough supplies to willingly give them to someone else in exchange for anything.

    "So, where do we go from here?" asked Liu Wei.

    "Like generally or specifically? Because generally, we are all in for a life of violence, death, destruction, and maybe a good night''s sleep once every year or so," I said both factually and honestly. I mean, I think I had a good night''s sleep maybe more than once a year, but that depended on who was on watch.

    "And specifically?"

    "We get the man that you consider to be a father; if he is still alive and if he wants toe with us, and then get back to the ranch where everything is set up for us."

    "You don''t think that we should try for one of the safe zones?" asked Liu Wei, pushing up his sses.

    "Ha!" I barked out. "Maybe for like an afternoon? But permanently? No way in Hell am I going to subject myself to that shit," I grumbled remembering the squalor of the safe zones. Those with some type of power, and I don''t mean power users, lived well, but for those without money? I shuddered thinking about it. "No, we will not be living in any safe zone."

    "Then where would we live?" asked Liu Yu Zeng.

    "The ranch," I said, looking at them like they were stupid. I spent an entire year building my own save zone and I was not giving it up for shit.

    The boys nodded just as General Fuck Face demanded our attention.

    Walking over to the crowd gathered around the General, we got there just in time to hear his rousing speech that as members of the military, it was his honor and duty to protect the citizens and he would be willing to risk his life to keep theirs safe.

    I mean, if I had never met the man, or was blind, or couldn''t smell, I might believe what he was saying, but as it stood, how could anyone take this man seriously?<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Well, people were lemmings and once one jumped off the cliff, they were all bound to follow.

    The first person broke out into cheers and apuse and I got to watch in disbelief as a very smug General looked over at Wang Chao and his men as if he had received some type of award along with the apuse. Taking in a deep breath of air, I realized that no amount of ice cream, sleep, or a bath made me prepared to ept the sheer fuckary that was the General.

    On aplete side note, I once looked up the word fuckary and it said that it described people who were stupid, ignorant, childish, and foolish. Looking at the scene before me, there was no better way to describe it. One party wanted praise and attention, and the other party was willing to give it. Great! A symbiotic rtionship. Maybe now he will stop relying on me and mine.

    Ha! Yeah, that would never happen.

    The great General led his people out of District J and onto the same highway where he experienced both a zombie attack and a new toll booth. But apparently, it never crossed his mind just how dangerous his route was, especially with the gaggle of people behind him, not at all caring about their situation.

    Myself, Wang Chao, the rest of the guys, and their men walked slower and slower until the General and his people were almost out of eyesight. With a quick hand motion, our group of men split into two and each took a side of the highway and disappeared into the forest. The five of us remained on the highway simply so the men could keep us in their sight, but still take advantage of the forest cover in case we encountered anything.

    "Is this okay?" I asked, and the General got further and further out of sight. "Aren''t we supposed to be going with him?"

    Wang Chao grabbed my right hand and held it in his. "It''s fine. Like you said, there is no more military so who is he going toin to?" Nodding my head, happy that he finally understood that much, I allowed myself to simply rx and enjoy the walk. I mean, the scenery left a lot to be desired with burnt-out cars, bloody handprints on windows, and the asional dead body, but for the most part, I enjoyed myself.

    The four guys talked about nothing at all, but I let the low rumble of their conversation flow over my head as I concentrated on being in the moment and not worrying about what was toe.

    But that was when I started to hear it¡­ or maybe it was more urate to say that I didn''t hear it.

    All of a sudden, the birds went quiet and it seemed like even the wind came to a standstill. The only sound for miles was the people in front of us talking and carrying on as if they were on a field trip. Maybe it was the sheer number of them or the amount of noise that they made, but either way, there was enough disturbance in the water to call the predators for dinner.

    Not taking a second to think or to n, I dragged Wang Chao into the forest and up a tree, the other three right on our heels. Once I got high enough to feelfortable, I looked around a breathed a sigh of relief that I could see the other three in their trees from my vantage point.

    "I am starting to feel like a damn monkey," grumbled Wang Chao from where he was sitting on a branch just under me.

    "Better to be the monkey than the chicken," I said as the screaming started. I guess it was time to see if the General would put his money where his mouth was. The second I heard him screaming out Wang Chao''s and Liu Wei''s names, I had to chuckle, despite the tense circumstances. I guess he bit off more than he could chew taking all of those civilians.

    "Your men know to get to the trees?" I asked, looking down at Wang Chao. The man nodded.

    "Yeah, but we aren''t sure why it is best to go up. There is more room to maneuver on the ground. Not to mention we are literally sitting ducks up here." I understood where he wasing from, and once the zombies got their feet under them more, being up a tree would not be all that helpful. But for right now, we want to direct their attention to the easier prey.

    You know that adage that you don''t have to be fast to outrun a bear, just faster than the person in front of you? It applied here too.

    In fact, once you got used to thinking like prey, it was easy to figure out the mindset of the predator. Unfortunately for the human poption, it took them a long time to get into that mentality. This was why only about 15% of the humans in Country K actually survived 13 years into the end of days.

    "We are not standing in the way of the zombies and their meal," I said,pletely honestly. I mean, I knew that technically this was not the most moral way to go, but when it came to morality and breathing, I would take the second option every time.

 Chapter 100 100

    ?

    We waited until the screaming died down before I let the guys leave the safety of the trees and approach the highway where the General and the others were. I knew that they didn''t like the whole idea of hiding when people were getting killed, at least Wang Chao didn''t like it. The military mentality had a firm grip on his psyche and was unwilling to let go so quickly.

    Me? I prescribed to the mentality of ''let them all die''.

    A high-pitched whistle and the rest of the men were climbing down their own trees and regrouped on the sides of the highway. I heard a lot of grumbling as I came up to our group of men, but it was mostly from Wang Chao and Liu Wei''s side than Liu Yu Zeng and Chen Zi Han. Ignoring their looks, as if it made a difference to me, I climbed the edge of the ditch and stepped on the highway.

    To say that it looked like a massacre was an understatement. A serial killer with a chainsaw would have made less of a mess than this. Limbs were ripped off and hanging off of cars or justying on the ground. Pools of blood formed under the bodies of the people who looked to the General for guidance and protection, the looks of horror permanently frozen on their faces. Seeing the desecrated bodies of the people, their stomachs ripped open, their intestines hanging out like sausages at a meat market, I cracked my neck.

    This was definitely a case of better them than me, and I was thankful that the boys were smart enough to realize that the General was just going to lead them to their deaths.

    Case in point¡­.

    However, as I watched some of the zombies continue to eat from the corpses in front of them, I realized one important fact: they had evolved sooner this time than they had in my past life. It was well into my 4th year in this body before the zombies understood that by imparting more fear at the time of death, they could make the meat taste better.

    But based on what I saw just now? They fully understood how to hunt and kill while making the most of a person''s fear. They did not have to rip off limbs to be fed, nor did they have to rip out the intestines of a person before killing them. They did this to have the most effect on the remaining humans, to produce as much fear as they possibly could on those that they determined would be their meals.

    As I walked through the path of destruction left by the zombie horde, I could hear the blood bubbling in some of the humans as theyy on the highway, desperately trying to draw in a breath. Looking down at the man by my feet I watched as his blood bubbled in his neck as he tried to take in much needed air. Taking out my sword, I swiftly cut off his head, granting him a swift death. The zombies around me looked up from their meals to hiss at me, but quickly went back to gorging on the body in front of them. Zombie survival tip number 137: no need to fear the zombie already eating, they aren''t concerned about you.

    Chen Zi Han came up behind me and wrapped his arm around my waist, being careful to avoid my sword. "What is this?" he asked in a mixture of awe and disgust.

    "This is why I would never fear you," I said with a chuckle as I patted his arm with my left hand. "But this is what it looks like when a horde is experimenting with vor."

    "vor?" asked Liu Yu Zeng as he approached me, looking between myself and Chen Zi Han.

    I hummed in agreement. "From what we could figure out, human flesh takes on a different vor based on our moods, and fear is the best vor possible as far as the zombies are concerned. But the amount of fear is also critical. So if someone is only a little afraid, they would not taste as good as if they were terrified. And, a dead or unconscious body would not taste very good at all."

    The two men stared at me like I was the one that enjoyed the taste of fear in human flesh and I have to admit to being a bit offended by that. "What?" I asked looking back and forth between them.

    "How do you know all this stuff?" asked Liu Yu Zeng like I had all the answers in the world. I mean, I had most of them, but I wasn''t Google.

    "A scientist was kicked out of the main safe zone of City A for disagreeing too many times with the leader, and he ended up at mypound," I said, grossly over simplifying what actually happened. "He was the one that first noticed a direct corrtion between the actions of the zombies and the intended consequences. Or did you really think they need to rip off limbs or leave survivors?"

    "Survivors?" asked Liu Weiing up to us.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Yeah, I mean, there is always at least one survivor. But that might not happen untilter, once the initial hunger has been satisfied," I exined while looking around. I couldn''t see any survivors, but then again, the zombies were still freshly freed so they might be more hungry now and not worried about things like that.

    "You mean, the zombies are ying head games with us?" asked Liu Yu Zeng incredulously. I nodded my head, "Basically. I mean, without survivors, how do the horror stories about what they did to humans spread? And the more it spread, the more fear people felt towards them to the point they didn''t even need to be around for the fear to catch hold. Just the simple whisper of the word ''zombie'' caused some people to freeze."

    "Are we going to kill these ones?" asked Wang Chao as he approached our small group, his men at his back.

    "Up to you," I said, not caring one way or another. Now that I knew that my purple me could easily kill them, they were not that much of a challenge. Not to mention I was slowly oveing my own fear of them. Who knows, maybe in the future, I would be their predator instead of the other way around.

    "Kill them," came a groaning voice a little distance away. Looking in the direction of the sound, I found General Fuck Face on the ground slowly trying to crawl towards us, the lower half of his body missing. Watching the blood and internal organs spilling out of the man with every inch he managed to gain, I was impressed. Most would just hurry up and die, but not the bane of my existence I guess.

    "Hello General," I said as I walked over to the man and crouched down in front of his head. "How does it feel to be the savior of humanity?" I asked while looking around, making my point that he brought this all on himself.

    "You ¨C" he started, before erupting in a cough.

    "Me?" I asked, a faint smile on my face. What can I say? I loved watching karma work.

    "You fucking bitch," he gasped causing me tough out loud. The sound of my voice startled the zombies enough that they looked up from their feast to look at me. Deeming me not that important, they returned their attention back to their meal.

    "Oh, General. Hopefully, in your next life you learn a bit more humility," I whispered into his ear just as he took hisst few shallow breaths. "May the ferryman guide you to your rightful ce," I said, not knowing where the words came from, but knowing that they fit the present situation. The man was dead, not able to cause any more harm through his sheer ignorance and stupidity. Pressing firmly onto his eyelids, I closed them, allowing him a peaceful death.

    Standing up, I saw the four men behind me in a straight line. Raising my eyebrow, I asked, "Are you going to kill them or are we going to be on our way before we need to make camp? They say lightning never strikes twice, but I want to be far away from this ce before we need to stop for the night."

    Wang Chao nodded his head, silently agreeing with my assessment. These zombies were not a current threat, but there was nothing to say that the amount of blood and death would not attract another horde that was willing to settle for less-than-tasty meat.

    ---

    The days passed into weeks and we were approaching our target''s location. We stayed off the highway, preferring to run parallel to it and hide in the canopies to the side. This meant that we were slower than if we used the RVs, but I didn''t know if there was enough room for Liu Yu Zeng, Chen Zi Han, and their men so I decided against using them.

    Supply runs were still vastly important and we made the time to hit up every vige, town, and city in easy reach while still keeping to a good schedule. Thanks to Hades, we managed to avoid most, if not all of the hordes that were roaming the highways looking for easy prey, and the men were good about ignoring the civilians'' requests for assistance.

    Once again, they learned their lesson about helping others from the General and refused any and all cries to take people with them. But our luck was bound to leave us, especially as we approached such as big City like City J.

 Chapter 101 101

    ?

    We had been very lucky so far in that not only did we manage to not run into too many zombies, but the November snow managed to hold off while we were on the road.

    But, as my foster mother once told me, all good things muste to an end.

    It was December 1st and the first month of the apocalypse had officiallye to an end. Just as we walked past the "Wee to City J" sign, the first snowke of the year fell to the ground. I stopped and watched as the pristine white ke floated down from the sky, a dark, desecrated city was its background. The contrast struck me hard, and all I could do was stare.

    "First time seeing snow?" asked Liu Wei as he noticed my eyes following the lone ke.

    "Hardly," I scoffed. "Even if myst life hadn''t prepared me for its harshness, my first life definitely did."

    "What do you mean?"

    "Snow in the apocalypse is not the magical sight that it wasst winter. It was a harsh, brutal, p in the face of what mother nature does when she is pissed," I said. "I have no idea what this winter will look like, but I remember people talking about how brutal it was and that a lot of people died because they were caught unaware. But then again, your winters are normally gentlepared to what I was used to in my first life." I shrugged, not too concerned either way.

    Winter in Canada, especially where I was from, was not for the faint of heart. I mean, it was not like we had the brutal winters that they did way, way up north, but we still got our fair share of the white stuff. I mean, some parts of my province had upwards of 180-200 cm of snow. Not to mention the below -50 degrees temperatures with the wind chill. Winter was not my concern.

    Keeping the boyos and their men alive during it, was.

    As more and more snowkes followed the first one, a sense of urgency hit me. "We need to find a house or arge building that can house all of us for a long period of time," I said, looking at Wang Chao. He had admitted to living in this city for a while before being transferred to the army.

    "We can live on base," he said, thinking things through. "There is a whole apartment building designed for service members. It would not be a problem to move in there."

    I shivered as the wind picked up and the snow started to dance in the air, feeling like razor des as they hit my cold face. Pulling out my winter jacket, hat, and mitts, I threw the boys their own gear. I warmed up once I was dressed properly, but by the way things were going, I knew that we would be in for a good storm in under an hour.

    "How far away?"

    "If we can use the vehicles? About 45 minutes. If we are walking? Almost 2 hours," said Wang Chao, studying the sky.

    "Understood," I said as I took out every single vehicle that I had set aside in my space. "Let''s get a move on. Hopefully, this Admiral guy is at the base," I grumbled as I got into the light blue SUV.

    "Vice Admiral," came Wang Chao and Liu Wei as they entered my car quickly followed by Chen Zi Han and Liu Yu Zeng.

    "Yeah, yeah, yeah," I grumbled, not happy about the weather outside. I wouldin that I didn''t get any advanced notice about this storm, but then again, I can''t me the weatherman when there was no weatherman to me. Not even I was that petty.

    "Really wishing we had the good winter tires," I grumbled as we made out way down the road as quickly as the weather and ''traffic'' allowed us to. Fortunately for me, we had the 8-wheel ATV and it was able to get most of the obstacles out of the way before the rest of us got stuck.

    "Good winter tires?" asked Chen Zi Han as if the concept waspletely foreign to him. But then again, City H was more of a subtropical climate so it wouldn''t surprise me if they didn''t have winter tires. As the car slipped out under me again, I started to swear. We needed to get out of here and into the base fast.

    "Time?" I asked, staring at the road in front of me as it disappeared into whiteness as soon as the RV in front of me cleared the path. I had never seen a storm pick up this fast. I was used to the wind acting as a warning before the blizzard struck, but not this. This was somethingpletely different.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "10 minutes to the gate maintaining this speed," said Wang Chao as he held onto the ''oh shit'' bar. I forgot what the actual name for it was¡­ it was just permanently in my head as the ''oh shit'' bar. I think it was called the grip handle or something like that, but I was pretty sure that every ce had its own name for it.

    "Copy," I said, my stress levels officially through the roof. In my first life, I hibernated like a bear during winter, refusing to leave my apartment unless I absolutely had to, and I wasn''t much better in my second life. In fact, I think I was worse since I didn''t have work to force me out of the door. I stayed in thepound as soon as I saw the first snowke and didn''t move for at least 4 months. Not even Colin could get me out.

    As I said, winter was never a concern for me because I didn''t go out in it. And I had enough supplies to make that happen. If the boys wanted to go out, they were more than wee to, but they forced me here, and they would have to live with the consequences.

    I sighed, thinking about my ranch and how much I missed it, but I knew that there was no way I was leaving City J until all this¡­ crap¡­ was gone.

    "You don''t like it?" asked Liu Yu Zeng,pletely calm (if not a bit cramped) in the back seat.

    "Like what?" I asked, my eyes burning from my refusal to blink. Less than 10 minutes, I could do this.

    "The snow? I know we always talked about wanting to see it," he went on as he looked out of the window. "It seemed to have that romantic movie quality shit that all the girls would squeal over."

    I wanted to re at him, I really did. But I couldn''t because I was pretty much convinced that if I so much as blinked I would send us into the rhubarb and there was no rhubarb around.

    "Yeah, sure¡­ magical stuff¡­" I grumbled. It always amazed me to listen to people who thought snow was the most amazing thing in the world. I tried to keep my mouth shut, knowing that this winter would cure him of any love affair he had with the white stuff, but it was hard not to grumble about all the downsides of snow.

    Mind you, I was pretty sure that if I gushed about how magical a monsoon season seemed to be or how much I wanted a cyclone toe, they would feel the exact same way as me.

    "Time?" I snapped as I lost sight of the RV in front of me. I was starting to depend on the GPS (thank God that still works, even if it isn''t hooked up to anything) more than the actual road and that was just in dangerous.

    "Two minutes," came the steady voice beside me. "You are doing good, little girl," he practically purred, causing me to rx for a moment. That man was lethal¡­and apparently, I had a few kinks I was unaware of¡­ huh.

    The smirk on his face that I could see from the corner of my eye made me blush in embarrassment. Stupid ability to read my mind.

    "Yes, but at least it distracted you," he said, "We are here."

    I didn''t know what I was expecting, but this base was as far away from my vision of a base as it could be. A tall, white and ss apartment building appeared in front of me and I had to m on my brakes not to crash into it, causing the car to spin out of control.

    I let out a very dignified squeal of fear before I caught myself and cleared my throat as the car came to a stop. Getting out of the car, I quickly ran to the front door¡­ at least I thought it was a front door. It was a ss door and it was less than a foot in front of me. I was going in.

    Finding it locked, I looked at my resident locksmith. Clearing my throat, I tilted my head a few times to get him to unlock the door. He smiled as he simply put his hand on the doorknob and opened it.

    Only to be greeted by about 10 guns pointed straight at us.

 Chapter 102 102

    ?

    Have you ever had one of those moments where your anxiety had just taken over and you were so stressed and nervous you were either going tosh out ory down and cry? I was officially at that moment. The 45-minute drive to the City J Navy base took more out of me than fighting four hordes of zombies one after another.

    We were officially in blizzard conditions out here which meant that we could see less than a foot in front of us and there was no way we could hear anything to lead us in a proper direction due to the high winds. We were, essentially, fucked. And if we had to stay out there longer, many of us would have died from exposure or gotten lost. I kid you not. You could get lost in a blizzard, feet from your house because you simply could not see where you needed to be.

    And just¡ªjust as we were about to step into what we had determined to be our safest bet, guns were pointed at our faces.

    Yes, Sir, Ladies and Gentlemen, I was done.

    With a slight flick of my wrist, I pulled all the guns that I could see into my space. Not willing to deal with their questions of "Where is it?" and "Where did it go?" I turned to look at Wang Chao.

    "Where am I staying?" I would try to make nice tomorrow after I calmed down, but my arms were still shaking and I wasn''t sure how long my legs would be willing to support me. Wang Chao simply ignored the people in front of him and, cing an arm around me, guided me through the crowd and up a set of stairs.

    Because with the day that I have been having, why wouldn''t there be stairs?

    I think Wang Chao understood how close to a breakdown I actually was because he swiftly picked me up into his arms and sprinted up the stairs to wherever he had in mind.

    I closed my eyes, counting in my head. I wasn''t sure what I was actually counting, Wang Chao''s steps? His breath? My breath? His heartbeat? Whatever it was, it was steady enough to allow me to get lost in the numbers and get myself under control. Opening the door at the top of the stairs, he continued to carry me down the hall.

    I was pretty sure I was supposed to object to this, say something about me being too heavy or being able to walk. But honestly, I just appreciated being taken care of for once. I closed my eyes and savored the feeling.

    I felt Wang Chao shift his grip so that he could free up a hand again and open the door to another room. Slowly opening my eyes, I saw an absolutely beautiful apartmentpletely furnished and a sheer wall of horizontal snow blowing outside therge windows.

    "Do you want to talk about it?" he asked as he gently ced me on the light grey sectional. Calling a pillow and a few nkets from my space, I didn''t object as he took them from me and turned me into a cocoon.

    "In my first life, I was an orphan," I said slowly as if tasting the words and seeing how they made me feel. "I remember I must have been young when I first when into Children''s Services, and I was probably about 7 or 8 when I learned that my parents died while driving home in a bad snowstorm. I was told that when the police came to the house, it was still snowing. I have been terrified of driving in the snow after that. Which sucks since the wintersted like 6 months of the year."

    "Why didn''t you let one of us drive?" he said as he started to rub my hair like I was a cat.

    "I can''t. The anxiety is worse when someone else drives. My psychologist said that it was because of ack of control. I have to be in control of the car, but it only lessens the anxiety, it doesn''t take it away," I exined, feeling like aplete and utter idiot for freaking out like this. Driving in winter and swimming in open bodies of water were my two major fears¡­ and so far, I have not been able to ovee them in any of my lives.

    The most ironic part was that my fear of open bodies of water stemmed from being scared of sharks and other things below me that I could not see. Now that the sharks havee ontond, I don''t know if I''ve gotten over that fear or what would happen if I actually came across a real shark.

    "Alright," said Wang Chao as he moved to stand up from where he was sitting beside my head on the sectional. I let out a sound of protest and he simply chuckled. "I am just going to deal with the situation downstairs and then let the guys know where we are staying."

    My brain went into overdrive when he mentioned leaving and I realized that I was not ready for that at all. "Shhh," he said as he knelt down in front of me, still gently ying with my hair. "We are all safe. We are all here. I''ll bring the others up here and we can all stay here for as long as you need us. But right now, Liu Wei is getting grumpy, thinking that the people here set you off. So before he tries to take on this section of the County K Navy, I am going to go down there."

    "There is no more Navy," I grumbled. I knew that I wasn''t acting my age, or how I normally did, but I needed to let go of everything, if only for tonight.

    "I know that, but they don''t," he reassured me and gave me a gentle kiss on the forehead. "Try to get some sleep and we will all be in here driving you crazy before you know it."<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "You won''t leave the building?" I looked at the man in front of me and a big part of me was freaking out that this would be thest time I saw him if he left the building. I know it was an irrational fear, but let''s face it¡­ most fears were irrational.

    "I promise," he said, once again petting my hair and giving me a kiss. "Now, hurry up and close your eyes, little girl, and when you open them again, I will be here."

    With that promise, I closed my eyes and let sleep carry me off. I would be back to normal for tomorrow, but for tonight¡­ I could just be myself without any repercussions.

    ----

    If Wang Chao was not impressed having been called away when Li Dai Lu needed him, Liu Wei, Lui Yu Zeng, and Chen Zi Han were even less so.

    Liu Wei recognized a few people in the crowd surrounding him and his men, but that was not enough to set him at ease or even make him happy. "Major!" he heard someone shout and turned to look at the voice. A woman stepped out from the back and approached Liu Wei, saluting when she got closer.

    Nodding his head, Liu Wei recognized the salute but did not return it. He was currently a civilian and as such, was not required to salute someone else¡­ let alone someone from the Zhao family.

    "Captain Zhao Jia Li," he said. "Are these your men?"

    "No," she said shyly, shaking her head, "We are simply the unit on watch right now. There are still a few hundred people living here," she admitted, looking down at the floor, apparently not able to meet his eyes.

    "Was this Li Dai Lu''s definition of a green tea bitch or a white lotus?" asked Liu Yu Zeng in a loud whisper to Chen Zi Han.

    "Not sure," admitted the other man, "But after she pointed out Wu Bai Hee, I am noticing them more and more." Liu Yu Zeng nodded sagely. "I agree," he admitted, looking at the woman in front of him. "Are you going to introduce us, brother?"

    Liu Wei absentmindedly scratched his eyebrow and pushed up his sses. "This is Captain Zhao Jia Li," he said, indicating the woman in front of him. "She is the eldest daughter of the Zhao family from City A." And the Zhao family was a long-time rival of the Wang family, but he was not going to say that.

    Turning his attention back to the woman after the brief introduction, he asked, "Is there anyone in charge right now?"

    Zhao Jia Li was frozen for a second before she was able to answer Liu Wei''s question. Quickly shaking her head she opened her mouth, "Vice Admiral Zhou Gang Jia is here but is in a meeting with a few other higher-ups in regards to the situation outside. We are the ones currently on guard duty."

    Liu Wei nodded his head. "I caught that the first time," he admitted. Turning his attention back to his brother he continued, "Are all the men inside? Li Dai Lu is going to want a head count."

    Liu Yu Zeng grunted and he and Chen Zi Han went through the ranks of their men to see who was ounted for and who was not. He was sure that Hell would rain down on them tomorrow if they lost someone. Li Dai Lu almost took it as a personal insult if one of the men had so much as a hang nail.

    "May I ask that you return our guns?" asked Zhao Jia Li, trying to get Liu Wei''s attention back to her.

    "You might be able to get them tomorrow," said Wang Chao as he entered the lobby where everyone stood talking.

    "But we need them!" said Zhao Jia Li in somewhat of a panic as she ran up to Wang Chao.

 Chapter 103 103

    ?

    Quickly sidestepping the woman that was rushing up to him, Wang Chao walked toward Liu Wei and the rest of his men.

    "How is she?" asked Liu Wei as soon as Wang Chao got close. Thetter simply shook his head indicating that they would talk about itter, and turned his attention back to Zhao Jia Li. "Captain," he nodded at her. "You might be able to get your guns back tomorrow, it will depend on a few factors."

    "And what factors are those?" asked Zhao Jia Li drinking in the sight of the man that she had not seen for a few years. She fought and wed her way to be part of the Navy, simply to be able to stay by Wang Chao''s side, something that her family vehemently opposed. She simply found it more romantic, the idea that they were a modern-day Romeo and Juliet.

    Unfortunately for her, Wang Chao was transferred before she could be part of his unit. Now 30, her family was trying to push for her marriage, but she kept putting them off, knowing that Wang Chao woulde back to her. And see? She was right! Here is he, looking for her.

    Wang Chao couldn''t help the sneer that appeared on his face as Zhou Jia Li unknowingly projected her thoughts to him. He had always known about her ns, so when the Brass asked him to take on a secret mission and transfer to the Army, he happily obliged.

    "What time she wakes up at," said Wang Chao with a straight face. His little girl had a very long and stressful day, and now that the snow had arrived, there was no ce for them to go. She could take as long as she wanted to rest and rx before dealing with anything else.

    Zhao Jia Li looked at him confused. "What time who wakes up?"

    Completely ignoring her, he turned to another woman that was hanging at the back of the crowd. "Huang Xiu Yan," he called, indicating for the other woman toe forward. "I am going to need a set of standard clothes to be brought to 1373."

    The other woman, Huang Xiu Yan simply saluted without saying a word. "Not for us," Wang Chao said, rifying his order. "It will be for someone your size," he started, looking the woman up and down. "Actually, she is a bit shorter than you."

    Once again, Huang Xiu Yan simply nodded her head. "And bring them by tomorrow around 1 pm," said Liu Wei interjecting. Turning to Wang Chao he added, "She is not a morning person, and if we don''t wake her up, she will probably sleep until she gets hungry."

    Wang Chao nodded, not considering when to have the clothes delivered, but Liu Wei was right, it was better not to wake up the little girl for something like that. Huang Xiu Yan waited for a moment to see if there were any more instructions, but when the two men remained silent, she saluted and returned to her ce at the back of the unit.

    Captain Zhao Jia Li was the head of this unit and she didn''t care for Huang Xiu Yan, so Huang Xiu Yan tried to y least in sight. She sighed when she realized that the captain would probably have a few words for her before the end of their watch.

    She joined the military to get away from the high school drama, but some days, it seemed even worse than it was back then.

    "We are all here," confirmed Liu Yu Zeng as he and Chen Zi Han made their way back to the other two men.

    "Thank God," said Liu Wei, rubbing his forehead again in an unconscious gesture. "Let''s get everyone settled in for the night. The Vice Admiral is here, so that seems to be the only bonus right now. Do you know when she ns to leave?" he asked Wang Chao, assuming that she would want to be heading back to City A and her ranch as soon as possible.

    "In the spring," Wang Chao deadpanned looking at the man standing beside him. "And you will not suggest anything different, am I understood?"

    Liu Wei, Liu Yu Zeng, and Chen Zi Han looked startled. Li Dai Lu had made it quite clear that she was going back to the ranch as soon as possible, so why were they now staying here for the next few months?

    ''She doesn''t drive in the snow,'' said Wang Chao in their heads, not willing to say it aloud. ''We will not be making her drive in the snow unless she tells us otherwise.'' With those final words, everyone was in agreement. They would go ording to her schedule and that was the end of it.

    "I can show you to some free rooms you can use," offered Zhao Jia Li as she came to stand between Wang Chao and Liu Wei, putting a hand on Wang Chao''s arm. The two men looked down at the woman between them and could help but feel disgusted. The feeling that she gave off waspletely different from Li Dai Lu, and the two men hated it. <novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Shaking off her hand, Wang Chao looked at the others in the room. "Everyone get to bed, there will be enough to deal with in the morning, and I don''t think this snow is going to stop any time soon." Completely ignoring Zhao Jia Li, he waited as his men disappeared down the halls and up the stairs. They would be able to find their own amodations, his job was to get him and the others back to Li Dai Lu before she woke up.

    He promised that he would be there when she did and he would not ept anything less.

    "Are you sure that I can''t help in some way?" asked Zhao Jia Li, getting frustrated that so many people were ignoring her. "And the woman you brought in before. I know I should have asked, but I had assumed that you would tell me about her. Who is she? Does she need amodations with the rest of the women here?"

    Liu Yu Zeng simply smiled at her, focusing his attentionpletely on her in a way that made her somewhat ufortable. "Who is she?" he asked in a dark tone. "You don''t need to know who she is, you just need to know to avoid her any time you see here. And she will be staying with us."

    ----

    "You do realize that you just sed a rabid dog onto Princess, right?" asked Chen Zi Han as he followed Wang Chao up the stairs and to the rooms that he had chosen for them.

    "What do you mean?" replied Liu Yu Zeng, genuinely confused. "I specifically told her to stay away from your princess."

    "That is exactly what he means," interrupted Liu Wei, looking down at his brother. "You basically said that she is so important to us that she needs to be left alone and that she was staying with us. For a woman that has been chasing after Wang Chao for close to 15 years, that is enough to set off warning bells. Maybe we should just give her Wang Chao to keep her away from Li Dai Lu. What do you think?" he continued, throwing a smirk at the man.

    "I think that you are the only one here with a legitimate fianc¨¦," replied Wang Chao as he opened the door to the 13th floor. "Which means, you have no say in anything."

    "Yeah, but I am pretty sure that even if she is currently alive, she is going to be in the middle of a zombie-run city and is no longer my problem. Besides, I think I was kicked out of the family when I refused to stay with Grandfather in City B," said Liu Wei, the aggravation clear in his voice that he was out of the running.

    "Which means, you are the only one with a woman actively chasing you," he continued, a self-satisfied smile on his face.

    "I would like to point out that out of the three of us, I am the only one not to have any past issues or future issues like those. Clearly, I am the best candidate," said Chen Zi Han as he made his intentions known to the other men. He was not sure how this would all work, but he was not willing to miss out on the one person that did not seem to care about his darker side.

    Somewhat blindsided, the other three men looked at Chen Zi Han. "What?" asked the man in question as they all stood outside of room 1373. "I thought it was only fair to warn you guys ahead of time." Wang Chao snorted at his answer and the other two let out low chuckles of their own.

    Opening the door, Wang Chao''s gaze went directly to the couch and the pile of nkets in the middle of it. That was good, she had not woken up.

    Cracking his neck, Wang Chao started unzipping his jacket and hung it up on the hooks provided. Gettingfortable, he took his seat on the sectional right by her head and waited for her to wake up. "You all need to remember, I am the only one inside her head right now," he smirked at the other three men as they too made themselves at home. "I think my advantage is clear."

    Wang Chao, Liu Wei, and Chen Zi Han looked at the fourth member of their brotherhood, waiting for him to weigh in and tell them his thoughts.

    "What?" Liu Yu Zeng said with a smirk. "Do you really think I am going to tell you guys one way or another?" He scoffed at the very thought. He was a master at flying under the radar, only striking when he was sure of the kill. Growing up as he did, he knew the benefits of ying his cards close to his chest.

    Why give them anything that they could use against him? After all, they were clearly hispetition.

 Chapter 104 104

    ?

    My eyes felt like they had been glued shut, all gritty and icky. I groaned as the sound of people walking around me and sses banging around entered my ears, making me pull the covers over top of my head, trying to block out everything.

    I was not willing to wake up at whatever ungodly hour it was. And since I didn''t want to wake up, any hour was ungodly as far as I was concerned. A small beam of light came from the side of my nket as someone from the outside slowly and carefully lifted it, allowing the smell of freshly brewed coffee to filter into my cocoon.

    Intrigued, mostly because I didn''t take any supplies out of my space, I lowered the nkets from my face. Squeezing one eye closed because of the bright light, I opened the other one to look over at the person holding the offering.

    "Have I mentioned that you are my favorite?" I grumbled as Chen Zi Han simply chuckled as he crouched in front of me, holding the greatest thing on Earth in front of my face.

    "What the Hell!" grumbled Liu Wei as he came into my line of sight. "I''m the one that made it, Sweetheart," he continued, ring at Chen Zi Han from where he stood.

    "There is a big difference between simply making it and actually bringing it over to me," I exined as I carefully unwound myself from the nkets I had wrapped around me and sat up. Seeing that I was in afortable position, Chen Zi Han handed me the cup before standing up.

    I blew a gentle breath over the surface before tentatively taking a sip. It was the perfect strength and temperature. Maybe I should give Liu Wei more credit for making it so well. I would think about it once the cobwebs made their way out of my brain. My eyes grumbling about being open, I closed them to enjoy the whole experience. I would worry about things after the coffee because I was pretty sure that there was a big thing that I needed to worry about. I just couldn''t remember it.

    "Sorry about thatck of options," said Chen Zi Han as he took a seat on the coffee table across from me. "This ce was well stocked in terms of non-perishable items, but not so much on other stuff."

    I nodded as I continued to try and stick my whole head in this small cup of coffee. Grumbling and missing myrger cups, I called them from my space and put them beside Chen Zi Han. I heard his chuckle and the sound of the cup being picked up.

    "I will take this as your way of asking for a bigger cup of coffee," he said as he got up. Not to be outdone, Liu Wei quickly sat down in the spot that he relinquished.

    "What do you want to do today?" he asked as he took the empty cup of coffee out of my hands. You know, a girl could really get used to this type of treatment.

    "Is sleep an option?" I asked as I once again tried to pull open my eyes. I would definitely need to wash my face to get rid of whatever gunk was on it.

    Hearing his low chuckle, I couldn''t help by smile in response. "Sleep is always an option, Sweetheart, but maybe you want to do some exploring first? At least pick out a bed to actually sleep on instead of this sectional?"

    I nodded my head and allowed him to help me to my feet. Swaying gently back and forth (I am pretty sure I have stressed how much I actually hate waking up) I looked at the man beside me. "There seems to be something that I need to figure out¡­ I just can''t remember what it was," I grumbled. This was one of those few times that I wished I was a morning person, but s, I wasn''t.

    "Then you can deal with it when you remember," he said gently as he lead me to the bathroom.

    "The others?" I asked, only having really seen Chen Zi Han and Liu Wei since I''d been awake.

    "Dealing with the men," he assured me. "They will be back in a little bit." And that was when it hit me; the snow, the blizzard, the guns, and the strange people.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Good and awake right now, I looked at Liu Wei with a slight panic. "Are we good here or do we need to find another ce? Is the Admiral here? What is going on? Where is this ce? Are all the men ok? Did we lose anyone in the storm?" The questions flowed out of my mouth as soon (if not before) my mind could think about them.

    I heard his chuckle as he brought me into the bathroom and sat me down on the toilet. Finding a facecloth beside the sink, he wet it and brought it over to me, intending to wash my face.

    "The men are fine," he said as he started gently washing the sand out of my eyes, my brain only paying half attention to him as the other half was trying to figure out what was going on and what we needed to do next. "We are at the apartments of the Country K Navy Base in City J. Nothing is going on. The REAR Admiral is here," he continued, stressing the word rear as if I really cared about trying to remember the man''s rank. "And we are very good here," he finished.

    Taking a dry towel, he gently patted my face before grabbing ab to brush my hair. "This ce really does have everything," I said as I felt the teeth of theb slide through my hair.

    He hummed in agreement as he finishedbing my hair. "Now, do you want me to brush your teeth for you or can you do it yourself?" he asked,pletely seriously as he looked into my eyes. I rolled them at his question and stood up to tend to that chore myself.

    There are some times when I think that I might have multiple personalities; one that was a badass and could take on anyone and anything, another that acted like a child and loved to have the care and attention all on her, and another that was calm, responsible and always prepared. The second one hade out more and more as the guys have been around more, but I was not going toin.

    I noticed these different sidesing out the more that I fought with the zombies. Each time I had to unleash myself for the Alpha battles, the harder and harder it was to put the chains back on. But then again, I had promised myself that in this life, I would live how I wanted, and if I wanted to be both 5 and 80 on the same day I damn well will be and not feel guilty over it.

    My teeth brushed, my face clean and my hairbed, I was ready to get on with the day. I''d bring out the administrative personality and get shit done. Once I figured out what we were doing next.

    But the idea of stepping foot outside this building left me in a cold sweat.

    ----

    Chen Zi Han, Liu Wei, and I made our way down the stairs and into the entertainment room on the third floor. Or at least that was what Liu Wei called it. Apparently, it was the general meeting area for those that lived in the house and had a bunch of things to keep people¡­ entertained.

    Opening the ss doors, I saw a whole section of pool tables on one end of the massive room, multiple couches and chairs, and probably the biggest television that I had ever seen in my life. Before the end of the world, this room would have been an amazing ce to hang out. I even spotted a mini kitchen off in a corner to prepare snacks or whatever.

    It took me a few seconds to realize that our entrance had cut off all of the noise, and I looked around for the cause. There must have been a few hundred people in here, and they were all staring at us. Well crap, did Liu Wei screw up brushing my hair? Did I forget to get dressed? I was pretty sure that I was still wearing my clothes from yesterday, but maybe I was naked?

    No¡­ even if Liu Wei was trying to pull a prank by letting me leave the apartment without clothes on, Chen Zi Han was too responsible for that to happen. He would have said something¡­ right?!?

    The internal monologue was cut off when Wang Chao cleared his throat causing my attention to focus in on him. Raising his arm, he tilted his head, his intention clear. Walking over to his side, I slipped under his arm and let out a soft sigh as the weight descended on me. "Morning, Beautiful," he said giving me a soft kiss to my temple. "You awake?"

 Chapter 105 105

    I shook my head. I was vertical and that was my big aplishment for the day as far as I was concerned. Wang Chao chuckled and turned his attention back to the people in front of him. Some of them I recognized as ours and others I had no idea who they were.

    "Who are you?" came a voice from off to the side. The snapping, offended tone made me realize that I should have taken Chen Zi Han up on therger coffee beforeing down here.

    "Li Dai Lu," I replied looking up at Wang Chao for his guidance. He knew the intricacies here better than I would and how to respond better.

    I heard a scoff as a stunning woman in light blue fatigues weaved out of the crowd and came to a stop in front of us. Looking at the arm wrapped around me, I could practically feel the waves of angering off of her. This is why I really didn''t like women, we were toopetitive with each other and I was too tired to deal with added shit.

    "I am Captain Zhao Jia Li of Country K Navy," she introduced herself, looking me up and down. I nodded my head to acknowledge her, but I wasn''t sure what more she wanted from me. It''s not like her rank meant all that much. "And I am Wang Chao''s fianc¨¦."

    Thatst statement had me pausing. Rolling my head to look at the man that stood more than a foot taller than me, and then again at the woman that was at least 5''8, I began I realize that I should start to wear heels more.

    ''That''s what you are taking from all this? That you are short?'' Wang Chao asked inside my head. I shrugged my shoulders in response.

    ''What am I supposed to take? That clearly she is delusional if she thinks that you are her fianc¨¦? I am pretty sure that you made it clear you didn''t have one,'' I replied. I was too out of it to take her seriously.

    Scratching my eyebrow in a very Liu Wei way, I nodded my head, "Nice to meet you, I''m the girlfriend," I said with a big smile on my face. Hey, I might be tired, but that didn''t mean I couldn''t stir the pot a bit.

    The screech she let out make me both smile and cringe as a small headache started from the high-pitched sound. Cracking my neck I looked back at the man beside me.

    "Is everything good here?" I asked, knowing that he could handle anything, but also wanted him to know that I was here to help and support him in any way that I could.

    "I''m good," he replied, once again kissing my temple and ignoring the reing from the woman in front of me. "Huang Xiu Yan," he called out and this time another woman came out of the crowd. Looking at her, I automatically decided that I liked her. She was still taller than me, but shorter than Zhao Jia Li and had her straight ck hair in a bob cut that made her face look small and delicate.

    I smiled at the woman when she looked over at me. She simply nodded, but I didn''t take offense. I understood where she wasing from. New women were always going to be a pain in the ass and she didn''t know how much I would be. "Can you get her outfitted?" Wang Chao asked, pushing me in her direction.

    Huang Xiu Yan nodded, still not speaking, and gestured for me to follow her. Smiling up at the man beside me, I pulled him down for a quick kiss of my own and trailed after the woman who was already at the doors.

    ----

    She led me to another floor, neither one of us speaking as Chen Zi Han followed behind us, close enough to guard us but not close enough to intrude.

    "Do they always do that?" she asked, looking between me and Chen Zi Han in genuine curiosity. I shrugged my shoulders.

    "There are four of them, so yeah, there will always be someone around. Does it bother you?" I asked, curious. I mean, I wanted to make friends, not be judged.

    "Does it bother me that there are four of them or that there will always be one around?" she shot back, a small smirk on her face. I knew I liked her.

    "Either or," I replied tilting my head up at her.

    "Nope," she said. "But be careful of the Captain, she tends to be territorial."

    "Who isn''t?" I asked with a chuckle of my own.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Very true."

    ----

    The blizzardsted about four days and dumped at least 50 cm of snow on the ground, not including what blew away. Wang Chao got people out and shoveled as the visibility improved, but since they were in a subtropical climate, none of them really knew how to shovel.

    Yes, there was a technique to it. Otherwise, you could put out your back, like a lot of the soldiers discovered within the first day.

    I got to meet the Rear Admiral, yes, I finally got it right, and I have to admit, I really liked the guy. He was sweet, kind, generous, and didn''t put up with any shit. All in all, a great person to have on your side.

    We had been in the apartment for almost a week after the storm when the notice came from the unit on duty that there were peopleing up to the base. I didn''t realize when I first came here, but there was a gate that kept people out, and that was where they were lining up. Or at least that was what the person who called it in said. Wang Chao asked me to go out with him to see what was going on and I was more than happy toply. Sure¡­ let''s go with that.

    I got bundled up, because even though I was a fire user, I really hated the cold. I picked out a white parka with faux fur trim on the hood and giant gloves that protected my hands from the cold. I had ck knee-high winter boots on that were lined on the inside with faux fur and a warm toque on my head under the parka hood. I didn''t bother to put on my snow pants simply because I didn''t think that we would be outside that long and all of the paths were clear.

    Wang Chao, Liu Wei, Liu Yu Zeng, and Chen Zi Han all wore simr outfits, but it was done in the light blue fatigue, military style that Country K provided its men. They were lucky to find a whole storage unit in the basement of one of the buildings on base when they were shoveling them all out. It apparently had all of the old gear that was not in use anymore, but had yet to be destroyed.

    Once we were ready to venture out into the great outdoors, they got a few more men to apany us to the front gate to see what was going on.

    Zhou Gang Jia, as he asked me to refer to him, mentioned that he was willing to consider this ce a safe zone, but that there needed to be strict entrance procedures before the average person could shelter here. Ipletely agreed with his ruling, and since he was the highest-ranking Navy personnel (Wang Chao didn''t count) he was unanimously voted as the head of the safety zone.

    Anyways, back to therge group of people huddled out, pacing in front of the gate¡­ apparently, the people that were here before we arrived never really met a zombie before¡­

    Because let me tell you¡­ those 50 ''people'' out there? They weren''t people anymore.

    I looked at Wang Chao and wondered if he noticed the same thing. When he nodded to me, I let out a sigh of relief. Cracking my neck, I walked up the stairs to the watch tower, the four men fanning out behind me, the rest of our men awaiting orders on the ground.

    Reaching the side of the man that called it in, I looked over and saw Huang Xiu Yan and Zhao Jia Li in the tower as well. I guessed it was their unit that was on duty when this happened. Lucky them.

    "What is she doing here?" screeched Zhao Jia Li in such a loud voice that the zombies outside of the gate turned in our direction and stared at us. While Huang Xiu Yan and I were building a fantastic friendship through movies and ice cream, Zhao Jia Li and I were not there yet.

    Wang Chao ignored her and turned to the man standing beside me. "Name?" he asked, but it was clearly an order.

    "Li Ming Tao," came the reply. Wang Chao nodded his head and pointed out in front of us.

    "Those are not people," he said in hismanding tone.

    "Yes, they are," countered Zhao Jia Li, looking at the man we all knew she was in love with. Once again, Wang Chaopletely ignored her, never taking his eyes off of Li Ming Tao.

    "Those are what we are referring to as zombies. Is this your first time encountering them?"

    When the man nodded, we received the answer we really didn''t want to hear.

 Chapter 106 106

    ?

    "Yes," Li Ming Tao confirmed. "We have never seen them before."

    It was a month and a half into the zombie apocalypse and this was the first time an entire military base had seen zombies. This was not going to go well if trying to teach Wang Chao''s men about how to fight zombies was anything to go by.

    Wang Chao, the rock that he was, simply nodded, neither happy nor upset over the situation. I really didn''t know how he did it, but I was grateful that he did. "Call everyone out," he said to the guard beside him, Li Ming Tao took out the walkie-talkies that I had supplied to everyone on the base and sent out a mass message for them to get their asses out here.

    Of course, he was a bit more polite than that, but that was essentially his message.

    Rear Admiral Zhou Gang Jia was the first one to arrive inside the watch tower. The older gentleman walked calmly towards Wang Chao and looked out at the ever-growing horde in front of us. "There is something off about them," he said as he studied the ''people'' in front of him.

    "Probably because they are zombies," I said,ing to stand on his other side. Startled, he turned to look at me.

    "These are the zombies?" he asked before turning his attention back to the horde in front, this time, studying them more seriously. The guys and I have had several discussions with him about what was going on in the outside world and the zombies that have taken over.

    Wang Chao nodded. "Even at this distance, you can see the fact that their heads are more rounded than a normal human''s and you can even see the fact that their mouths are distorted," he said, handing the Rear Admiral the binocrs that he was using.

    Zhou Gang Jia hummed in agreement as he took a closer look at the zombies. "And how do you kill them?"

    "You cut off their heads and burn them to ashes," Liu Wei said.

    "And how do you propose we do that?" asked Zhou Gang Jia as he turned to look at the man who just spoke. Liu Wei smiled and pointed to me.

    "Her."

    ----

    "How do you want to do this?" asked Wang Chao looking at me. Technically, even though I wasn''t military, I did have the most experience dealing with the zombies.

    "Do you remember the hotel?" I replied, ignoring the screech that Zhao Jia Li let out. Wang Chao nodded his head and went down to the gate level to let the others know what was going to happen. Li Ming Tao, Huang Xiu Yan, and the five people still left in the watch tower quickly followed after him after receiving a signal from Zhou Gang Jia. Zhao Jia Li refused to leave and instead stayed with me and the Rear Admiral.

    "Not going down to fight zombies?" I asked, raising an eyebrow to look at the woman beside me.

    "It''s not like you are going either," she snapped back, her eyes never leaving Wang Chao.

    "It''s not like I need to know how to fight them," I said, watching as Wang Chao signaled the gates to open just enough to allow a few zombies in. Once there were about 5 inside, the gates were quickly locked shut again.

    "What are they doing?" asked Zhou Gang Jia,pletely ignoring our conversation.

    "Training," I answered. I couldn''t hear what Wang Chao was saying, but I saw the results. The group of easily 200 men split up into groups of 10 and the first 5 groups got their own zombies. I appreciated what he was doing, but at the same time, he was going back to his previous military mentality. "But Wang Chao is forgetting a few major things," I grumbled.

    There was not a single team that had a cold weapon on them of some kind. Sure, they had their military-issued knives, but that was better for cutting people''s throats rather than taking off a head. When the first volleys of gunfire rose into the frigid air, Wang Chao looked at me.

    Raising my eyebrows, I smiled at the man. "Guns are useless," I said, both to the Rear Admiral and Wang Chao. While Wang Chao understood my sentiment, Zhou Gang Jia looked at me like I just insulted his whole family, both living and dead. "It was the biggest issue with the boys when the apocalypse came about and they encountered zombies for the first time."

    Wang Chao smiled at me and I finally understood what he was doing. He was teaching the soldiers here the exact same lesson that he and his soldiers had to learn; that using guns to kill a zombie was aplete waste of bullets. ''I do learn my lessons,'' came the deep voice inside my head. I simply smiled in response.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "If guns are useless, then how do they kill them?" asked the Rear Admiral as he continued to watch his men fight against the intruders without sess.

    "Swords or powers," I replied. I saw that one group had managed to take the head off of a zombie and I quickly sent out a blue me to finish the job. As soon as I let my fire go, Zhou Gang Jia jumped and spun around to look at me.

    "Powers?" he whispered as if he could not believe his ears.

    "Powers," I repeated, allowing my blue me toe out. I was not sure how it did it, but I managed not to set my snowsuit and mittens on fire as I did. Secretly, I was seriously impressed with myself because part of me assumed that I would be burning my mitts when I called the mes.

    "And just how did you get those?" he asked.

    "The vine," I replied. "The same one that caused zombies had different side effects for some people."

    The Rear Admiral looked around and saw that Zhao Jia Li was actively listening to our conversation. "We will discuss thister," he said, effectively putting an end to the conversation. I nodded my head in agreement and went back to watching the training.

    After the 5th group of zombies entered and had been killed, the men were feeling quite confident in their abilities to kill them. I chuckled as both my boys'' men and the Navy became more and more rxed. "Time to go out and fight them," I said to Wang Chao and Zhou Gang Jia. Wang Chao looked up at me from where he stood on the ground, directing the training. "They are beginning to think this is easy."

    "But it is," said Zhou Gang Jia. I let out a bark ofughter that the man beside me seemed to think that killing zombies was a walk in the park.

    "Should you take a turn, Rear Admiral?" I asked, still chuckling. I walked down the steps of the watch tower and went to stand beside my men.

    "Let''s go outside and show them what they are really facing. Because 10 on 1 is not the way it normally goes," I said as I patted Wang Chao''s chest and winked at Chen Zi Han. Wang Chao nodded his head and we all went to the gate, ready to go outside. I refused to let the horde through because there was no guarantee that one would not be able to go off a hide somewhere when we were not looking.

    I was surprised that Zhou Gang Jia showed up at our side before the gates managed to open enough to let us out. "Admiral?" I asked confused. In my memory, not once has the head of a safe zone ever gone out to fight.

    "Rear Admiral," came the five voices around me.

    "Yeah, yeah," I said waving my hand.

    "I might as well see just how easy it is to kill a zombie myself," said the REAR Admiral with a smirk of his own. I made a mental note to stay beside him, just to make sure that he would make it through alive.

    I looked at Liu Yu Zeng who hade up behind me. "You good with this?" I asked as I felt him press himself against my back. I leaned against him a bit and looked at him. "I don''t want you or yours to end up injured."

    "Such little faith in us?" he purred into my ear, causing goosebumps to raise under my numerousyers of clothes. Apparently, the man did not fight fair.

    "All the faith in the world," I assured him. But that was part of my problem. Just because I trusted him toe back to me, didn''t mean that I wasn''t stressed and worried that he would be injured.

    He nodded and gave me a kiss on the top of my head. "I need to stretch my muscles too," he said as he allowed the ck mist to encircle his hands. Like my me, the mist didn''t seem to affect the gloves that he was wearing at all.

    "What is that?" asked the Rear Admiral as he stared at the ck mist on Liu Yu Zeng''s hands.

    "Poison," I said with a smile. As much as I was ufortable with the idea when we first discovered his main power, I was fine with it now. A part of me trusted this man that I had interacted with the least of our group¡­ and it was the same part of me that screamed he was just as much mine as Wang Chao, Liu Wei, or Chen Zi Han.

    My smile only grew as I watched Zhou Gang Jia shudder at my response.

 Chapter 107 107

    ?

    "We will definitely be talking about thister," said Rear Admiral Zhou Gang Jia as he stared, hypnotized, at Liu Yu Zeng''s hands. The ck mist had taken on an almost snake-like quality to it as it continued to circle around the ck leather gloves.

    A small part of me wanted to pet the mist, if that were possible, but then I didn''t know what the consequences would be. The snake-like mist started to raise a part of it, like a head, and looked in my direction as if it could sense my thoughts. I raised an eyebrow at Liu Yu Zeng, wondering if he had done that on purpose, but he simply shook his head, as entranced with his mist as the rest of us were.

    The groaning sound of the gates being opened further snapped us out of our thoughts and, as one, we looked at the outside world.

    While thendscape was covered as far as the eye could see in white, the snowdrifts forming hills that were easily above my head, the zombies hadn''t changed at all. Still wearing whatever outfit they took the vine in, they seemed as warm as a summer day.

    Truth be told, I was a little jealous.

    Pulling out all of the swords from my space, I handed one to Zhou Gang Jia and gave Liu Yu Zeng his. Wang Chao, Liu Wei, and Chen Zi Han distributed the rest of the swords to the men around them and then took their own, ready to fight.

    "I have a lot of questions," admitted the Rear Admiral as he looked at the sword in his hand.

    "If you survive this, then I will be more than happy to answer all of them," I assured him. "But the most important thing to know is to not hack off any limbs unless it is the head."

    "Dare I ask why?"

    I shrugged in response as Wang Chao took the first step out of the gate and into the fray. "Because they multiply," came my oversimplified answer.

    "Yup, so many questions," Zhou Gang Jia groaned as I followed my four men out of the gate and ahead of the rest of the men. Zhou Gang Jia was at my side, staring at the seemingly never ending horde of zombies.

    Even I had to admit the number looked a lot smaller from the watch tower, or maybe more had gathered as we prepared things on our side. Either way, there were a lot of them. Hopefully, there were a lot of us too.

    "Don''t cut off limbs, cut off heads, call for fire. Am I missing anything?" Zhou Gang Jia asked, taking a deep breath. The calmness was back, only emphasized by the winter setting.

    "Don''t leave my side," I answered as one zombie stepped out of the horde. "Do you boys have this?" I called out. I would not stop them if they wanted to answer a challenge, but I would always stand by their side when they needed me.

    "I got it," said Liu Yu Zeng as he too took a step forward. The Rear Admiral looked on in absolute fascination.

    "What is going on?" he demanded, his eyes narrowing on Liu Yu Zeng and the lone zombie.

    "Alpha battle," I replied, my eyes never leaving my man.

    A low, rumbling growl echoed on the cold wind, seemingly spreading for miles before the sound died off. The zombie Alpha looked at Liu Yu Zeng in front of him and snarled, showing off his teeth, but only a small amount of them. I wondered what his game n was. Normally an Alpha showed as much dominance as possible as soon as possible to end things quickly, but this did not seem to be the case for him.

    What kind of Alpha was he?

    Liu Yu Zeng returned the gesture with a low growl of his own and he allowed his poisonous mist to engulf the lower half of his body. Small tendrils of it seemed to slither across the white snow, edging closer and closer to the zombie.

    "Don''t kill him yet," I called out to the man in front of me. "Not unless you want to take over his horde," I advised. I was more than willing to put up with all the military people around me, the human ones at least, but I firmly drew the line at the zombies.

    What? A girl needed to know when to put her foot down!

    I saw Liu Yu Zeng nod his head that he had heard me and I hoped that that would be enough.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "What do you mean?" asked the Rear Admiral like a toddler with 100,000 questions. Sighing in a bit of frustration, I answered him.

    "We are still early into this whole thing, and so there is a lot of¡­ power ys¡­ going on. These zombies might have been military before which is why they came here. But anyways¡­ Think of this as a general trying to find the right captain for his team, he might interview a lot of people, look through files, that sort of thing. Zombies aren''t as big on paperwork as they are on actualbat. So, the strongest one wins control over the horde."

    "You mean, we can get zombies on our side by having these battles?" Rear Admiral Zhou Gang Jia asked, pleasure lighting up his eyes.

    "I don''t know," I replied sarcastically, "How confident would you be that a shark was on your side simply because you were stronger? Or how confident would you be riding a tiger, knowing that at some point in time, you had to get off?"

    Men tended to be all the same, especially those that were destined to be heads of a safe zone. I mean, technically, it had been done before, taking over a zombie horde. That was how I knew the oue of an Alpha battle, but I also knew that those safe zones also fell in less than 3 months after that.

    I straightened up, my eyes wide at the thought that never urred to me before. That was the n! "It''s a fucking Trojan horse!" I muttered under my breath, my eyes frantically going to Wang Chao who was standing between Liu Wei and Chen Zi Han. As if sensing my gaze, or maybe even my thoughts, Wang Chao looked over at me and quickly came to my side.

    "Do you guys know what a Trojan Horse is?" I asked desperately. This was one of those lessons that had stuck with me in my first life, one of the few military strategies that was so effective that it was passed down through the ages as both a lesson and a warning.

    Wang Chao and Zhou Gang Jia looked at each other and shook their heads. I paused. If they, two people involved in such a significant way in the military, didn''t know about it¡­ then how could the zombies be employing this tactic? Was I overthinking things?

    "Just say everything out loud and we can figure it out," said Wang Chao as he pulled me into his arms.

    "The Trojan Horse is one of the most famous military tactics in my first life," I started, ignoring the questioning look of the toddler listening to our conversation. "It is based on the story of a long war between two countries, neither one winning, until one day, one army, the Greeks, went to the gates of the City of Troy with a giant wooden horse. Knocking on the door, they said that they had given up and that they knew that the King of Troy loved statues of horses, so this was their peace gift.

    "The wooden horse, which was several stories tall, was dragged through the gates of Troy by the Trojan soldiers and a great party was held over the end of the war. What the Trojans did not know what that the horse was hollow inside, allowing the other army to hide within it."

    "They brought their enemies into their city themselves," whispered Zhou Gang Jia as he looked between me and the horde outside.

    I nodded, "The Trojans,pletely drunk from the party were easy pickings and the Greeks were able to win a war thatsted 10 years in a single night."

    "You think that the zombies are doing that?" asked Wang Chao.

    I nodded my head again, looking at the posturing between Liu Yu Zeng and the zombie ''Alpha''. "There were many safe zones that thought having their own zombie horde attached to them would make them almost invincible. Humans would leave them alone and zombies, if any attacked, would be killed by other zombies.

    "But that is not what happened," said Zhou Gang Jia, his eyes widening.

    I shook my head. "Every base that took in their own horde of zombies fell in under three months," I admitted.

    "A zombie version of a Trojan Horse," said Wang Chao,ing to the same conclusion that I did.

    "But how would they know about it if you guys didn''t," I said, questioning my thought process.

    "I don''t know," admitted Wang Chao as Liu Yu Zeng''s ck mist engulfed the zombie in front of him, effectively killing him without the use of my fire.

    "Beware of zombie bearing gifts I guess," I said, as the zombies tilted their heads to the side, exposing their throats in submission.

    "What are we going to do now?" asked Zhou Gang Jia, watching the same scene that I was.

 Chapter 108 108

    ?

    "Kill them all," said Wang Chao and me at the same time. Raising his voice, Wang Chao repeated his statement; "Kill them all!"

    The other three men looked at him for confirmation before letting out a roar of their own and sprinting to the zombies still showing their throats. There was a panicked sounding from the middle of the horde before the zombies straightened their necks and dropped back their heads, showing off their teeth.

    "What do we do?" asked the Rear Admiral again, looking around at the chaos. Our men, not the military but the ones that traveled across the country with us, rushed into the thick of things, swinging their swords, and taking off heads as fast as they could.

    I released my fire,bining the pink me and the blue me in order to create the hotter purple me, and allowed countless balls to hang over the heads of the fighters, ready to attack when needed. "We fight," I replied, taking my own sword and narrowing my eyes on the opponents in front of me. "Remember, take the heads, the mes will do the rest," I reassured him as the first zombie approached me with the unnatural speed that only their kind possessed.

    Swinging my sword, I managed to take the head in a single blow and then allowed the mes to consume the rest of the body. As I felt the purple mes taking more and more energy from me, I froze. "Regroup!" I screamed, willing our men to return to our side. Confused, they obeyed without question, forming a single line by the gates. "Guns!" I called. I knew the guns were useless, but I needed the projectile to allow my mes to consume the zombie from the inside out.

    Only by taking out their mes could I gain more and more power.

    "What are you doing?" yelled Zhou Gang Jia as he looked at me. My white parka was taking on avender tone to it as I called all of my mes back and surrounded myself with their warmth. What could I say? I was good at multitasking. Not only was I using my me to kill the zombies, but I was also using it to keep me warm. Next time I was going with the snow pants option, no matter what.

    "Fire!" shouted Liu Wei, looking at me. As the bombardment of bullets rained down on the zombies, I followed each one with a small purple me, willing it into the zombie and watching as it consume each one of their own mes. I could feel the huge influx of power, and I had an epiphany; unlike any other fire user, the zombies made me more powerful, not less. I looked over at Liu Yu Zeng and opened my eyes in an unspoken question. He nodded and released his ck mist, allowing it to flow up and consume the zombie in front of him.

    "Stronger," he said in a clipped tone. I nodded my head in agreement. "Same." Both of our powers allowed us to consume the me within the zombie and kill them without the need to burn their bodies to ashes.

    "The rest need to practice," snapped Chen Zi Han as he looked back and forth between us. I nodded and Wang Chao called an end to the barrage of gunfire.

    The men stepped forward when the possibility of friendly fire was no longer an option and I allowed my purple mes to consume the dead bodies. It was a much slower process and used up a lot more of my power, but Chen Zi Han was correct, the others needed to use this opportunity to practice.

    "What is going on?" asked Liu Wei as he looked back and forth between his brother and me.

    "Each zombie has a candle, a me inside it," I said, trying to describe what I saw to the men around me. The only sound we could hear was the battle going on in front of us, but not a word was spoken within our group. Even Zhou Gang Jia had stopped asking questions.

    "It drains my power to fight them this way," I said, a wave of my hand indicating the mes suspended in mid-air waiting until they were needed. "But if I can somehow get my me inside of them, then I can absorb their fire, strengthening my own."

    "It is the same for me," admitted Liu Yu Zeng. "My poison engulfs them, snuffing out the light inside of them, killing them instantly. I also get a power rush."

    "Is it just you two?" asked Liu Wei.

    "No idea, but I think it is connected to your most powerful¡­ power," I said, not sure how to describe it.

    Liu Wei took a step in front, bombarding the zombie not paying attention to us with air and water, but nothing happened. "I don''t feel anything like that," he confessed looking at his hands in disappointment.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "But those two aren''t your only powers," I said, reminding him. "You are also a power user, a fighter."

    Thinking things through for a second, Liu Wei rushed up to the closest zombie and wrapped his hand around its neck. The zombie struggled for a few seconds before it simply slumped down¡­ dead. "I could feel it," said Liu Wei in awe as he returned to the group. Looking first at his hands and then up at me, he continued, "I could feel it, as if when I grabbed the neck, I was grabbing the me instead. As I squeezed the neck, the me flickered and then went out."

    "So you literally have the hands of death," joked Liu Yu Zeng, adding some levity to the whole somber situation. Liu Wei cuffed him upside the head before returning his attention back to the group.

    "Is this normal?" he asked.

    "I have never heard of it before," I admitted, not liking the fact that there was something I did not know. I was the one responsible for their safety and if I didn''t know something, then how could I help them survive in this world?

    "Let me try," said Wang Chao as he stepped forward next, a zombie already in his eyesight. Raising his hand as if he was trying to touch the zombie, he stared at it before clenching his fist. The zombie, still several feet away, fell dead. "Spirit," he said as he looked at his right hand that was still in a fist. "I pictured a candle in the darkness and then me crushing it."

    "Okay," I said smiling. "So, we are all badasses," I joked, not knowing what else to do. No one had been able to kill the zombies in such a way in the past. In fact, at the time of my death, the zombies had very much won the war against humans and there was noing back from it.

    "None of my individual powers work," said a very subdued Chen Zi Han as he started at one zombie in particr that was dealing with an onught of earth, fire, and water.

    I thought about it for a second. "I have a suggestion, but I don''t know if it can be done. I don''t know anyone that had three powers, but maybe, you are going about it the wrong way."

    Chen Zi Han turned his head away from the zombie that kept regenerating and looked at me. "At this point, I am willing to try anything," he admitted and I saw what it was costing him to admit that he was not as powerful as the other three men.

    "You are using your powers one at a time, what happens if you trybining them all together?" I said cautiously. "I mean, I wouldn''t even know how to go about doing it, but if you think about it, earth, water, and fire,bined bring forth life, right? I mean, you can''t grow food without the ground, the sun, and water¡­ what if it was the same with your powers?"

    "I am not exactly trying to make a bigger zombie," he said, rolling his eyes, trying not to snap at me out of pure frustration.

    "I don''t mean that, I mean, if youbine everything together, it might be stronger than if you did them all separately. Anyways, it was a dumb idea," I admitted. But a part of me knew that I was on the right track. "Famine," I whispered.

    "What?" said Chen Zi Han, snapping his head around to look at me like the idea of a famine spoke to him.

    "If the three can cause something to grow, then can''t the threebined also take away?" I said, trying to exin my thought process. I loved growing things, but I also knew that too much of any of those elements would be disastrous for my crops.

    "Famine," he whispered to himself as he turned his attention back to the zombie that was rushing towards us now that we had his attention.

    Raising his hand in a simr fashion to the other three men, his eyes turned pitched ck and I saw swirls of green, red, and blue where his irises should be. Shaking my head, I dismissed his eyes to turn my attention back to the zombie he was experimenting on.

 Chapter 109 109

    ?

    As Chen Zi Han slowly closed his right hand into a fist, I saw the zombie he was experimenting on be withered and even more skeletal than before. It was almost as if the life was being drained out of the creature. I ignored the outside world and concentrated, trying to see the candle inside the zombie.

    Finally finding that small light in the darkness I watched as it struggled back and forth, bing weaker and weaker until it waspletely extinguished. I adjusted my vision back to the real world and saw the once-healthy zombie crumble to dust and slowly blow away in the wind.

    It was a very Buffy-esque moment if I was beingpletely honest.

    "The trick was not to put my power into it," said Chen Zi Han as he walked over to where we were standing. Coming to a halt in front of me, he gave me a tender kiss on the forehead. "The trick was to pull my power out of it, and let it wither that way."

    "I have to admit," I said as I looked up at him with a smile. "That was pretty cool."

    "As ''cool'' as mine?" asked Liu Wei winking at me.

    "Sure," I said, a huge smile on my face.

    I turned my attention away from the guys and the Rear Admiral at my side and focused on the other battle going on in front of the Navy Base. If it didn''t make me soundpletely bad, I would fully admit topletely forgetting about our men and the soldiers¡­ but since I was sure that that would be a bad thing to admit to, I kept my mouth shut.

    "Is it just me, or are there more zombies than before?" I asked, trying to do a very shitty job at a head count. Wang Chao and Liu Wei came to stand beside me, doing a head count of their own.

    "No, there definitely seems to be more," the two admitted. Apparently giving a bunch of people swords that had never used them before was not the best part of my n. I watched as another arm got hacked off and a zombie clone emerged from the severed limb.

    "You boys want to try out more of your powers?" I asked looking at them. My powers needed an injury of some kind to get my me inside so I was going to have to y least in sight and stand back from this battle. The boys though, seemed to have a good hold on their powers so they might as well stretch them out a bit.

    They nodded and went off to help the poor newbies fend off the horde.

    "Still think fighting zombies is easy?" I asked Zhou Gang Jia as he kept trying to cut off the head while avoiding the zombie''s ws at the same time. At least he was more sessful at the second one than the first.

    His silence was enough of an answer and I chuckled. "You know, if it wasn''t for you, I would be able to be home at my ranch, buried in a pile of nkets on my king-sized bed, not worried at all about frigging zombies," I pointed out as the zombie in front of us continued to attack.

    "No one asked you toe," said the Rear Admiral between pants.

    "That''s where you are wrong. General Fuck Face told us toe here and pick you up because you weren''t answering your phone." I ducked out of the way of the ws and simplyughed at the frustrated expression on the zombie''s face. However, I knew that we needed to kill them and fast before they decided that we were too tough of prey and retreated. It was a very delicate bnce between letting the clock run and getting the training in and not letting it go on long enough that they escaped.

    After the Trojan Horse stunt they pulled, I was not going to let a single one live.

    "General Fuck Face?" Zhou Gang Jia let out a bark ofughter, narrowly avoiding getting skewered by the nails.

    I paused for a second, trying to remember the General''s actual name. "Country K Army General Yang Bo Wen," I said with as much formality as I could. "Recently deceased," I added with a smile. I might not have been the one to kill him, but I definitely was not shedding any tears over it either.

    "How did he die?" asked Zhou Gang Jia as he paused to turn and look at me. Stupid man. I threw a me at the zombie''s face, picturing it entering through the holes where the nose should have been. It worked! I didn''t need the guns to create an entrance, there were enough entrances on them as it was. Why did I never consider that before?

    "Sorry, what?" I said,ing back to the moment and realizing that the Rear Admiral and I were in the middle of a conversation.

    "How did he die?"

    "Who?" I asked, confused. I concentrated my fire to see if I could get it in any time a zombie opened its mouth. Sess!

    "General Yang Bo Wen," snapped Zhou Gang Jia as he turned his attention to the next zombie that was approaching him.

    "Who''s that?" I replied, the name not ringing any bells.

    "General Fuck Face," came the grumbled answer, as if the man could not believe that he stooped so low as to actually say it.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Zombie horde."

    "What?"

    "He and his men were killed on the highway, trying to get to you, by a zombie horde," I said as I watched yet another zombie burn from the inside out. I needed to see if I could just attack their mes, rather than the body itself. Kind of like what Wang Chao did. But he was spirit so that might not work for me.

    "Could you have saved him?" came a voice behind me. I turned to look at the Rear Admiral. He was just standing there, staring at me like we did not have over a hundred zombies in front of us with more being created every second.

    "Yes," I said simply and with a sinister smile.

    "Then why didn''t you?" he demanded like it was my responsibility to keep everyone alive simply because that was what he wanted.

    "Why would I have to?" I shot back, this time turning my full focus on the man standing in front of me. I raised a wall of purple mes to keep the zombies away because, for some reason, this conversation could not wait until we were in a safer ce.

    "You should have protected him!" the Rear Admiral yelled. "Or at the very least, Wang Chao and Liu Wei should have protected him even if you were too scared to."

    "Too scared to?" I said with a bark ofughter. "Who do you think you are?" I asked in all seriousness. I knew how important this man was to Wang Chao and Liu Wei. That was the whole reason why they couldn''t have said no after rescuing Liu Wei''s family. But the man needed to learn a few important facts first.

    Standing up straight, and stillpletely forgetting that we were surrounded by zombies, he snarled out his answer. "I am Rear Admiral Zhou Gang Jia of the Country K Navy and Officer in Charge of City J Naval Base."

    I nodded my head, "Impressive. Do you know who I am?" I asked in all seriousness.

    "You are Li Dai Lu," he snarled.

    "Exactly," I hissed my response. "I am Li Dai Lu, I am a citizen of Country K and in no way, shape, or form part of the military. So, why do I have to save a fucking Army General?"

    "Then Wang Chao or Liu Wei should have saved him."

    "And how were they going to do that?" I asked, my temper rising. General Yang Bo Wen did nothing to deserve any type of sacrifice from my men and I would burn the world down if they were injured and General Fuck Face was safe.

    "They have powers," he said, waving his hand like he was talking about having a gun.

    "They didn''t then," I liedpletely straight-faced.

    "They should have saved him!" yelled Zhou Gang Jia with way more strength and conviction than was warranted in this circumstance.

    "That man was a piece of trash in an ill-fitting uniform," I informed the man coldly. "And before you open your mouth to say another word, think about this: you have yet to kill a single zombie. Who are you to pretend that Wang Chao and Liu Wei could take on a hungry horde by themselves?" Completely done with the conversation, and feeling more than a little guilty that I screwed things up with the man that was so important to the boys, I let the mes die back and walked away.

    Yes, I could have saved the General, his team, and all of the civilians he allowed to tag along with them. But then what?

    Then I would have to stay by his side, constantly protecting those that he wanted me to protect while taking all of the credit for himself. And where would it end? I let out a dark chuckle as I walked towards the closed gates and simply leaned against it.

    Let them all die, I said over and over again, trying to remind myself of step one. Outside of the boys, the rest of the people didn''t deserve my sacrifices.

    I angrily wiped away a tear that was trying to roll down my cheek, but it was too damn cold and ended up freezing to my eyshes.

    Just my luck.

 Chapter 110 110

    ?

    Pulling my hand out of my nice, warm mitten, I melted the tear on my eysh and then quickly put my hand back into its nice, warm space. Did I mention that my hand was nice and warm? I chuckled to myself as thoughts of me diving into a nest of nkets on the floor of my bedroom the same way my hand dived back into the mitten circled through my mind.

    But from warm, fluffy thoughts straight to reality, I needed to n my next step. In my head, I knew what I should be doing, and I knew what I would need to do next. But at what cost?

    I slowly started shutting myself down, just like one of my foster mothers showed me how to do. I stretched my neck, hearing the clicking of my bonesing into (or out of) alignment. I pulled every thought in my head deep down inside of me, so deep that even I couldn''t hear the running monologue that arguably kept me sane most of my lives.

    If I had pulled that stunt in my past life, I would have been thrown to the horde out front faster than I could yell ''fuck''.

    I knew that arguing with the head of a safety zone was a stupid decision to make, and yet¡­ I did it.

    And I probably pissed off the boyos just as much as I pissed off the Rear Admiral¡­ whatever his face is. I let my mind gopletely nk and simply started counting.

    1¡­2¡­3¡­4¡­5¡­

    50¡­

    And that''s when I saw them. I¡ªit is hard for me to describe what had appeared in front of my eyes. I was no longer in front of the Navy Base of City J, there was no longer a horde of zombies in front of me fighting the humans that lived there. There was simply darkness.

    And mes. Hundreds upon hundreds of mes.

    Four mes stood out,pletely separate from everything else, even though they were surrounded by other mes. These four mes were each a different color, but I instinctively knew who they were.

    The first me was pristine white and flickered with a life that would not be put out. It was Liu Yu Zeng. I sighed, seeing how strong the me was, happy that he was not hurt.

    The second me was red. But not the bright red of a normal me, nor the dull red of a fine wine. This red was twinged with dark purple¡­ a crimson me, almost like the color of blood. This one was Wang Chao and his me shone the brightest of all, even if I knew he was not the first. But he was safe and healthy and his me called to me just as strongly as the white me.

    A bit further away was a third me, almost as ck as the darkness that surrounded it, but I could still see the flickering, the movement of the me against the stillness of the background. Chen Zi Han, my monster in the darkness in the best of ways. I wanted to reach my hand out to touch the fire, but I held back, looking for the fourth and final me.

    And there it was, almost beside me, a pale me, more silver and gold than any other color, but as the me flickered it became a metallic grey color. I stared at the mepletely entranced as it flickered within reach, begging me to touch it. Liu Wei, I breathed as the me flickered again as it engulfed the fires around it.

    My joker, my savior, my solemn knight, my salvation. I could see everything that they were in those mes as if they would always be my beacon in the darkness, my way home when I got lost.

    And I guess I was a bit lost right now.

    I stared at the mes around my four knights trying to see if I could sense anything about them. Anything at all that might let me know who or what they were. But there was nothing. They all looked and felt the same. Should I take the risk and consume all of them?

    There was a part inside of me that screamed for it, that demanded that they sacrifice their mes for me. But the more rational part of me knew that I couldn''t, that some of those mes were important to my men and as such, I couldn''t touch them. But oh¡­ how I wanted to.

    Shaking that thought from my head, I brought myself back into the present and the ongoing battle. I could tell that the humans were starting to tire out. No matter how much training they did before, it is a lot different to physically fight something and try to take their heads than it was to simply point and shoot a gun.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Do not get me wrong, I have the utmost respect for *most* of the men and women that have put their lives on the line to protect others. And I am happy that technology advanced enough that wars were no longer fought and won on giant battlefields using swords, spears, bows, and shields.

    But at the same time, war got easier when it was just a press of a button. Now, however, it was back to being bloody, where you had to look the person in the eye as you took their head.

    I shook my head as visions of old Greek battles of the ancient era filled my mind with men riding horses and chariots into battle instead of tanks. I was bing too sentimental, I guess. I would need to change that fast.

    "Let''s wrap this up boys," I shouted into the chaos. There were more than a few grumbles at my glib remark, but the four that I was intending to get the message simplyughed.

    "Yes, My Queen," said Liu Wei as he gripped the necks of the two zombies in front of them. My vision shed back into the darkness as the mes were extinguished. I was finding it easier and easier to switch back and forth and wondered if maybe I had gotten a spirit power as well. I would have to ask Wang Chao about itter.

    Wang Chao no longer really bothered killing on a one-on-one basis. Instead of clenching his fist, he simply waved his arm and several zombies fell at the same time. "Showoff," grumbled Liu Yu Zeng as he let his mist engulf several other zombies, killing them instantly. It looked like everyone was bing more powerful the longer they fought.

    And that idea made me smile.

    These four men in front of me were impossibly strong in a way that no one in my past life had ever been. Even Wang Zo Mo couldn''t manipte his poison with such uracy. He killed everyone and everything with it while Liu Yu Zeng wielded it with deadly precision, not allowing it to infect the humans even if they were touching the zombie at the time.

    I felt my body rx as I understood that I no longer had to worry about how they would survive in theing years. Now I just had to figure out if I was going to survive alongside them.

    I was still desperate for home, for the one that I built with my own hands and supplies, the one that was never supposed to be tainted with the outside world.

    But the boys were different. I couldn''t see them happy at the ranch, nting fields of wheat and rice and hay. They had a much different calling, one that might just end up saving the world one day if I didn''t hold them back.

    Listen to me, so sentimental. I lowered my head and chuckled, pushing all the thoughts out of my head so that when I saw Wang Chao again he didn''t know the darkness of my mind. I would stand by my men as needed and I would stand in front of them too. But for now, let''s see where Rear Admiral Zhou Gang Jia''s head was at.

    Because if he, for one second, thought it would be okay to attack MY men, then I would take his head down to Hell with me, the consequences be damned.

    I quickly shook myself free from those thoughts, fighting the darkness that threatened to rise up and engulf me. I was not that type of person, I know I wasn''t. I was good, I was kind, and¡­..

    ''A sucker¡­ willing to put up with anything and anyone in the hopes that someone would love you,'' hissed a voice from the darkness. I cracked my neck as I watched the boyse closer to me, almost all of the zombies dead and ashes thanks to them.

    I might be a sucker, but at least I knew who I was. Refusing to push down the darkness for a third time, I simply embraced it. I was not a saint, and I was not a sinner, but I could and would be whatever the Hell I wanted to be. That was the lesson I learned in my previous life¡­

    Living only half a life was not living at all. Embrace the light, embrace the dark, and find¡­

    I shook my head. Stupid sentimental thoughts.

    "Hey boys," I shouted as they approached me. "Did you have fun?"

 Chapter 111 111

    ?

    The atmosphere was subdued after all of the zombies had been destroyed. The men and women that were once energetically looking forward to fighting a zombie now realized the challenges in front of them. They would have to train harder and faster, even in the dead of winter, if they wanted to survive their next encounter.

    They knew it, theirmanders knew it, but no one knew how to actually go about it. I kept my mouth shut as everyone filed into the entertainment room to be debriefed. I was snug between all four of my guys, Wang Chao in the front, Liu Wei at my back, and Liu Yu Zeng and Chen Zi Han to my left and right.

    I don''t know if Wang Chao could sense my unease and told the guys or if they just genuinely didn''t want me out of their sight. Either way, I was notining. Plus, given how tall they were, they managed to keep everyone from being able to stare at me.

    "You owe us some answers," said Rear Admiral Zhou Gang Jia as thest remaining soldiers filed in.

    "I don''t remember owing you any answers," disagreed Wang Chao as he found an empty seat. Leading me to it, he gently pushed me down until I wasfortably seated before the men formed a semicircle around me.

    "Not you," Zhou Gang Jia agreed as he allowed his voice to take on a softer tone when dealing with Wang Chao and Liu Wei. "Her," he said as he pointed a finger at me. I cracked my neck to relieve some of the pressure I was feeling, but I was too¡­ raw¡­ to deal with this much longer.

    I needed sleep and a chance to regroup before people started using me of things. I needed to be in control, and as I felt the darkness churning inside of me, I knew that I was as out of control as I have ever been.

    ''Kill them all,'' it hissed inside of my head.

    I closed my eyes and continued to stretch my neck, refusing to even acknowledge what the voice had said. I would be more than happy to embrace this dark side, I was not such an innocent angel that something like wanting to kill people left my heart shaken, but I would do it on my own terms.

    ''Kill them and be done with it!'' the hiss came again, this time more insistent and demanding.

    ''Oh, shut up,'' I hissed back,pletely unperturbed about having a conversation with myself. Silence met my statement and I smirked. Li Dai Lu 1 --- Internal Voice 0. I was crushing this shit.

    "She owes you nothing," said Wang Chao, pulling me back to reality.

    "If it weren''t for her, General Yang Bo Wen would still be alive and the zombies would not havee here!" replied the Rear Admiral.

    I would have epted this conversation in private¡­ wait, that wasn''t true¡­ I would have put up with it in private, but to have him screaming and yelling at me in front of my own men and people I don''t know? That was truly uneptable.

    "If it weren''t for me, you would have beenpletely overwhelmed by zombies right now," I pointed out. I was not responsible for bringing a zombie horde here. This was a major city, and as such, would have had many vine centers built to deal with the massive poption. They created their own zombies.

    "You do not speak unless you are asked to," said Zhou Gang Jia as he narrowed his eyes at me.

    "So, you can address me, but I can''t reply? That seems somewhat counterproductive," I said with a slight smirk on my face as I leaned back into the oversized chair and crossed my legs in front of me.

    "You will obey the orders of the Rear Admiral," said Zhao Jia Li as she came to stand beside the man.

    "I would like to point out that I am not military, so there is no need for me to be obeying anyone. Besides, I''m pretty sure that I suffer from theplete inability to obey anyone, so please ept my apologies for that."

    ''I think you will obey me just fine, little girl,'' came the low growl inside my head. Unlike the hissing sound, this voice caused me to close my eyes and shiver at its silky promises.

    ''You don''t y fair,'' I grumbled in reply.

    ''Nor do you want me to,'' agreed Wang Chao before he turned his attention back to the Rear Admiral and the man that he had admired for most of his career.

    "What is this about?" he demanded, no longer interested in beating around the bush. Given how tired I was, I was grateful.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "She let a General of the Country K''s military die without helping him," snapped the Rear Admiral, clearly not getting over the fact that General Fuck Face was dead. Was it really that big of a deal? The man was going to die one way or another. He was just put out of his misery sooner than expected.

    Well¡­ that''s a lie¡­ I expected it.

    "Sir," said Liu Wei as he adjusted his sses higher on his nose. "Have you actually been out of this base in thest month and a half?" he asked, looking at the man in front of him.

    Zhou Gang Jia didn''t say anything. We all knew that since the EMP had gone off on November 1st, the base was pretty much on lockdown with no oneing or going until they received orders from the capital.

    "No," confirmed Liu Wei. "So you have no idea what is actually going on outside of these walls, and yet you have no problem using Li Dai Lu of what? Going AWOL?"

    There was a shuffling sound as many of the soldiers around us became increasingly ufortable with the conversation. I was pretty sure that they had to be more tired than I was and just wanted to go to bed.

    "Everyone is dismissed," said Wang Chao, reading my thoughts. The men and women in the room moved faster than I thought possible, practically running out of the doors before the Rear Admiral could say something to stop them.

    "You have no right to dismiss my soldiers," snapped Zhou Gang Jia as he red at Wang Chao.

    "What is going on, Rear Admiral?" asked Wang Chao as he took one of the newly vacated seats beside me and looked at the man. "You hated that General as much as the rest of us did. And you didn''t see what happened. Those zombies easily killed over 200 people that day, and not all of them were for food."

    The Rear Admiral sat down in a chair of his own and let out a huge sigh. "It''s not that," he said, sounding so much more like the reasonable man that I had met before. "It is everything."

    I let out a hum of agreement. I remembered when I first came to this world and how overwhelmed I felt, how I asked myself every day if this was going to be the day I died.

    Change was not easy, especially for humans.

    "Start with the first concern and let''s work this out," said Liu Wei as he, Liu Yu Zeng, and Chen Zi Han took their own chairs and gotfortable.

    "How do we defeat them?" asked Zhou Gang Jia as he looked from me to the men.

    "You train," I said as if it was the easiest thing in the world. And in a way, it was.

    The Rear Admiral simply rolled his eyes and looked at Wang Chao as if he would offer a better response. "You train," the lovely man agreed with me, reiterating my previous statement. "You learn what type of power user you are and you train."

    "We have our guns," said Zhou Gang Jia, not fully on board with learning about mutant powers. "We have our technology."

    I let out a snort ofughter at that statement. I remembered watching a nature documentary in my first life where a scientist was talking about his encounter with a leopard seal and how much it terrified him. "Humans, without our technology, are simply lunch," I said, repeating what the scientist had concluded.

    "Good things we still have our technology then," snapped Zhou Gang Jia. I was about to back off and let the men deal with everything, but I needed to make onest point.

    "Do we? Where? Because we are just counting down the days until our bullets are gone. We have already lost our electricity that pretty much ran everything. So, tell me, what technology do we still have?" I demanded as I took out a nket from my space and wrapped it around me.

    Thanks to our ingenuity and our ability to build things, humans had managed to convince themselves that they were at the top of the food chain. But in reality? Ants have more of a natural protection than we do.

 Chapter 112 112

    There had been ''talk'' in my past life that humans were really aliens that settled on this millions of years ago, and the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. Literally, everything on this from the insects to the animals to most nts had some type of protection against predators¡­ except humans.

    We used our intelligence to build homes that heated us when we were cold and cooled us when we were hot. We had no natural ability to regte our own body temperature to any efficient degree. A cat could go outside in winter and remain somewhat warm and then go back inside and not die of heat.

    But instead of teeth and ws, humans relied on swords, guns, and knives for defense. But they weren''t built into us. We weren''t born with them. In fact, most of the poption did not even know how to use any form of self-defense. We were literally just sitting here, ready to die.

    "Without our technology, we are just lunch," I reiterated quietly looking at Rear Admiral Zhou Gang Jia. "But with our powers, we might actually stand a chance." I mean, we didn''t in ourst life, but we also didn''t have the guys and their powers to take out the zombies in a single move.

    I felt a brief flutter of hope that maybe, this time, we could avoid the worst of what was toe. But then again, there were only 5 of us, could we really make that much of a difference?

    Only time would tell, I guess.

    "So, these powers are our only option?" asked Zhou Gang Jia with a sense of defeat in his voice.

    "Do you know how to make bullets?" I asked in return. "Do you have the supplies and abilities to do it?"

    The Rear Admiral simply looked at me like I had gone crazy. "No, I don''t," he admitted.

    I nodded, not trying to rub it in, but to emphasize my point. "When we had factories producing everything we needed from raw materials, we never thought about it. But now that we don''t have those factories, all we are left with is the raw materials and nothing more. And even then, trying to get those raw materials is a lot harder than you might imagine."

    "What do you suggest?" Zhou Gang Jia asked, looking at Wang Chao as if he had all the answers.

    "I think you should send people out for supplies," the man admitted as he looked at me. "Supplies will be the most important thing to keep us alive."

    The Rear Admiral nodded. "I''ll send them out in the spring," he agreed, not really thinking it through. I chuckled at his response.

    "You have never gone hungry, have you?" I asked, not expecting an answer.

    He didn''t bother to answer me because we all knew the answer. He did not understand that you could not put off looking for supplies for months simply because of the snow. Hell, I organized my entire year to avoid having to go out in the snow, but that didn''t mean that I wouldn''t do it.

    "Send a few groups out tomorrow," suggested Wang Chao as he stood up, clearly done with the conversation. "The rest can start trying to figure out what types of users they are."

    Reaching down to grab my hand, I quickly took his hand and sent my nket back into my space. "It has been a long day, we are going back to our room," said Liu Wei as we left the entertainment room. I was not looking forward to walking up 10 flights of stairs, but I would get over it if it meant that I couldy down in bed for a while.

    We were all quiet until we got to the apartment that we all shared. "Aliens?" asked Wang Chao as soon as the door closed behind Chen Zi Han.

    "What is this about aliens?" asked Liu Yu Zeng confused. "They aren''t going to show up, are they?" he continued with a slight hint of panic in his voice.

    I chuckled at his response. "No, as far as I know, no aliens will be showing up," I reassured him as I copsed onto the sectional. I swamped out the dead television for one in my space and set out a portable generator to be able to turn it on. I was in the mood for a movie before sleep.

    Taking out the DVD yer, I watched as Chen Zi Han started to set everything up. "It was a thought. In my first life there were people that thought humans could not be native to our simply because we didn''t have any natural defenses against predators," I said, trying to rify what Wang Chao had started.

    "I guess it makes sense," agreed Liu Yu Zeng as he came to sit down beside me and pulled my upper half into hisp. I rested my head against his chest and just listened to his heart. "I mean, we really have no way to protect ourselves aside from what we built."<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    His older brother hummed in agreement as he picked up my legs and put them on hisp, making himselffortable. Wang Chao chose to sit down in an oversized chair beside us.

    "What movie?" asked Chen Zi Han as he put a selection of 9 movies onto the coffee table for us to choose from.

    "Don''t care," I grumbled, really not willing to move.

    "This one," said Wang Chao as he picked a random action movie to put on. We all settled in and rxed, not caring about zombies or aliens or anything else for that matter.

    ---

    The next day started with fireworks before I even managed to open my eyes. Apparently, I had fallen asleep on Liu Yu Zeng, and instead of waking me up, he just repositioned us so that we were both sleeping lengthwise on the sectional. His arms still wrapped tightly around me.

    I groaned as the pounding on our door increased until the whole frame started shaking. "Wang Chao!" came the voice from the other side, the sound was like nails on a chalkboard and I tried to snuggle as far into Liu Yu Zeng as I could.

    I felt more than heard him chuckle before he opened his mouth. "Wang Chao, it''s for you," she shouted as if Wang Chao could not hear the chaos himself. He readjusted me in his arms so I was snug between him and the back of the couch and then brought up the nkets until only my face was revealed.

    "Go back to sleep, Sweetness," he said as he gently kissed me on the forehead. "There is no point in waking up right now."

    As much as I could feel the sleep calling me, my heavy eyelids drifting shut with every inhale, the pounding on the door was making it impossible to ignore. I heard a door open and a very pissed-off Liu Wei walked out of his room in only a pair of grey sweatpants. Running his hand through his hair and adjusting his sses, he quietly swore under his breath about the noise.

    "Fuck that," I yelled at him as he was about to open the door. "You go back into your room and put on a shirt young man," I said, not sure if I wanted to get off the couch to yell at him or if this would still make my point and not force me to move.

    I heard him chuckle as he popped his head over the back of the couch and looked down at me. "Jealous?" he asked. I let out a very undignified snort.

    "I have no need to be jealous. But she will die if she sees you like that. Unless you are okay with me walking around the entertainment room in just a sports bra and pants," I replied. Honestly, I was not jealous of Zhao Jia Li, I had no reason to be. As much as we never sat down and hashed it out. It was very clear that they were mine and I was theirs and that was just fine for all of us.

    We each managed to bring a missing part to the group that we all desperately needed, whether we knew it or not.

    No, I wasn''t jealous. But I would be damned if I let someone drool over something that was mine. "Point taken, Sweetheart," said Liu Wei as he bent down to kiss my forehead. Straightening, he went back to his room and came out with a hoodie on. "Better?" he asked before he went to open the door.

    I nodded my head and let him go find out what the harpy wanted.

    ---

    Pulling open the door, Liu Wei red at the two women before him. "What do you want?" he growled in apletely different voice than what he reserved for Li Dai Lu.

    "Sorry for disturbing you," said Huang Xiu Yan from where she stood behind a very pissed-off Zhao Jia Li.

    "Do you know what time it is?" demanded the enraged woman as she tried to push past Liu Wei and into the apartment. Not having any of it, Liu Wei refused to budge.

    "Nope," he said. "And I don''t really care."

 Chapter 113 113

    ?

    Liu Wei was decidedly unimpressed with Zhao Jia Li''s early morning interruption. It wasn''t as if he was getting as good of a sleep as his brother, but it was still something. Waking up to her incessant banging had just managed to give him a headache.

    "You guys were supposed to be downstairs an hour ago for assignments," said Zhao Jia Li as she continued to look around for Wang Chao.

    Liu Wei raised an eyebrow to look at the woman in front of him. "Assignments?" He knew what she was talking about. During his time in the military, there were all sorts of assignments, but they were now civilians, for all intents and purposes, so what fucking assignments?

    "Yes," she nodded like some Captain had the ability to order around a retired Major or a retired General for that reason. "You and Wang Chao are supposed to join my group in the training gym to help us figure out our powers."

    Liu Wei looked at her like she was speaking a differentnguage. "I''m sorry, what?" he asked. He was pretty sure that the woman in front of him had a screw loose or something.

    "You and Wang Chao are going to teach me, my team, and the rest of the people here how to ess any superpowers we might have," said Zhao Jia Li with a smile on her face.

    "And the rest of my team?" asked Liu Wei, crossing his arms, and leaning against the door frame.

    "What about them?" she replied, confused as to why he was bringing up unrted people. "I am sure that the Rear Admiral has ns for them," she said, waving her hand in the air like it was not an important matter.

    Raising his eyebrow he turned to look at Huang Xiu Yan who was waiting quietly behind her Captain. "Do you have any ideas?" he asked letting her feel the full force of his stare.

    "ording to rule 24 (f), nonmilitary personnel cannot attend military training due to its specific nature. Therefore, Li Dai Lu, Liu Yu Zeng, and Chen Zi Han are to go out and collect supplies on their own until such a time that all military training has beenpleted," said Huang Xiu Yan,ing to attention under Liu Wei''s gaze.

    He let out a low chuckle and promptly mmed the door in the face of the two women. He might not hate Huang Xiu Yan as much as Zhao Jia Li, but neither one was Li Dai Lu and so he really didn''t care what they thought.

    There was maybe a two-second pause before the pounding resumed. Unconcerned, Liu Wei made his way back over to the couch where Li Dai Lu had fallen back asleep on top of his younger brother. "Comfortable?" he sneered as Li Dai Lu stirred with the constant knocking.

    "Jealousy is not an attractive look on you, brother," smiled Liu Yu Zeng, one of his arms behind his head and the second one wrapped possessively around Li Dai Lu, preventing her from rolling off of him and onto the floor.

    Liu Wei simply smiled, admitting that he wished that he was the one that she used as a mattress, but he also knew that his time woulde. This was not a sprint where the first one automatically won, this was a marathon, and the only winner would be his Queen.

    "What the fuck is that noise?" demanded Wang Chao as he came out of his room. His own grey sweatpants were riding low, showing off his 8-pack and Adonis belt. Unfortunately for him, the one that he wanted to impress was still very much asleep. And he knew that waking her up would have the opposite effect.

    "Your girlfriend," smiled Liu Wei as he brushed a strand of hair off of Li Dai Lu''s face.

    "Funny, I''m pretty sure that she is currently asleep, and so, not banging on the door hard enough to wake the dead," said Wang Chao, his expression and his voice monotoned, andpletely unimpressed.

    Liu Yu Zeng gently chuckled, not willing to disturb the sleeping beauty on him, but also not able to refrain fromughing. "Is there something funny?" asked Wang Chao, turning from Li Dai Lu to Liu Yu Zeng.

    "Considering the fact that the dead have indeed awakened, I think you need a new expression," said Liu Yu Zeng with a smile on his face.

    "Noted," deadpanned Wang Chao as he moved to go answer the door.

    "If you want to stay in our little group, I suggest you put on a shirt," said Liu Wei with a smirk. "Li Dai Lu doesn''t like the idea of anyone else seeing what is hers."

    "She told you that?" asked Wang Chao with a smile of his own.

    "Not in so many words¡­ more of an order for me to go put on a shirt if I was going to answer the door," smiled Liu Wei as he recalled her expression, partly pissed and partly sleepy.

    Wang Chao turned around and went back into his room without another word. Taking a few minutes, he returned to the living room, fully dressed. Seeing the Liu Brothers with Li Dai Lu, he went to the door to see who it was. At least, at the end of the day, he knew that the brothers would protect their queen from anyone dumb enough to cause her harm.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Opening the door, he quickly got out of the way before the hand of the intruder could hit him instead of the door. "Wang Chao!" gasped Zhao Jia Li as she quickly retracted her hand. "Sorry! I didn''t realize that it was you."

    "You didn''t know it was me? This is my room, who else would it be?" said Wang Chao looking at her like she was crazy.

    "I know this is your room," she stammered with a blush. "But Liu Wei opened the door the first time, so I could only assume that he was sharing a room with you."

    "Liu Wei opened the door?" Wang Chao asked, looking over his shoulder at the man in question. Liu Wei nodded his head but continued to stare at Li Dai Lu as she slept.

    "And yet you kept knocking even after he closed the door in your face?" Wang Chao seemed confused, as to why she persisted in knocking when she must have already delivered the message.

    "Well," said Zhou Jia Li as she looked around for an excuse. "I told him that you and he had to report an hour ago for an assignment," she started, changing her approach.

    "What assignment?"

    "You are to teach the different teams today how to ess and use their superpowers," came the confident reply. "It was the Rear Admiral''s order," she continued as if that made all the difference in the world.

    Wang Chao nodded his head and crossed his arms across his chest as he stared at the woman in front of him. If that were the case, then Liu Wei would have rounded everyone up and not continued to stare at Li Dai Lu like a creepy stalker. There must be something more going on.

    "Just me and him?" he asked, tilting his head to look at the girl behind her captain. Seeing Huang Xiu Yan nodding her head, he began to understand where this was going.

    "What about the others?" he demanded, his gaze never leaving the second girl.

    She nervously cleared her throat. As much as she had been hanging out with Li Dai Lu, she was not asfortable around the guys as she was with her. "ording to protocol, nonmilitary members cannot see or have ess to our training, so the Rear Admiral has proposed that they go out and collect supplies."

    Wang Chao let out a bark of surprisedughter. "So, Li Dai Lu, Liu Yu Zeng, and Chen Zi Han are to go out and collect supplies?" When Huang Xiu Yan nodded her head, he continued, "What team was going to go with them?"

    She looked down at the floor, a light blush turned her cheeks a pinkish color. "No others, just the three of them. The rest were to attend the training."

    Wang Chao frowned and nodded his head that he understood. Not willing to wait around, Huang Xiu Yan quickly left the hallway to return to the training room where everyone was waiting for the youngest General in Country K''s history.

    "Wang¡ª" Zhao Jia Li started, only to be cut off by a door mming in her face for the second time in less than 15 minutes.

    Wang Chao looked at the men assembled in the living room, each taking up position around Li Dai Lu as if she was the sun and they were helpless to resist her gravitational pull.

    "Well?" Wang Chao asked as he found his own position within her orbit.

    Liu Wei simply let out a sarcasticugh as he yed with a strand of ck hair that hung over the couch. He had positioned himself quitefortably on the floor while leaning against the couch. This way, he was within easy arm''s reach in case Zhou Jia Li managed to worm her way into the apartment.

    "Do we even count as still being part of the military? I mean, I am pretty sure that my service record shows that I am retired," pointed out Liu Wei as he stared down at the silken strands that slipped between his fingers like water.

    "That was so we could investigate General Heung and the Blood Moon Organization," said Wang Chao as he waved his hand.

    "And yet, we are still honorably discharged," smiled Liu Wei. "Besides, what military?" he asked, his own eyebrow raised in challenge.

    Wang Chao could only grunt in agreement.

 Chapter 114 114

    ?

    Apparently, I was more tired than I thought I was because I must have fallen back asleep since the Wicked Witch of the West came this morning. Poor Chen Zi Han was tasked with waking me up like I was some kind of wild animal that would attack when provoked. For the record, I was not.

    He gently rubbed my back, encouraging me to get up and get my cups of coffee that they had specially prepared for me. I was being treated like a Queen and I would fully admit to loving every minute of it.

    Why they didn''t get Liu Yu Zeng to wake me up, seeing as how I was sleeping on the man, I didn''t know. But I wasn''t going toin either. There was something about the calmness around Chen Zi Han that make me more rxed around him. Like even if I bit off his head, he would still just smile.

    I made it into a sitting position with Liu Wei handing me a cup of coffee before anyone spoke. In fact, if I was more awake, I might have thought that they were waiting for me to finish my first cup before they brought up whatever was on their mind.

    But that was stupid. Right?

    "Apparently, everyone on the base is waiting for us in the training rooms downstairs," said Wang Chao as he watched Liu Wei trade out one cup of coffee for another, this time with a carrot muffin on the side.

    "Okay?" I said, not sure what he was getting at.

    "But you, Liu Yu Zeng, and Chen Zi Han are not wee in the training area," said Liu Wei, knowing how much I hated for bad news to be drawn out. But was this really bad news?

    "So we get to stay here?" I asked, not seeing a downside to this yet.

    "No, unfortunately, the Rear Admiral would like you three to go out and collect supplies," admitted Wang Chao as he looked at me. A smile formed on my face at the idea of going out to get supplies. As long as I didn''t have to drive, or be in a car, I should be good.

    "But there is a catch," continued Liu Wei as he crouched down and rested his hands on my knees. I raised an eyebrow, this catch had to be big if Liu Wei needed to tell me like this. "They aren''t sending anyone from the base out with you."

    I let out a surprised bark ofughter. Unable to stop, I continued to chortle until the men looked at me as if I had gone insane. "And they put this man as the head of the safe zone?" I continued to chuckle. "It won''tst long if that is the case."

    "What do you mean?" asked Liu Yu Zeng, clearly surprised at my reaction.

    "Only an idiot would send people that he didn''t trust out to grab supplies while those that he does trust remain inside the base," I said, trying to point out the w in the Rear Admiral''s logic. "You might want to teach him."

    Wang Chao nodded his head, understanding what I was getting at. Supplies were literally the only thing that stood between you and certain death. By sending someone you didn''t trust out to collect them, you are simply allowing them to collect whatever they wanted with no need to hand them into the safe zone afterward. At the very least, he should have sent a watchdog to watch over me and make sure I was being honest.

    Now I just had to figure out if I was going to keep the supplies for myself or share them. Yes, I knew I didn''t technically need them, but there was nothing saying that I wouldn''t need them in the future. You were never supposed to be stocking up for today or even tomorrow¡­ if you were, you were in a lot of trouble and more than likely had one foot in the grave as it was.

    Supplies were always for future use.

    But I digress, the Rear Admiral, whether he did it out of spite or because his hands were tied, let me have a free day with two of my guys doing one of the things that I liked the most. It must be my birthday.

    "Is it?" asked Wang Chao, stunned.

    "Is it what?" I asked, confused.

    "Your birthday?"

    I shook my head. "That was in October," I admitted as Wang Chao and Liu Wei shot to their feet.

    "Why didn''t you say anything?!?" they demanded, looking at me like I had just confessed to murdering someone. My eyes widened, not understanding just what was going on.

    "We had enough shit to do in October, my birthday was pretty far down on the list," I admitted with a shrug. "Besides, I don''t know when is this body''s birthday so it seemed weird to celebrate it."<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "This body?" asked Chen Zi Han and I realized that I had never told them that this was not my original body. They knew I was reborn, but not that I transmigrated before that.

    "Yeah," I said shyly. "I took over this body three years into the apocalypse."

    "I thought you were reborn," said Liu Yu Zeng, looking at me like I had grown a second head. Maybe I should have kept my mouth shut about that small fact.

    "I was," I admitted. "But this is my third life," I continued. "Maybe I''m like a cat and will have 9 lives," I joked, trying to liven up the atmosphere.

    None of the guys looked impressed with that statement. "So¡­. Supplies," I said quickly, trying to change the subject before they could get even more worked up. I didn''t know if they were more upset over the transmigration or the idea that I might die another 6 times.

    "Definitely the idea of you dying 6 more times," said Wang Chao, reading my mind.

    "Don''t worry," I assured him. "If something does happen, I wille looking for all of you."

    I received four grunts in reply before Liu Wei stood up and offered me a hand. "That is two cups of coffee, so you should be feeling a bit more human," he said as he helped me up into a standing position. "You guys go get the supplies."

    Liu Yu Zeng, Chen Zi Han, and I nodded our heads and started getting dressed in our snowsuits. I was determined to wear my snow pants this time around, but it did take me a few tries to figure out where I had put them.

    All bundled up, the three of us left the apartment and started to walk down the stairs. "Damnit," I grumbled as I started to overheat in all my gear. I started to take off myyers as we continued to go down the remaining flights of stairs. It was just as important not to get too hot in your gear before leaving as it was to be dressed properly for the outside.

    The more you sweated, the colder you would be once you got outside. It was a very delicate bnce. Then again, if I didn''t have to walk down 13 flights of stairs, I would not have this problem.

    The men behind me simply chuckled. "You good, Sweetness?" asked Liu Yu Zeng as he watched me unzip my parka.

    "Yeah," I grumbled, "I just forgot about overheating. I guess it has been a while."

    "Does that mean the winter gets better?" asked Chen Zi Han, not even breaking a sweat after all the walking and gear. Maybe it was just me that was dressed like the Abominable Snowman.

    "No," I scoffed. "If it''s not freezing, there is a lot of snow. I guess I just didn''t really remember."

    The guys grunted as we reached the lobby and I started to get dressed all over again. Hopefully I wouldn''t get too much of a chill.

    Ready to face the great beyond and look around City J, I opened the lobby door and made my way to the gate. There was no problem leaving the base, but a small part was worried if I could get back on afterward.

    Fingers crossed the boys had fun today and could get us back if needed.

    -----

    "You arete," pointed out Rear Admiral Zhou Gang Jia as Wang Chao and Liu Wei opened the doors to the training hall, located in the basement of the apartmentplex.

    Wang Chao raised an eyebrow as he looked at the older man in front of him. Although he did not believe in regretting his decisions, a part of him wondered if things would be better if they had stayed in City A. At least that way Li Dai Lu would still be at her ranch and not off to get supplies for the base.

    "Last we checked, we were no longer military, so, we didn''t know if we should be able to attend this training session," said Liu Wei, his typical assistant mask on his face. Without Li Dai Lu around, there was no point in showing his emotions.

    Zhou Gang Jia froze for a second, not realizing that they had officially been ssified as retired. He knew they would be going deep undercover for whatever the Brass had sent them to do, but he didn''t know that they would no longer be in the army. Then he shook his head. "That doesn''t matter," he said, looking at the two men in front of him. "We need you to teach us how to use our powers."

 Chapter 115 115

    ?

    Wang Chao let out a low chuckle, "Then the person you need just got sent out to collect supplies. May I suggest that you wait for them toe back before starting the training?"

    "What are you talking about?" asked Zhou Gang Jia as he looked at Wang Chao in confusion. "You guys have powers; you should be able to train us in them too."

    "We don''t all have the same powers," pointed out Liu Wei from where he stood just behind Wang Chao. "You first have to determine why type of power user you are before you can figure out how to use them. In fact, given how many people are here today, it will take a while to sort people out let alone teach them how to ess their power on demand."

    "See, you know what you are doing, there is no problem with you training us," said the Rear Admiral looking happy that things worked out ording to n. Liu Wei just rolled his eyes from behind Wang Chao''s back. If Zhou Gang Jia really wanted the best of the best to train his men then he should not have sent Li Dai Lu and the others out for a bullshit reason.

    Not that he thought supplies were bullshit, he would never say that or even think it around Li Dai Lu. He was pretty sure that that was the quickest way to die was to insult supplies. A small smile appeared on his face as he thought about Li Dai Lu, but the screeching sound of nails on a chalkboard snapped him out of his thoughts.

    "Wang Chao! You''re here!" said Zhao Jia Li as she came trotting up to where the three men stood. "I''ll get you to train my team first!"

    Wang Chao turned to Zhou Gang Jia, "She is the one that runs things here?" he asked in a sarcastic manner. Since when did a mere captain have that much authority?

    "Her father," said Zhou Gang Jia cringing. Everyone knew or at least heard of Zhao Jun De, the current head of the Zhao family from City A. Wang Chao and Liu Wei could not dismiss the amount of power that the man held, but like Li Dai Lu was quick to point out, the end of the world changed a lot of power structures.

    "Her father is hundreds of miles always, back in City A, which would be more than a month of traveling to get to. And there are no phones avable either. Just how much power do you think that man has to be able to protect his daughter all the way out here?" asked Wang Chao as he ignored Zhao Jia Li''s gasp.

    "He has done a lot for the military of Country K," said Zhou Gang Jia, somewhat insulted by what Wang Chao was saying.

    "And there is no longer a military in Country K," pointed out Liu Wei. He truly respected Zhou Gang Jia and thought that he was a great leader and soldier, but now¡­

    "You are acting like it is the end of the world. Like we are in the middle of an apocalypse or something. As soon as the power is turned back on, everything will go back to normal¡­ and people have long memories," said Zhou Gang Jia tilting his head towards Zhao Jia Li to indicate that she is the one with the long memory.

    Wang Chao snorted. "I thought that when Li Dai Lu talked about the Normalcy Bias, it was a short-term thing," he said to Liu Wei over his shoulder. Liu Wei just smirked in return. It was hard to believe that such a practical man like the Rear Admiral would think that things would go back to normal as soon as the power was restored.

    "And the zombies that you fought yesterday?" asked Wang Chao, wondering how he was going to exin that one away.

    "I doubt they were zombies," he denied, "Probably just people hyped up on drugs or something like that. I had read that some drugs gives the users the feeling of immunity or immortality and that getting shot doesn''t hurt them."

    Wang Chao and Liu Wei turned to look at each other. There was no way that someone could actually believe that¡­ right?

    "Then if everything is normal, why do you want to be trained as a power user?" asked Wang Chao genuinely confused.

    "Because having people with superpowers in K''s miliary would make us one of the most powerful countries in the world. And if you two could have it, then so could others," said Zhou Gang Jia. Wang Chao simply sighed, wishing he was out with the others to collect supplies.

    "Fine," he said, defeated. "Let''s get this over and done with."<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    ----

    The gates shut behind us with such a sound of finality that it caused my heart to beat for a second in pure panic. I didn''t like the idea of us splitting up. It was like a feeling of impending doom descending on me when we were missing one of the boys. To have two missing, was just¡­.

    "It will be okay," said Chen Zi Han as he came up beside me and wrapped an arm around my waist. Well, at least tried to. The snow suit was too bulky for him to get all the way around, but it still made me smile.

    "I know," I replied. And I did. I had faith and confidence in Wang Chao and Liu Wei, and I knew that they woulde looking for us if we didn''t make it back tonight. Taking a deep breath, I forced myself to calm down and look around. All we could see was a whitendscape with both red and blue blood staining the pristine color of the snow. In the distance we could make out somerger buildings, but I didn''t know what was in them.

    "Any idea what way we should go?" I asked with a helpless smile on my face. Wang Chao and Liu Wei were our guides in this city as they had lived here for a few years while they were still in the Navy.

    "When it doubt, go straight," said Liu Yu Zeng as he came around to my other side and put his hand on the small of my back. Pushing me forward, we left the base and started our search for supplies.

    "Isn''t it always turn right?" I asked, somewhat confused. I had always thought that as long as your turned right, you would eventually find your way back again. Meh, straight works just as well.

    "But there should be a grocery store of some kind around here? Right?" asked Chen Zi Han stealing the thought from my head. I mean, there was a base right here, plus what looked like a park, homes and a few other buildings that could be stores, but they were all too buried in the snow for us to tell.

    "Ah crap," I groaned at that idea.

    "What?" asked the guys as they turned to look at me.

    "Just wondering if we are going to have to shovel our way into any stores for supplies," I grumbled, stretching my neck. My back was already hurting just imagining the amount of snow it had to move.

    Liu Yu Zeng just chuckled and pushed me forward. "Are supplies really that big of a deal?" he asked and I gasped in outrage. Smacking him a few time on his chest (not like it hurt between my mitten and his parka) I red at the man in front of me. "Supplies are always a big deal," I grumbled, wondering where I went wrong with this man.

    "Yes, I understand that. I was talking about getting ay of thend first and then grab whatever supplies we need. If we are staying here for a while, we need to know more than just the base."

    Well, he wasn''t wrong. "Okay, fearless leader, lead us away," I said as I started forward.

    "I hate to break it to you, but you would be the fearless leader of our group," chuckled Liu Yu Zeng and he and Chen Zi Han followed me. I scoffed at the thought. While I loved the idea of being the leader of the group, I don''t think any of these men would really be willing to give up that much control. But then again, they always listened to me and tried their best to amodate what I said, so I do have to give them credit for that. They always treated me with respect and as a equal.

    Although I don''t think I would mind if they were a bit moremanding in certain situations¡­ I quickly shook that thought out of my head and turned my attention back to the path leading towards the city in front of me.

    Trudging through the snow, I was kind of grateful for the zombies yesterday creating such a nice, t surface to walk on. If we had to break our own paths through the snow we would be too tried to function after and hour or so. Now¡­ all I needed was to get supplies, figure out my way around City J, and hopefully not run into any hordes.

    Should be easy, right?

 Chapter 116 116

    ?

    We were walking for maybe 10 minutes with absolutely nothing alive around us. This wasn''t the eerie stillness before an attack, this was more of a ''it''s too fricking cold to go outside'' type of thing.

    "Fuck this," I grumbled as myshes started to ice over from my breath. Taking out the Ripsaw EV2 ATV, I climbed into the passenger seat, letting Liu Yu Zeng and Chen Zi Han to fight over who would drive. Chen Zi Han won. I guess he had driven Liu Yu Zeng around a lot before, so he technically had more practical diving experience than Liu Yu Zeng.

    "You know, I used to race cars, right?" pouted Liu Yu Zeng from the back of the ATV. He was strapped into one of the seats on either side of the enclosed space.

    Hearing that, my eyes widened and I looked at Chen Zi Han in fear. I did not want a man that equated driving race cars to driving me in the middle of the snow and ice. Chen Zi Han just chuckled at my expression and patted me on the knee. "And that is why I am driving," he assured me. I was sure that we were both not mentioning the fact that he had no experience when it came to driving in the snow, but I trusted him to take his time.

    It''s not like we really had anywhere to go, so there was no point in rushing. Plus, this thing had the same treads and design as a tank, so I was pretty sure that we would be just fine.

    We made great time, these things designed for all types of climates and road conditions. I could almost ignore my crippling fear of driving in the winter as this vehicle seemed to be extremely safe and secure.

    And then the gas light went on.

    In case you were wondering, no, I did not throw any extra gas into my space, I left all of that on the ranch. You know, the ce that I thought I would be? But that is miles away from my current location and as such,pletely, utterly¡­ useless.

    I heard Liu Yu Zengughing from the back seat. "What?" I turned around and snapped at him.

    "Sorry," he said, waving his hand in front of his face. "I just find it funny that you have everything in your space except for gas."

    "Yeah, yeah,ugh it up," I grumbled as I turned on my phone. Realizing that it was nothing more than a paperweight without the inte, I threw it back into my space and crossed my arms in front of me.

    "Don''t worry, Princess," smoothed Chen Zi Han as he briefly looked over at me.

    I must say, I was falling for this man more and more, and for the weirdest of reasons. Case in point? My heart rate picked up and I blushed over the fact that he was driving slow, with his hands at 11 and 2, and was keeping his whole focus on the road in front of him simply because he knew I was notfortable in this situation.

    That, my friends, was a keeper.

    "I can just make out a sign for a gas station in front of us. Maybe less than 2 minutes," he continued, having no idea where my thoughts had gone. And that was probably a good thing for me. I nodded, and sat back in my seat, trusting him to get me there safe and sound.

    "We should probably have a n put in ce," I admitted as I saw the gas station in front of us.

    "What do you mean?" asked Liu Yu Zeng already unbuckling his seatbelt.

    "Like how to deal with anyone inside, the number of supplies we will have ess to, what we need to bring back, and how to safely store the gas and diesel inside my space," I said, speaking my thoughts out loud as they appeared in my head.

    Honestly, the idea of meeting other people was stressing me out just as much as the idea of driving in the snow. In fact, I think I was just a bundle of nerves counting down the seconds until our group was back together again. Yes, I missed Wang Chao and Liu Wei, but this feeling was so much more than just missing them¡­ it was like the end of the world woulde if I didn''t get back to them and keep our group whole.

    Then again, the end of the world dide so I guess that was a pointlessparison.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    I took a deep breath and got out of the ATV. I had my gun strapped to the outside of my snowsuit, a knife at my hip and my sword sheathed at my back. Cracking my neck, I chuckled as Chen Zi Han hit the lock button on the car key, causing it to beep. It was such a normal sound that itpletely stood out.

    "I''ll get the gas," said Chen Zi Han as he moved towards the back of the Ripsaw, ready to fill the tank.

    "Remember that it is diesel," I shouted, not wanting him to put in the wrong fuel. As much as everything was ''gas'' in my head, I still tried to make sure that what I was putting in the vehicles was correct for those particr ones.

    Chen Zi Han simply waved his hand and started to pump the diesel into the ATV. And yes, the gas will still pump even after the electricity has gone out as Country K had enforced a new rule that all gas stations had to have generators in the case that the electricity was no longer avable. Plus, with all of the different pumps that actually bring the fuel from the tank to the pump, it only takes a bit of energy for it to work and the generators work on¡­ gas! It is a beautiful cycle if I do say so myself.

    See, stupid things you pick up when the worldes to an end. Gas stations will still work as long as there is fuel in their tanks.

    Now, how do I put those tanks into my space?

    I waited for Chen Zi Han to finish filling the ATV, still paying attention to the outside world to make sure that no one can sneak up on us before I attempted to get the tank into my space.

    Closing my eyes, I pictured what I thought the tank would look like beneath the surface. I didn''t know if it would work, this was my first time trying this, but when I saw a bright silver cylinder tank appearing in my space, I gave a little jump for joy.

    Chen Zi Han came around the ATV and looked at me and Liu Yu Zeng to see if we were ready. Nodding my head, the two men took out their 9mm guns and started to walk in a lowered stance toward the gas station store with me in the middle.

    However, the closer we got, the more warning bells rang in my head. I looked around to see where they could being from, but I couldn''t see anything. And maybe that was part of the problem.

    The windows of the convenience store seemed to be a one-way mirror, I could see me and the guys on the outside, but nothing on the inside. No, I didn''t think that a gas station would spend that type of money on a one-way mirror, but they probably had a reflective coating on the ss of some kind or other.

    All I knew was that anyone in the gas station would have no problems seeing me and my men, while we were sitting ducks. I kind of wished that we brought more of our men as backup, but I was trying to be nice and give them a day off after fighting the zombies yesterday.

    Yet another reason not to be kind and considerate.

    I heard Liu Yu Zeng let out a cackle as he brought his gun up higher. "Reminds me of that one time¡ª" he started before Chen Zi Han cut him off.

    "Yeah, yeah, just try not to get stabbed this time, please. I won''t be caring about you with Princess here and I will be more than happy to let you fend for yourself," said Chen Zi Han, not a hint of mirth in his voice. I raised my eyebrow.

    "Now you got me curious," I admitted, not bothering with my gun. I was starting to rely more on my mes right now than my guns. I would need them allter once the Reavers got going.

    "Ignore him," snapped Liu Yu Zeng. I guessed he realized that the story would not be painting him in apetent light. I simply chucked in response.

    Walking up to the ss doors, I looked at the men on either side of me. At their nod, I quickly opened the doors and stood stunned at the number of AK-15s pointed in the boy''s and my direction.

    "I really wish this would stop happening every time I opened a door," I grumbled as I watched one man step forward, his gun trained on me, his vision unwavering.

 Chapter 117 117

    ?

    "Lower your guns and toss your keys over here," said the man, clearly the leader of this group as he held his gun steady on me.

    "Is there any reason why you have your gun on me rather than the boys?" I asked. I knew that there were other guns on my men, but I wanted to know why the leader was focusing on me specifically. I mean, I thought that I looked the least threatening of the group. The other two were well over six feet tall and all muscles. Then again, it''s not like you could really see the muscles under all of ouryers.

    The man with the gun simply stared at me, his gaze never leaving mine as he waited for the boys to do as he said.

    Good luck with that.

    He jerked his gun when Chen Zi Han and Liu Yu Zeng didn''t move. I let out a quiet chuckle. "Do you really think that you are the big bad with that gun?" I asked, starting to not like the fact that so many guns were on the boys.

    "We have more than just guns," snarled another maning up between the leader and the other man that had his gun trained on Liu Yu Zeng. I looked at him and watched as a small red me appeared in his hand.

    I very slowly pped and my grin turned a bit more malevolent. "What? You have a lighter on you?" I smirked looking at his small me. Now, I was not one to judge the size of a me, I was very aware that even a small one could do a lot of damage, but it was clear based on the size and color that he was new to being a power user.

    (Get your minds out of the gutter, please. I am actually talking about his me and nothing else) *eye roll*

    The fire user let out a growl as his temper soared, causing his me to be bigger. The only problem was that he would not be able to keep it going for too long. I could already see a bead of sweating down his temple as he fought to keep his me going.

    Calling out my pink me, I set it on the palm of my right hand and stared at the man in front of me. "I''m pretty sure that mine is bigger than his, but if you want to measure, then by all means."

    I had a theory in my past life that the particr power user that you were was dependent on your personality. Those that had earth tended to be very grounded and calm. Those with the air were more bright and cheerful while those with water abilities were always the meticulous ones.

    Fire users though? We tended to be quick to temper. And I was no different.

    Still at an impasse, I looked at the leader in front of me. Waving my hand, Liu Yu Zeng and Chen Zi Han put their guns away and stood up straight beside me. "They have put their guns away. Now, where are the chocte bars? I''m in the mood for something sweet."

    The leader continued to put me in his sights, never once lowering his gun or allowing the men behind him to lower theirs.

    "What more do you want?" I snapped as I looked at the man in front of me. I was quickly losing what little patience I has.

    "Keys," he snapped back and I let out a sarcasticugh.

    "Not happening," I informed him. It was entirely my fault that he found out I had a working ATV, but that didn''t mean that I was willing to give up what was mine.

    "I can kill you and take it," replied the leader, taking the safety off.

    I let out a low chuckle. I didn''t respond well to threats. Maybe I shoulde with a warningbel¡­ cute and fuzzy until provoked¡­ or something along those lines. With a swipe of my hand, I took their guns into my space and simply smiled.

    "You were saying?" I asked, raising my eyebrow. Pushing past the men that were stunned silent, wondering where their guns has gone, I made my way to the cash register and where the chocte bars should be.

    Note I said should be¡­ because there was not a single chocte bar, gummy, Starburst, or gum sitting on the racks.

    Well¡­ maybe they were on a different shelf. That could happen! There should be a whole row of chocte things somewhere in the store.

    Once again, I had to push my way between the men and women that were using this ce as a sanctuary for some reason or another. Entering the aisles, I stared down the center at empty shelves.

    This was definitely not going as nned. I walked towards the back of the gas station store to where all of the refrigerators and freezers were and saw a bunch of drinks, ice cream containers, and frozen meals that were no longer frozen.

    I opened the fridge and grabbed any and all of the drinks that I could and made, even more, vanish into my space.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "You are taking everything!" yelled a middle-aged woman as she came rushing up to me, trying to hit me. Sliding out of the way, I looked at her in disbelief.

    "And you took all the chocte bars," I said. If she was going toin that I had taken all of their warm drinks, then I could just as easilyin about theck of chocte bars, or chips, or¡­.Cheese puffs¡­mmmmm¡­. Cheese puffs.

    I wonder if they were even a thing here since I have yet to find a bag of those orange yummies.

    My brain focused on the snacks I may or may not be missing out on, I didn''t see her nails until it was almost toote.

    Leaning away from her, I felt the rush of air brush past me and saw her coffin-style nails millimeters from my face.

    "That was uncalled for," I grumbled at the woman as I put all of the drinks into my space. And if I did it right, they should have gone directly into the fridge to hopefully cool down.

    Meh, if they were still warm, there was enough outside snow to make a fridge out of.

    "Those were ours!" she screeched, just as an older man came up behind her and wrapped an arm around her waist to hold her back.

    "You are right," I said with a bright smile on my face, "Those were yours, but now? They are mine."

    I walked through the crowd again, this time I didn''t need to push past anyone, they parted like the red seas.

    "Do you guys have Cheese puffs?" I asked, looking at my guys.

    "Sorry, Princess. Never heard of them," said Chen Zi Han, breaking the bad news to me. I will admit, a small part of me died when he said that.

    "Oh," I grumbled, looking down at the ground in disappointment. "Ready to find another ce?"

    "Do you ever read a room?" asked Liu Yu Zeng, a surprised look on his face.

    "Sometimes," I admitted. "But when you are the scariest one in a room, is there any need to read it?"

    "You really think you are the scariest thing around?" someone scoffed from the middle of the crowd.

    "No," I assured them. "Not the scariest thing around, just the scariest thing in this room."

    I opened the doors to leave when an unfamiliar hand grabbed my arm. Before I could even turn around to take a swing at the person, Chen Zi Han had the man pinned to the floor and cut off his air supply before I could say a word. "You do not touch," snarled Liu Yu Zeng as he crouched down beside the man. "Do you understand?"

    The man nodded as he gasped for breath, his face turning from red to purple as Chen Zi Han held him down. "Danger," gasped the man, looking between me and Liu Yu Zeng. "Danger, outside."

    "Let him up," I said to Chen Zi Han. He pulled the other man to his feet but refused to let go. Instead, he moved and put the other man into an armbar where if he struggled too much, he would end up breaking his own arm.

    "What did you say?" I asked as I approached the man in front of me. He was practically folded in two as he tried to relieve some of the pressure from his joints.

    "You can''t go outside. There is something that¡ª" the man couldn''t finish before the leader who originally held the gun to my head stepped forward.

    "What he is trying to say, if you would just let him go, is that there is something out there that is eating people. We''ve been trapped here for a month, but every time someone moves to leave, the¡­ thing¡­ would attack."

    Liu Yu Zeng and Chen Zi Han looked at me for confirmation. "Meh," I said with a shrug of my shoulders. "I guess I really am the scariest thing in this room." Turning back around, I stepped out of the door and into the blistering cold.

 Chapter 118 118

    ?

    "We need our guns," said the man that seemed to be leading the group inside the gas station. "It''s not safe without them."

    Chen Zi Han simply looked at the man in front of him. "Does it look like we have them?" he asked, holding his arms out to show that the guns weren''t on him.

    "You have to have them!" another one of the men said as he rushed up to where Chen Zi Han and Liu Yu Zeng were standing. "They were there in our hands and now they aren''t. I don''t know where you put them, but you clearly have them!" he insisted, his face turning red from anger.

    "No, we don''t," chuckled Liu Yu Zeng as he put a hand on his friend''s shoulders. "In fact, I am pretty sure your guns grew legs and just walked out," he continued, nodding his head to where they could clearly see Li Dai Lu. "But unfortunately for you, you pissed her off enough that I don''t think she is going to return them." Shrugging his shoulders, he clearly did not care about the guns or what the other men thought.

    His Sweetness just walked outside, knowing that there was danger, without a second thought. He really should tan her hide over that when he got around to it. A smile rose to his face over that thought. The two men, seemingly rxed with all the time in the world, followed their sun into the cold winter day and whatever dangers lurked in its shadows.

    -----

    "Did you miss the part where they said there was a human-eating monster around here?" shouted Liu Yu Zeng as he approached the ATV where I stood to the side.

    Turning my head to the man in front of me, I smiled. "Pretty sure it is already dead," I said as I looked around. The only man-eating monsters around were the zombies (right now) and unless I missed my guess, however many that were originally here probably ended up as part of the horde that attacked us yesterday.

    We were close enough to the base that they might have jumped into the horde looking for easier food. Or, they were still here and not willing to attack us for some reason or another. Either way, it was none of my business.

    "They want their guns back," pointed out Liu Yu Zeng as we got into the ATV and Chen Zi Han got it started. We would need to wait for a bit for it to warm up before we could leave.

    "And?" I asked, turning around to look at the man. "Are you asking me to give them back? Need I remind you that they were pointed at your head?" I demanded, wondering where he was going with this. If Liu Wei was my white night, all straight and narrow, Liu Yu Zeng was my grey knight. He was the one that I felt never saw things one way or another but lived in the grey areas outside of good and bad. If he was asking me to return the guns, I would¡­ but I had to say, I didn''t see thating.

    "I am not asking you to give them back by any means," he reassured me. "Just making sure that you remembered them."

    "There was a pirate movie in my first life," I said,pletely out of the blue, "It was really quite famous," I continued looking at Liu Yu Zeng. "There was a line that I always loved, and it went; ''Take what you can, give nothing back''. In my first life, I didn''t take anything that was not bought and paid for by me. In my second life, I took only as much as I needed, and then gave that away to the people that killed me. Now, in my third life¡­" I smile, a feral smile that was more of me baring my teeth than an actual smile. "In my third life¡­ I will take what I can and give nothing back."

    Liu Yu Zeng looked at me in the eyes before slowly nodding his head, "Seems like good advice," he admitted.

    "I think so," I replied as I turned back around. The car had finally heated up enough to be safe to drive and we pulled out of the gas station and continued on our way. The fact that nothing came out to attack us only emphasized my belief that there was no longer a zombie out there waiting for their food to be delivered.

    Still, given human nature, I didn''t think that anyone would dare venture out of the gas station to find out one way or another if the predator was still there. Then again, they really didn''t have much in terms of food so maybe hunger would be the driving force. Either way, they were safe¡­ for now.

    We turned out of the gas station and back onto the main road heading away from the base. Now that I had snack food in my head, I was determined to hit up as many gas stations as I could¡­ and grab their gas and diesel at the same time.

    At the second gas station, I had learned from the first and put away the ATV before it could be seen from inside. Grabbing both tanks this time, not just the gas one, I pulled open the door to the station and¡­

    It was empty.

    Somewhat happy that I didn''t have a gun pointed at my head, I walked around the store, grabbing whatever I could find. This time, I got more drinks, some chocte bars and candy, some beef jerky, and even a few bags of chips. Happy about my haul, I was practically buzzing as the guys and I left the safety of the store and stepped out into the winter wondend. <novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    And that was when I felt it. My skin seemed to crawl with the feeling of someone''s eyes on me, sizing me up. It was definitely not afortable feeling. Stopping dead in my tracks, I looked all around me to see where the feeling wasing from, but as quickly as it arrived, it disappeared, and I was left wondering what it was.

    "You okay, Princess?" asked Chen Zi Han as soon as he noticed me stopping.

    "Not sure," I admitted, still scanning around just in case the feeling came back.

    "What''s going on?" asked Liu Yu Zenging up to stand behind me as he too started to look around.

    "Nothing that I can put my finger on," I admitted, "But I could have sworn that there was someone or something staring at me just now." I shuddered as I thought about the feeling of being watched. I am not saying that I am all that and a bag of chips, but I have felt the boys watching me every so often, and this felt like nothing along those lines. This gaze was¡­ angry? Malevolent?

    I didn''t know how to describe it, but I knew that it meant me harm. I quickly took out the ATV and got in, locking the doors as soon as my men were secured beside me.

    "Should we check it out?" asked Chen Zi Han as he started the vehicle while looking around the area. And that was another problem. We were in the middle of a neighborhood, with small houses all around, and yet, there was not a single person that we could see, and there were still supplies at the gas station.

    There was something seriously wrong here, I just couldn''t figure out what it could be.

    I shook my head. There was no point in checking out something that I couldn''t pinpoint. "Flight, fight, or freeze," I said to the men, willing to let them make the next decision.

    "Flight," said Liu Yu Zeng, looking first at me and then at Chen Zi Han with a serious expression on his face. "Let''s get back to the base and regroup. We can figure things out tomorrow. Besides, the sun is going to be setting soon and I would much rather be in my bed than out here."

    "Awe, shucks," I grinned, as Chen Zi Han drove the car back the way we came. "And here was me hoping to share the couch with you again."

    "I volunteer as tribute," said Chen Zi Han before the other man could even open his mouth. I burst outughing.

    "I knew you would take a bullet for the man, but to go as far as to take a cuddle session for him? Now that is dedication," I joked, trying to lessen my tension.

    "Funny," said Liu Yu Zeng lookingpletely unimpressed in the back. "I don''t recall not wanting to cuddle with you again."

    "It doesn''t matter," chimed in Chen Zi Han as he focused on the road in front of us, his driving fast, but not dangerous. "I called it," he continued, shooting me a quick smile before returning his eyes to the front.

    I chuckled at the idea. "You know, I could snore, kick you in the middle of the night AND steal all the nkets," I pointed out.

    "And yet, still worth it," he assured me. Raising my eyebrows, I didn''t discourage him anymore.

    "Fine, I call tomorrow," grumbled the solemn voice from the back. I simplyughed, the feeling of being watched pushed into the back of my mind forter.

 Chapter 119 119

    ?

    We managed to make good time back to the base, but that was the end of my luck for the day. I made us stop the ATV just outside of eyesight from the base so that I could put it back into my space. I didn''t want them to know exactly what I was storing in there in case they started to have ideas about my supplies. And let''s face it¡­ that would be a death sentence.

    We walked up to the main gates at the base,pletely freezing. The sun was starting to go down and whatever little warmth it offered was starting to leave with it. Standing there with my teeth chattering, Chen Zi Han approached the guard house that was located on this side of the gate. We were all done for the day and just wanted to go somewhere warm for some hot chocte and a ce to sleep.

    Unfortunately for us, the guard just stared at us, his gun out but not pointing at us, yet. He said a few words to Chen Zi Han and I could see him getting pissed off. Turning around, he started to walk toward where Liu Yu Zeng and I were standing, waiting. "They won''t let us in. Said that we were not part of Country K''s military and as such, do not have permission to step foot onto the base," said Chen Zi Han as he pulled me into his chest so that my face would be out of the wind and cold.

    Peachy.

    I mean, I have to admit that I saw thising, it''s not like I went out of my way to make friends, but still, I thought that Wang Chao and Liu Wei would not let this happen. Stretching my neck from side to side while still buried in his warmth, I thought about what our next step was going to be.

    I could bring the others into my space for the night, but that really did not solve anything except for a ce to sleep. Even then, after spending a night in my space, it would only be a second of the normal time, so we would be stuck in this exact position and time when we came out.

    ''Is this your way of breaking up with me?'' I said inside my mind and tried to direct my thoughts to Wang Chao. I didn''t know his range for telepathy, but I was sure that I was still within hearing distance. I tried to keep my tone light, somewhat joking, but I also knew that I was failing spectacrly at it.

    However, I was too cold and tired to really care anymore.

    ''What?!'' shouted Wang Chao inside my head. Even just hearing his voice caused me to be able to rx deeper into Chen Zi Han''s embrace.

    ''So it wasn''t your idea to lock us out?'' I asked, knowing full well that it wasn''t. But I was in a bitchy mood and if anyone could yell at Rear Admiral Zhou Gang Jia and get away with it it was Wang Chao.

    ''Give me a second. Liu Wei ising out now to let you in,'' came the clipped response as Wang Chao''s temper rose. I was happy about that. I was getting colder and colder by the second as the wind started to pick up, and I would not be in the mood to yell at stupid people when I finally got inside. Wang Chao was more than wee to do that for me.

    We waited about five minutes before we saw Liu Wei striding out of the building in front of us and up to the guard house. I could practically see the waves of furying off of the man. I let out a small chuckle, "I''ve never seen him that pissed before," I admitted to the men beside me.

    "I only saw it once," admitted his brother, looking over at the man on the other side of the gates. "And it turned into a blood bath," he continued as we watched Liu Wei clock a guy in the face without even breaking a stride. The guard fell down to the groundpletely unconscious, but Liu Wei didn''t even spare him a look.

    Walking into the guard house, he pulled the second guard out of the building and took out his gun. As the second guard pleaded for his life, Liu Wei simply shot him in the face, not even flinching as the blood and brain stter decorated his face and the snow around him.

    Returning to the guard house, there were two more shots before I heard the sound of the gates opening.

    Liu Wei didn''t even bother to wait until the gates were fully opened before he strolled out to where the three of us stood. Pulling me away from Chen Zi Han, Liu Wei dropped his head and gave me a deep, hard kiss on the lips, the taste of blood mixing in with the taste of him.

    "I will kill anyone and everyone that tries to keep you from me," he said as he rested his forehead against mine. I simply nodded, my head and senses still reeling from that kiss. It was my first real kiss in three lifetimes, the kisses to the forehead and cheeks that the boys were giving me before not counting.

    My brain still fried, I felt Liu Wei picking me up, "Let''s go get you warmed up," he said to me before he looked over his shoulder to the two men behind him. "Wang Chao will meet us in our apartmentter. He has a few things to deal with."<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Chen Zi Han and Liu Yu Zeng simply nodded in response as the three of them strode through the opened gate and into the base. Chen Zi Han quickly darted into the guard house to close the gate. Stepping over the dead bodies, he pulled the lever and quickly followed after the rest of us as soon as the gates started to close again.

    "Are the dead bodies going to be a problem?" he asked looking at me. I thought about it for a second as Liu Wei''s steps brought us further and further from the entrance.

    "Not sure," I said honestly. "I mean, the zombies don''t like the taste of dead people. Ironic I know, but it might attract them enough to discover that there are living people here too." My decision was made, I quickly sent out my purple me and watches as it engulfed all the bodies I could and could not see as well as the blood in the snow.

    I briefly felt the eyes on me again, but just as I stiffened in fear, the feeling left again leaving me weak and shaken.

    I didn''t like not knowing what was going on. I had no idea who or what was staring at me, and to follow me from that second gas station to the base? It was moreplicated than a zombie looking for a meal.

    But I was definitely feeling hunted and I did not like that one bit.

    "We need to talk when we get inside," I confessed. As much as I wanted to say that I could deal with whatever was stalking me, I knew that it would be better to have the boys up to date on the situation. That way if something were to happen, they would not be in the dark.

    Liu Wei only grunted in acknowledgment as Liu Yu Zeng quickly opened the door to the apartmentplex on base and allowed Liu Wei (and me) inside the building without having to stop. I have to admit, I never knew that Liu Wei was in such good shape as he made it up the stairs without panting and with me still in his arms.

    But I could feel the swirling of emotions in him as I rested my head on his shoulder. "It''s okay," I whispered into his ear. He stumbled for a quick second before righting himself and continuing his path to our rooms. "I am right here," I assured him as I felt his arms tighten around me.

    I was getting hot now, dressed from head to toe in snow gear, but I was not going to ask Liu Wei to put me down. I could get undressed when we got to the room¡­ or whenever he decided to let me go. But with the fine tremor going through his body, I didn''t think that was going to happen any time soon.

    "You have to know we had nothing to do with that," he said as soon as we got into room 1373 and the door closed behind us.

    "Of course I know," I reassured him. And I did. As much as I might have joked with Wang Chao about using this as a way to break up with me, I knew that that was never going to happen. We were only whole when the five of us were together. I felt it and I knew that the boys did too. That was why there were no demands made between us to define rtionships or anything like that. I was as much a part of the boys as they were a part of me. It was as natural as breathing.

    You could ask me to choose only one, but that would be like asking me to pick between the air that kept me alive or my heart that did the same. Either way, the choice would kill me. I needed all four of them to stay alive.

    I did not care about how our rtionship looked to the outside world. This was something just for us, something special and different as much as we were special and different.

    And I would tear down the world if something happened to any of them or if someone tried to keep us apart. The Rear Admiral would pay for his role in keeping us apart.

    That was if Wang Chao didn''t get to him first.

 Chapter 120 120

    ?

    ''Is this your way of breaking up with me?'' asked a soft voice inside of Wang Chao''s head. He immediately froze when he heard her words, but it more than just the words that she spoke, he could hear the undercurrents of her heartbreak and unease.

    ''What?!'' he demanded, unable to contain his rage. He knew she didn''t mean it, that she knew there was no ce in this world that she could hide from him, let alone have him break up with her. But he didn''t understand what was going on.

    ''So it wasn''t your idea to lock us out?'' came the soft voice again. He could practically feel the need seeping into his muscles and bones, demanding that he fixed whatever she needed him to fix.

    Not caring about the group in front of him that was trying to learn how to use their powers, he turned around and searched the training hall for Liu Wei. "Si Wang!" he yelled and saw the desired effect. He had not called that name for years, as he did not need the consequences of calling Liu Wei that name. It was essentially a death sentence for whoever was on the other end.

    ''Give me a second,'' he said ''I''m sending Liu Wei out now to let you in.'' He felt more than heard her agreement and her need to be near them again.

    Liu Wei rushed up to Wang Chao''s side as he was having the conversation with Li Dai Lu, waiting for whatever orders woulde with calling him that name. He was more than willing to be Death if it meant keeping her.

    "Someone is keeping Li Dai Lu and the others out. You should exin to everyone why that is a bad idea," growled Wang Chao. Liu Wei nodded and quickly grabbed a parka before leaving the training hall. He would be more than happy to fulfill that order.

    Liu Wei could feel the darkness rushing through him at the very thought that she was locked out of the base and saw red when he thought about those who thought it would be a good idea.

    Leaving Wang Chao to handle the particrs, he concentrated on getting to his Sweetheart as fast as he could. God help whoever was in his way.

    Pulling out his gun from the holster on the small of his back, he checked the chamber and the magazine to make sure that it was fully loaded. He didn''t know how many people stood between them, but if the bullets weren''t enough, he would be more than happy to rip out their still-beating hearts.

    -----

    "What is going on?!?" shouted Rear Admiral Zhou Gang Jia as he approached Wang Chao who had walked away from the group he had been training.

    "Maybe I should ask you, Rear Admiral," replied Wang Chao, his voice turning cold as he looked at the man approaching him.

    "I have no idea what you mean," answered the other maning right up to Wang Chao''s face. "I know that you and Liu Wei are supposed to be teaching the others how to use their powers, but now Liu Wei is gone and you are not continuing the lesson," he continued. The Rear Admiral was not happy. It had taken him a few hours to understand how important these powers were but now that he did, he didn''t want any more dys in the training.

    "You really don''t know?" asked Wang Chao as he put one hand in his pocket and the other one quietly tapped against his thigh. The smile that was forming on his face was not one offort.

    "Just spit it out Captain," snapped Zhou Gang Jia, honestly not knowing what would have set this man off, but at the same time, not caring.

    "It''s General," replied Wang Chao, "And it is a higher ranking than yours, Rear Admiral, so I suggest you can the attitude and speak to me like you would one of your superiors." Wang Chao had never really cared about his rank. As far as he was concerned, it was nothing more than a headache. But that didn''t mean that he would be willing to put up with someone disrespecting his rank.

    Let alone disrespecting his woman.

    Zhou Gang Jia was taken aback when he heard Wang Chao''s words. In his head, he was always that Captain that he hadmanded for years, not someone that outranked him. Not to mention, he was the highest rank at this base right now. There were several other officers here that he conferred with, but they were still of a lower rank than he was.

    "I have no idea what you are talking about, Sir," he got out through gritted teeth. It literally choked him to have to call the man in front of him Sir.

    "Was it you that put out the order not to let Li Dai Lu, Liu Yu Zeng, or Chen Zi Han into the base?" Wang Chao asked, his stance seemingly rxed.

    "They are civilians, we cannot ept every civilian that wants to stay here," he said waiving his hand in the air like it was none of his concern if those people were allowed on the base or not.

    "I see," said Wang Chao as he studied the man in front of him. This man was not who or what he remembered and for the tenth time, he wondered if he made the correct decision to go and rescue him a month ago. "Then we have reached an impasse," he continued, looking at his fingernails. "Not only am I now considered a civilian, but you have taken it on yourself to lock my wife out of her current home."

    "Wife?!?" screeched Zhou Gang Jia. "I thought she was with Liu Wei," he admitted.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "That doesn''t really matter, now does it?" Wang Chao said. Everything in him was just begging to be released inside this man''s mind and killing him after finding out his deep, dark secrets.

    ''I got her,'' came a low voice from inside his head and Wang Chao was able to rx a fraction, his mind no longer calling for the Rear Admiral''s death after knowing that Li Dai Lu was safe.

    ''Is she ok?'' he asked, needing to know the answer more than his next breath.

    ''She is fine. Cold, but fine,'' he reassured him. Letting out a sigh of relief, Wang Chao grunted.

    ''I''ll be there as soon as I''m done with this. Make sure to get her some hot chocte,'' he said and felt Liu Wei roll his eyes.

    ''I am more than aware of how to take care of our Queen,'' he said before closing off the connection between the two men.

    "I''m afraid that you will probably need to put a new team out in the guard house. I can only imagine that the old one is all dead by now," said Wang Chao out loud as he looked at the man in front of him. "Liu Wei isn''t known for cleaning up his messes when he is in a hurry, so they might need to bring some things to clean up the blood and bodies."

    "What?!" yelled Zhou Gang Jia. "How could he kill members of the Country K military?!"

    "Because there is no longer a Country K military and they were between him and my wife," said Wang Chao calmly, pointing out the facts that the Rear Admiral refused to understand.

    "There will always be a Country K military," came the response. Wang Chao could only ignore the man, refusing to get into another argument over the same fact again and again.

    "Fix what you screwed up or we will be leaving tomorrow and no one will be around to teach your men anything," threatened Wang Chao, done with everything. He would not stand here when his little girl was waiting for him in their apartment. He could practically feel how much she needed everyone around her right now.

    "You will stop!" yelled Zhou Gang Jia as Wang Chao strolled out of the hall, not caring about anyone or anything that was not Li Dai Lu and his brothers.

    "I hope you make a smart decision," he replied as he waves his hand in goodbye.

    He managed to make it out of the hall and into the stairway before something grabbed the back of his shirt, forcing him to stop.

    Spinning around on the narrow step, he red down at the woman in front of him. "Never touch me again," he snarled. He hated being touched in general, but now that they had their Queen in their lives, he hated being touched by anyone else that much more.

    "You have to help us," pleaded Zhao Jia Li. "You are the only one that can. I can promise you that Daddy will leave you and your family alone if you just help us."

    "Do you really think that I give a flying fuck about you or your father?" Wang Chao snapped as he ripped her hand off of his body. "I didn''t care about him before the end of the world and I care even less about him now."

    "It''s not the end of the world! It''s just a power outage," she insisted grabbing at his arm again, refusing to let go. "And you know how Daddy is, he won''t stand by if you could have helped me but refused."

    "Sure," said Wang Chao nodding his head, his entire being now focused on the personing down the stairs. "Then I will start caring once you can actually get in contact with your father."

    "But Daddy¡ª" she continued.

    "Is she calling you Daddy? Or is a woman at her age still referring to her father as Daddy? Because either way, as much as I don''t kink shame, I don''t approve," came a voice that sounded like an angel behind him.

    Once again spinning around, he reached for his little girl behind him. "There is no way in Hell she is calling me Daddy," he assured her as he growled deep into her ear. "But I might make an exception for you," he promised.

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    ?

    "Sorry, Daddy," I said, turning my head to whisper in his ear. "That is not my kink," I continued with a wink. ''But if anyone could get me to yell Daddy, it would be you.'' Finishing the thought off in my head, I let out a gasp of surprise as he picked me up and flung me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

    Landing a crisp blow to my bottom, I squealed in surprise, but I also couldn''t help butugh at this yful side of his. And that was what it was, his yful side.

    We both sessfully managed to ignore Zhao Jia Li as she let out a high-pitched sound of her own in protest of our actions. "I will be telling Daddy about this!" she shouted after us as Wang Chao took the stairs two at a time.

    "Somehow, it is less sexy when she says it," I said with a fake shiver. Wang Chao only grunted in reply, giving me another smack.

    Being near him like this, or even not like this, allowed me to calm down from the anxious state I had been in all day and I sighed in contentment. Letting him carry me wherever he wanted, I simply hung here. Enjoying the moment.

    "You found her then?" yelled Liu Wei as we entered our apartment.

    "Yup!" Wang Chao replied as he carefully repositioned me until I was cradled in his arms before letting me stand on my own feet. I swayed a little as the blood rushed down from my head and back throughout my body where it belonged.

    "Wee home," said Chen Zi Han as he looked over the back of the couch. It looked like they had put on some alien movie to pass the time. Liu Wei walked into the living room from the kitchen carrying a big bowl of popcorn.

    "Just in time," he said as he gave me a quick kiss on the forehead. "I didn''t think you would want to miss it."

    Honestly, I was not a big fan of alien movies or horror movies of any kind. Throw in sher flicks and I was guaranteed to have nightmares all night long. What can I say? I can face down a zombie horde of shark-altered humans¡­ or was it human-altered sharks? Anyways, I could face those down without flinching, but having someone call me on the phone asking me if I like scary movies and I would be hiding in the closet for the rest of the week.

    What can I say? I''m unique.

    But sitting on a couch with all of the guys? I could more than deal with watching an alien movie where the crazy catdy turned out to be right.

    "How was your day?" asked Wang Chao as I leaned my upper body across his. Chen Zi Han had pulled my legs over his own and was giving me a foot massage. How could anyone not be content if this is what they came home to?

    "Made some friends," I said breezily, referring to the people in the first gas station. "Picked up some chocte bars and other goodies, I think I got a stalker, oh, and I pick up some more guns," I said as if it were just a normal day. I was hoping that by adding a stalker to the middle of my recap, the boys would overlook it.

    Unfortunately for me, Wang Chao and Liu Wei didn''t overlook anything. I guess that was what made Wang Chao such a sessful CEO and Liu Wei the perfect assistant.

    "Stalker?" Wang Chao demanded, even as his finger brushed over my bare arms softly. I had put a power generator and heater into the apartment so that we were able to stay nice and warm.

    "What?" I asked, feigning innocence. With a look of surprise on my face, like I just understood what he had said, I nodded my head. "You are right, Zhou Jia Li is quite the stalker," I continued, trying topletely divert the subject. Unfortunately, it was not nearly as sessful as I was hoping it would be.

    "She said that she felt eyes on her at the second gas station we went to," said Liu Yu Zeng from where he was sitting on the oversized chair.

    "I felt her fear for a brief second," admitted Chen Zi Han as he briefly squeezed my foot before going back to rub it.

    "I did too," echoed Liu Yu Zeng. "But I ignored it. I thought only those with the spirit powers could do the whole empath thing."

    "I think I felt it too," said Liu Wei, looking up at me from where he was sitting on the floor in front of the couch. "It twisted in my stomach, making me feel sick for a brief second and then it was gone."

    "What could it mean?" asked Wang Chao as he looked at me.

    "I have no idea," I admitted. I had never heard about a case where non-spirit users could develop a kind of empath power. <novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Putting that to the side, tell us more about this stalker," demanded Liu Wei.

    "I don''t suppose that he could have been so enamored by my beauty, that even in my parka and snow gear, he fell in love with me at first sight and was determined to make me his?" I said, a bit of a smile ying on my face. I willpletely admit to being a romance junky in my first life, and now that I had a phone and tablet filled with downloaded OTT romances, well¡­ let''s just say that I was a very happy camper.

    I felt the brief sting of a p on my leg as Chen Zi Han growled at my flippant response. "I think you have enough menpletely enamored by you that we don''t need to bring any more into the mix," he said and the other three men nodded their heads.

    "Ipletely agree," I said. The four of them gave me enough of a headache, I didn''t need to add a 5th one. We were perfect andplete just the way we were.

    "So, the stalker," said Liu Wei bringing me back to the current topic. "What makes you think that you have one?"

    I tilted my head down and looked at him seriously. "Are you doubting my thoughts and feelings?" I asked, somewhat pissed. It always seemed to go that way. A woman made aint against a man for harassment or stalking or abuse and all we were told was that we were imagining it, or we should take it as apliment or questioned if that really happened.

    It happened a few times in my first life to the point that I had to move to a different province just to get away from the guy.

    "I am never doubting you," reassured Liu Wei as he pulled on a strand of my hair that was hanging over the couch. Maybe I should get a haircut sometime since it was so long.

    "Don''t even think about it," grumbled Wang Chao. "Liu Wei is not the only one obsessed with your hair."

    "You know," said Liu Yu Zeng as he looked at me with a rare, serious look on his face. "I never realized just how good you were at changing topics that you were ufortable with."

    "I have no idea what you mean," I said returning his look. But I did. I knew that I could deflect with the best of them, it was one of the things that I picked up in foster care. If you don''t dwell on the bad, then you could almost convince yourself that it never happened.

    "Your stalker," he replied, speaking slowly and enunciating every syble.

    I sighed, knowing that I was not going to be able to get out of this. "I really don''t know, and I don''t know if I could even call him, her, it a stalker. It is just a feeling."

    "Don''t downy how you feel," said Wang Chao as he gently stroked my head. "Those feelings have proved right every time."

    I nodded in understanding. I needed to have more confidence in myself and in the guys around me. "I first felt it when we walked out of the second gas station. It was just like someone was staring at me, but instead of being an annoyance, it actually terrified me. Like whoever it was wanted me dead." I took a deep breath and pushed that memory to the side.

    "The second time I felt it was when I was inside the base and I let my purple fame burn the dead bodies of the guards. But that time it wasn''t as malevolent as it was the first time, more like curious as if it was trying to figure me out."

    "Do you think that it could be whatever the people in the first gas station were talking about? Where something was killing off anyone that step out of the doors?" asked Chen Zi Han.

    "I don''t know. If it was, then why didn''t it just kill us at the first gas station," I said, admitting that I had the very same thoughts. "And why did it follow us to the second gas station and finally back here to the base?"

    "I don''t know," admitted Wang Chao, his gaze off in the distance like he was trying to think something through. "But you don''t leave again without all of us," he dered, his voice full of authority. "Nobody goes off on their own until we can figure this out."

    "And the others?" asked Liu Wei looking at Wang Chao. He was referring to everyone else in the base.

    "Step one," he said, not saying anything else.

    And who was I to argue with the man?

 Chapter 122 122

    ?

    "You know, one of these days, someone is going to have to fill me in on what these steps are," grumbled Chen Zi Han as he switched from rubbing my feet to simply lightly brushing his fingers up and down my legs.

    I sighed as I enjoyed the movement of his fingers. "I don''t really know if they are still applicable, but when I was reborn here this time around, I cane up with some steps to survive the apocalypse," I said chuckling to myself as I thought back to the steps.

    "But from where I am standing right now, some of the steps seem¡­ redundant," I admitted, trying to remember everything on my list.

    "Like what?" asked Liu Yu Zeng as he turned around to look at me.

    "Like step one," I smiled. "My very first step to surviving the zombie apocalypse was to let them all die."

    "Them?" prodded Chen Zi Han.

    "People. I was going to hold up on my ranch and not care about anyone or anything," I said softly. "Every person in this world could and should die and I would not have an issue with that."

    "And then she met me and couldn''t bear the idea of letting me die," joked Liu Wei.

    Rolling my eyes, I hummed, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. Getting that fence put in and meeting Liu Wei was definitely the slippery slope that ended me up here, hundreds of miles from my sanctuary and everything I had built.

    "Do you regret it?" asked Wang Chao, causing a deafening silence to fill the room. None of the other men moved as I thought about my answer. I wanted to be truthful to both myself and them.

    "Every so often," I admitted. "But then I remembered that if we had never gone looking for Liu Wei''s family, I would never have met Liu Yu Zeng and Chen Zi Han, so it kind of bnces things out for me."

    There were almost inaudible signs of relief when I gave them my answer. "But like I said, pretty much every other step now seems like a waste of time."

    "How so?" demanded Liu Yu Zeng.

    "Step two: Buy a farm," I said counting off the steps on my fingers.

    "Which is what brought you to our attention," interjected Wang Chao. I simply hummed in agreement.

    "Step three: Sell my old ce."

    "Which was done by one of ourpanies," smirked Liu Wei as he looked at me.

    "Step four: Move onto the farm and build a fence."

    "Which is how you met me in person," pointed out Liu Wei. I was starting to see a trend.

    "Step five: Organize the pantry," I said, raising my eyebrow at Liu Wei in a challenge. Not even he could find a way to connect himself to organizing the pantry.

    "Which you needed when we moved in." The self-satisfied smirk was all that I needed to see before I rolled my eyes. That man could make absolutely everything about him.

    "Fine," said as this started to be a fun challenge for the two of us. "Step 6: Fill the pantry."

    "We helped you do that by buying supplies and you did it to be able to feed us," said Liu Wei raising his own eyebrow as if encouraging me to disagree. I could help but burst outughing.

    "Yeah, yeah," I chuckled as I thought about what number 7 was. "Step 7: Learn about EMPs."

    "Ah yes, back when Wang Chao thought that you were part of the Blood Moon Mercenaries. He was on the fence about you until we found out that you were looking up information about EMPs. Then he became interested."

    "You were on the fence about me?" I asked, tilting my head back to look at the man behind me.

    "Not once I saw you," he admitted.

    "What was step 8?" asked Liu Yu Zeng getting into this little game.

    "Gather guns and weapons," I groaned.

    "Which you got from us," said all four of the men at the same time. I looked at them in confusion.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "How?" I asked, not sure how my calling up Liu Wei to get the weapons was connected to Liu Yu Zeng or Chen Zi Han.

    "Where do you think he got all the weapons from?" demanded Liu Yu Zeng with a grumble of his own. "One day I had a warehouse full of weapons and then next more than half of them vanished. The only thing he said when I called him out on it was that they were a gift."

    That statement had me tilting back my head andughing uncontrobly. I had to admit it, without me realizing it, I had set myself on this path myself just by wanting to be alone. It was kind of ironic if you thought about it.

    "Was there anything else?" asked Chen Zi Han as he continued to trace his fingers all over my skin.

    "Not that I can really think of," I admitted. "But step one really stuck with me."

    Wang Chao just grunted in reply. "Should have paid more attention to that step," he said, causing the rest of us tough. The topic of the stalker was behind us, and even though we might not bring it up and have moved on, I know it was still in the back of all of our minds.

    ----

    "Have you made your decision?" asked Wang Chao as he opened the door to the apartment the next morning and saw Zhou Gang Jia on the other side.

    "Can Ie in?" demanded the Rear Admiral as he looked around.

    "Fine. But you will need to be quiet," replied Wang Chao as he invited the man into the apartment and gestured for him to sit down in the living room.

    "What do I need to be quiet?" Zhou Gang Jia asked in surprise.

    "Because some people are still sleeping."

    "Your wife?" he sneered as he took a seat in one of the oversized chairs facing the kitchen area.

    "Yes," said Wang Chao with a straight face. "And no one will wake her up before she is willing to." Just as he finished his sentence, Liu Wei and Liu Yu Zeng both came out of their rooms wearing a simple pair of ckbat pants and a ck T-shirt.

    "Still sleeping?" asked Liu Yu Zeng as he briefly nced around the room before heading to the kitchen to get a cup of coffee.

    "Yeah,"ughed Wang Chao as he sat down on the couch and made himselffortable. "But who would want to wake up, let alone wake her up in that situation?" The other two men grunted in agreement as they brought their coffees to the living room and picked seats around the Rear Admiral.

    "I call shotgun tonight," imed Liu Wei as he took a sip of his coffee.

    "Childish," said Wang Chao looking at his friend. "And you can''t. I already called it yesterday," he continued with a self-satisfied smirk on his face. Liu Wei narrowed his eyes at his friend.

    "You can''t do that," he growled, looking like he was willing to jump across the coffee table to attack Wang Chao.

    "Can and did," the other man stated. "Now, if we could get on with why the Rear Admiral is here before anyone elsees out of their room and all Hell breaks loose?"

    The three men turned their attention to Zhou Gang Jia as he sat quitefortably in their living room.

    "Are you not going to offer me a cup of coffee?" he demanded, internally drooling over the idea of a fresh cup of coffee. "And how did you manage to brew a pot of coffee anyways? And is it actually warm in here?" he continued to fire out his questions as he started to remove the outeryer of his clothes.

    "No and Li Dai Lu," said Liu Wei concisely. He knew that Li Dai Lu was concerned about her coffee supply, even though she has more than enough tost everyone for at least five years, plus had the ability to grow her own. Either way, Zhou Gang Jia was not weed to it.

    "I don''t understand," imed Zhou Gang Jia as he looked at the men around him.

    "No, you are not going to get a cup of coffee, and Li Dai Lu is the reason why we have the ability to have both coffee and heat," rified Wang Chao as he took a sip of his own cup. "Now, have you made your decision?"

    "I don''t know why this is so hard for you to ept," quipped the Rear Admiral as he attempted to stare Wang Chao down. "We do not allow civilians on base. It has always been that way."

    "Understood," replied Wang Chao as he finished his cup of coffee and stood up. "Then we will be out of here in under an hour."

    "What?!?" roared Zhou Gang Jia as he jumped to his feet. "Is this your way of threatening me so that I give in?" No longer caring about keeping his voice down, he pointed his finger at Wang Chao, his entire body shaking in anger.

    Due to the loudmotion, Chen Zi Han rushed out of his room in only a pair of pajama pants, a gun in his hand, and a look of absolute rage on his face.

 Chapter 123 123

    ?

    "What the fuck is going on?" growled Chen Zi Han, going from dead asleep to wide awake and ready to kill in under 2 seconds.

    "The Rear Admiral has said that civilians are not permitted on base, so I said that we would be ready to leave within the hour," said Wang Chao with a shrug of his shoulders, not at all perturbed by Chen Zi Han''s behavior. "Apparently he objected to that too."

    "And that was a good reason to scare Princess out of deep sleep?" the other man asked, still holding a gun to the one that didn''t belong in their apartment. The other three men cringed.

    "I''ll go make another pot of coffee," said Liu Wei as he darted into the kitchen.

    "I''ll go see if I can find any sweets around here," added Liu Yu Zeng as he too went into the kitchen looking for a breakfast offering. The world might be facing its most uncertain time yet, but the only thing scarier than outside was Li Dai Lu waking up before she was good and ready to.

    "What are we doing about him?" asked Chen Zi Han as the brothers got breakfast ready. Wang Chao turned to look at Zhou Gang Jia.

    "I do not make threats; I do not need to throw tantrums to get my way. Everyone in my group is a civilian, it ismon knowledge and is even clearly stated in our discharge papers. Therefore, if all civilians need to leave the base, that is fine. We are willing to go," said Wang Chao clearly. He didn''t care where he went and, now that he thought about it, he and Liu Wei should have an apartment in this city as well.

    "And if you leave, who is there to teach the men how to use their superpowers?" snarled Zhou Gang Jia.

    "Could you stop calling them superpowers?" asked a sleepy voice as Li Dai Lu walked through the bedroom door rubbing her still-closed eyes. "It''s not like anyone got bitten by a spider or is an alien from outer space. We are just humans with a gic mutation." Grumbling to herself, she made her way to the kitchen and to where Liu Wei was waiting with a giant cup of coffee. He quickly kissed her on the head and carefully guided her to the couch where she could take her time waking up.

    "Why are you still asleep?! Do you not realize that it is almost 8:30 am? You should have been up hours ago," snapped Zhou Gang Jia, finally finding someone that he could take his temper out on.

    Silence filled the room as Wang Chao rubbed his forehead back and forth, trying to relieve the headache that had started to appear the minute Zhou Gang Jia entered their apartment.

    "8:30? Are you serious?" Li Dai Lu asked as she turned to look at him. Wang Chao could only nod and approach the livendmine that was sitting on the couch.

    "It is," he confirmed in a low voice, trying to sound soothing.

    "Then why am I up?" Looking genuinely confused, Wang Chao could only smile indulgently at his little girl.

    "I''m not too sure," he admitted as he took the giant cup of coffee from her hands. "Why don''t you and Chen Zi Han go back to sleep for a bit and I''ll let you know when you need to be up."

    Nodding her head, her eyes not even fully opened yet, Li Dai Lu stood up and swayed slightly. One look between him and Chen Zi Han had thetter quickly put away his gun and rushed to the little girl''s side.

    "Come on, Princess," the bigger man crooned, "Let''s go back to bed, huh? It''s still early." Hearing her hum in reply, Wang Chao and the Liu brothers watched as Chen Zi Han brought their girl back into the room and hopefully back to sleep. They all knew that she would probably not remember this whole thing when she did wake up for the day.

    Turning his attention back to the Rear Admiral, Wang Chao growled in a low tone. "I told you to be quiet! And she sleeps until she is ready to wake up."

    "Then you leaving in an hour was just bullshit?" mocked Zhou Gang Jia looking at the man in front of him.

    "No, we would have woken her up," the other man reassured him. "But then you could have dealt with her temper." The smile on Wang Chao''s face made it clear to everyone that dealing with her temper was thest thing that they wanted to do.

    "Now, here are how things are going to go," said Wang Chao as he took control of the situation. "She is either going to be teaching alongside us, since she knows more about powers than any other person on this, or we are going to leave. What is your decision?"

    "Fine, she can teach," agreed Zhou Gang Jia. His men needed to be taught and any consequences for having a civilian on base could fall on Wang Chao at the end of the day.

    "Perfect, have everyone ready at 1 pm and we will all be there," confirmed Liu Wei as he not so subtly guided the Rear Admiral to the door and gently pushed him out.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Closing the door behind him, Liu Wei quickly turned the lock and leaned against the door. "How about we just agree to stop opening this thing in the mornings?" he joked.

    Wang Chao groaned in agreement as he slowly sat down on the couch.

    This was going to be a long day.

    ----

    I woke up around noon or so, feeling like I had the best sleep of my life. Poor Chen Zi Han was still in the same position as when we fell asleepst night and I felt a bit bad. "Did you have a good sleep?" I asked him, concerned that he might not have beenfortable with me sprawled over him.

    "I did," he said, his gruff voice sending shivers across my skin.

    "Did I dream that Zhou Gang Jia was here and yelling? Or was that real?" I asked in confusion, my forehead scrunched together as I tried to figure out what was a dream and what was not. I have been told before that I can have aplete conversation with a person but forget that it ever happened if I go back to sleep after.

    "Just a dream," he grumbled as he rolled me to the side, using me as the little spoon. He buried his face in the back of my neck and I shivered as I felt his breath gliding across my skin.

    "Ugh," I groaned. "I''m not even free of that man in my dreams."

    I could feel his smile as he ced a light kiss on my spine, just under the base of my head. "Should we get up?"

    "Yeah, I mean, the day is halfway done anyways," I agreed grudgingly. One of these days I was determined to stay in bed for a good week straight. Maybe I should add that to my list of things to do. I definitely won''t be able to survive the apocalypse in bed though. Or could I?

    My mind on the logistics of staying in bed for a week, I groaned when Chen Zi Han got out of bed. Hearing his deep chuckle, I turned over to look at him.

    "Take your time, Princess," he said as he slowly stroked my hair like I was Hades. "We will have coffee and breakfast waiting for you when you are ready."

    I hummed in agreement but figured it was best to get my ass out of bed before I fell back asleep. Maybe with enough coffee, I would turn into a fully functioning human. Hey, that was the goal, right?

    After a quick shower in my space, I went to look for Hades to have a little y time before I went back to the boys. Unfortunately for me, the little bugger was still pissed that I have been keeping him SAFE and SOUND in my space and had refused to be found. Leaving him a te of wet food, I figured that I had procrastinated long enough and it was time to get back to the boys.

    That was the best part about procrastinating in my space. No time had passed in real life, so it looked like I was always on the ball, wanting to get a move on. Feeling smug, I left my room and followed the smell of fresh coffee to the kitchen.

    "So," I asked as Liu Wei handed me my giant cup of coffee. "What''s on the docket for today?"

    "Zhou Gang Jia has asked that we teach his men today," said Wang Chaoing up behind me and cing a light kiss on my temple.

    "Does that mean that I am getting sent out for supplies?" I asked with some confusion. The Rear Admiral had made it perfectly clear that I was not to go near his people¡­ you know¡­ me being the dreaded civilian that was trying to take down the military and all.

    "No," smiled the man, "We are going all together and will all be trying to train them. There are a few that I needed your advice on."

    I nodded my head and chugged the hot beverage, enjoying the way the burning liquid managed to wake me up. Even if it did feel like hotva down my throat.

    "Well, let''s get a move on," I said as I put my cup on the counter and made my way to the front door. "You guysing?"

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    ?

    Standing in front of all the men that Zhou Gang Jia asked us to train, I let out a low groan. The way people learned how to use their powers in my day (yes, I know I was sounding old, but sometimes that was how I felt) was to get thrown into a horde of zombies and left to fend for themselves.

    I understand that it was a very cruel, sink or swim, type mentality, but it worked. No one was around to say; ''You are a fire user,'' or ''You are a spirit user'', you learned how to work things out the hard way and it made you stronger.

    Now, I was not going to throw the boys out to learn about their powers in that type of way, but they still used their powers for the first time against the zombies.

    "What are you thinking?" asked Wang Chao as he came up behind me and wrapped an arm around my waist.

    "As if you didn''t know," Iughed softly as I tried to think about how to go about doing this. The men might have had a day''s head start, but practicing here inside was not the best way to go.

    "I want you to say it out loud," he said as he looked over my head at all the people in front of us, but I was pretty sure that his eyes were zeroed onto Zhou Gang Jia.

    "This is not how you learn to use your powers," I said,plying with what my man wanted. "This only makes people weaker and not able to survive an actual fight." No, I was not trying to start a fight by telling over 200 people that considered themselves the best of the best in the military that they were weak¡­ but¡­

    As predicted, the quiet room quickly exploded as the men and women took offense to my wording. Maybe I should have just gone back to sleep. I wouldn''t step on as many toes that way.

    "Are you saying that we are weak?" roared Rear Admiral Zhou Gang Jia as he approached me and the guys.

    "No," I shook my head. "But I think that even you agree that going for a mile walk is vastly different from going for a 5-mile run," I continued as I tried to find the right analogy that he would understand.

    "I don''t understand," said the offended man, causing me to sigh. Maybe I should work on myparisons.

    "We are not pushing anyone to fulfill their full potential by having them all here in one room and slowly going through the list of powers that they could potentially have," said Liu Wei tranting my sentence into something that they could understand.

    "Then what has to be done?"

    The four men around me let out a chuckle at the dumb question. "You need to bring people out to fight zombies without swords or guns," said Liu Yu Zeng, pointing out the obvious.

    "Then they run the risk of being killed and that is not eptable," returned Zhou Gang Jia,pletely dismissing the idea. I looked at the man in curiosity. "Do you think that you will nevere across a zombie?" I mean, even thinking that waspletely crazy as far as I was concerned.

    "We stay here," shrugged the Rear Admiral. "As long as we keep the gates closed until the rest of the militaryes, then we will be fine."

    "And supplies?" I pushed, wondering about his thought process. I had never met or heard of the head of a safe zone taking such a s¨¦ attitude, especially when it came to supplies.

    "Well, you will have to earn your keep in some way or another." The grin that the man sent to me caused me to raise an eyebrow. I scoffed in response.

    "How about we get your men trained and then we leave," I suggested looking up at Wang Chao to see if he would be on board. After all, he and Liu Wei were the reasons why we were here in the first ce. Seeing Wang Chao nodding his head I let out a small sigh of relief. I was not going to get supplies out there while an entire base stayed safe behind a gate. I did that before and it ended up getting me killed.

    Cracking my neck, I stepped out from Wang Chao''s arms and to the people waiting to be trained. "Alright, those who have had their powers determined, move to the right, those who don''t, to the left." And apparently, I couldn''t say ''to the left'' without wanting to break out in song, but we all knew my head was an interesting ce.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    As the people moved to the appropriate sides, I turned to Wang Chao. "You and Liu Yu Zeng take that group," I said pointing to the right. Although none of the men were normal in terms of abilities, Wang Chao and Liu Yu Zeng had the best chance at exining to the group how to harness their powers and have them actually listen. "Liu Wei and Chen Zi Han will be with me for the unknowns."

    I felt that if I spilt up the only two military people in my group then I stood a better chance of getting both groups to take their lessons seriously. With a quick kiss from both men, Wang Chao and Liu Yu Zeng went to the right side of the room, ready to teach.

    The left side¡­ I sighed at everyone that had not developed anything up to this point. This meant that they were either not here yesterday or they were not elemental users. I looked at the Rear Admiral beside me with a raised eyebrow. "Which group do you belong to?" I asked.

    Zhou Gang Jia red at me and walked over to the left to stand beside Zhao Jia Li. Yay me! I get the two people that would rather see me dead than learn from me in my group. Was it really toote to go back to bed?

    Forcing myself to walk toward my group, I was relieved to know that I had Liu Wei and Chen Zi Han at my back. Hopefully, we would survive the next few hours.

    We ran the whole gambit of powers and then divided the groups into their different sections so they could start practicing. I was the tiniest bit relieved when no one else came up with poison as their power. I trusted Liu Yu Zeng with my life, but I would find a way to end any other power user with poison as their element.

    Like I said, I firmly believed that powers coincided with personalities. My man could be a bit underhanded and venomous, but I knew without a doubt that he was on my side. Anyone else? Well, I was not going to chance another Colin.

    After four hours, only Zhao Jia Li was standing in front of me with no idea what her power could be. Fuck my life. There was only one type of power that I had not gone through yet, and it was the one that came with the highest status in the new world.

    "Wang Chao!" I yelled as I continued to stare at the woman in front of me. Was there any way that she could be an Asymptomatic? Yes, but I was never that lucky. Wang Chao came over to where Zhao Jia Li and I stood facing each other, the other two having gone off with the groups to provide some one on one teaching.

    "Yes?" he asked as he came to my side causing the woman in front of me to grind her teeth.

    ''Do you trust me?'' I asked inside of my head, taking a deep breath.

    ''With my life,'' he assured me, sending me a feeling of love through our mental bond.

    Letting out a sigh of relief, I took a knife out of my space. Pulling his right hand forward and into mine, I cut a long deep wound across his palm. The man never even twitched, but the woman in front of me screamed. And that was why I had to use Wang Chao for this particr test. He was the only one out of all the people in this room that she care enough for.

    I felt him try to pull back his wounded hand when Zhao Jia Li let out another screech and grabbed the wounded appendage. ''Trust me,'' I said in my head as the other woman let out a string of curses towards me.

    ''I don''t like her touching me,'' came the grumbled reply.

    "Heal him," I said out loud to the woman still making a fuss over the amount of blood flowing out of the wound and demanding answers as to how I could have done this in the first ce.

    Her head snapped up at my words and I saw her frantically look around therge training hall for a first aid kit or something. "Heal him!" I snapped, not liking her touching him any more than he did.

    "How can I, you bitch!" Seriously, nails on a chalkboard. I stretched my neck, trying to calm down. Couldn''t I just kill her and be done with it?

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    ?

    ''Of course,'' said the deep-timbered voice in my head. ''It''s not like anyone will miss her if you kill her.''

    I only grunted and looked back at the woman that seemed to want to eat my heart for breakfast. "Think about taking away the pain, picture his wound closing in your mind down to the smallest of details. Start with picturing the muscles, the blood vessels, and finally the skin."

    I had met only one other healer in my past life, and while we were trapped in an unfortunate circumstance together, she gave me a very detailed approach on how to heal.

    The woman, the sweetest, kindest, woman I had ever met, was hoping that because I didn''t seem to have any powers, then I was a healer like her. She was so desperate that I didn''t want to tell her that there was no way I could be one. As much abuse she took from the others around us, she was still of use to those that held us captive so her treatment was far better than mine. Her hope was that if I was a healer, I could be of use too and therefore get better treatment. She tried for months to help me, but unfortunately, she died before I could get us freed.

    But then I had heard stories about how protected the healers were in the safe zones to the point that they had their own guards follow them around. They were considered to be gods and were treated as such. No one dared to go against them, instead, both those in power and those without it worshipped at their feet. And for the most part, the healers love the attention and ''gifts'' that came with their status.

    After all, no one knew when they would be sick or injured and needed to call on a healer, and to piss one off meant dying a slow, painful death.

    I shook my head, banishing the memories of that woman and the horrors of my past life. If I wound up in that situation again, I would deal with it, but for right now, I was not going down that memoryne for anything in the world. And I knew without a doubt that Zhao Jia Li was going to love her new life.

    Forcefully pulling myself out of my head, I looked down at Wang Chao''s hand which was slowly starting to heal. The white mist, the exact opposite of Liu Yu Zeng''s dark mist, flowed out of the woman''s hand and into Wang Chao. And I wanted to growl at the idea of any part of her going into my man.

    ''Kill her,'' hissed the voice as I felt my darkness rise at the very thought of this woman touching my man, of her power going into him and healing him in a way that I couldn''t. ''Kill her and he is yours,'' came the voice again. I started to see a tint of red entering my vision as I watch Wang Chao''s hand heal before my very eyes, even the blood disappearing from sight.

    ''I am hers whether she kills her or not,'' said Wang Chao, responding to the hissing voice. I was startled, almost panicked at the idea that he could hear the voice or even sense the darkness that threatened to overflow from me. Snapping out of my thoughts, my vision going back to normal, I turned to face the man that still held me gently in his arms.

    Giving me a gentle kiss on my temple, the man let out a low chuckle inside of my head thatpletely vanished anything remotely dark and left apletely different emotion in me. ''Trust me, those thoughts are tamepared to what goes on in my head,'' he admitted as he focused his whole attention on me. He didn''t even flinch when Zhao Jia Li dropped to the floor in a dead faint.

    That was the biggest weakness of a healer. The amount of energy that it took to heal even the smallest of wounds was enough to weaken them to such a degree that they either fainted or, the really strong ones, felt lightheaded and dizzy. And the woman on the floor in front of us was clearly not one of the strong ones yet.

    Continuing to hold my hand, Wang Chao escorted me away from the passed-out woman that was now ssified as a healer, and into the circle of my men. "Everyone''s powers have been determined," said Wang Chao to the other three men. "It is time to leave. Do we still have that apartment in the city?" he asked Liu Wei. It took the other man a few seconds before he nodded. "Yes, but I didn''t bring the key," he said, trying to remember exactly where the building was.

    Shrugging like it wasn''t that big of a deal, Wang Chao simply let it go.

    "Where do you think you are going?"manded Zhou Gang Jia as he approached our group and a quick pace.

    "Back to our apartment to pack," replied Wang Chao as he turned around to face the Rear Admiral. As much as he truly appreciated everything that the man had done for him and Liu Wei throughout their careers, it was not enough to put up with the way he had been actingtely.

    "I don''t recall saying that you could leave," said the man, raising an eyebrow at the five of us.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Actually, you did," pointed out Liu Yu Zeng as he came up on my other side. "In fact, if I remember correctly, you made a huge fuss to get us to leave." That''s my little shit disturber. I looked up at the man with a huge smile on my face.

    The Rear Admiral ignored Liu Yu Zeng in favor of Wang Chao. "And what did you do to Zhao Jia Li?" he demanded, not seeming to care about the woman at all. It was a few of her teammates that had gone over to check on the healer and make sure she was okay.

    "She''s a healer," I said with a wave of my hand. "They tend to faint a lot," I added as almost an afterthought. "Give her food and rest and she will be fine." As far as I was concerned, that woman could faint and never wake up, but I was not that lucky.

    Zhou Gang Jia''s eyes widened at the statement that Zhao Jia Li was a healer. "That''s fantastic," he breathed looking over at the woman still on the floor. "Someone!" he hollered, "Bring Captain Zhao to her room and make sure that she has everything she could possibly need."

    And so it starts. Truth be told, I was happy we were leaving because thest thing I wanted to deal with was Zhao Jia Li after she understood her new life. If I thought she was unbearable now, I could only imagine what she would be like in the future.

    One man, that was already beside her, gently picked her up and cradled her close to his body, the look on his face, as he stared at her, spoke volumes. If Wang Chao was the male lead in her life then this poor sap was clearly the second male lead. Meh, it didn''t affect me so I wasn''t going to care. Even if she believed that Wang Chao was the male lead, didn''t make it so.

    Besides, I licked it¡­ I turned my head so fast that I heard the cracking of my neck. I haven''t licked him yet. Had I? But since I didn''t lick him, does that mean that she can im him? Did she lick him yet?

    A burst of chokedughter interrupted my spiral of thoughts. I looked to see where the sound wasing from and saw Wang Chao trying to hold back hisughter, but the shaking of his shoulders ruined his effort. Rolling my eyes, I looked at the man. "What?" I snapped. It was not my fault that my brain went on weird tangents.

    Still chuckling, Wang Chao leaned forward until our faces were millimeters apart. As he looked deep into my eyes, I was able to see my reflection in his. Slowly he turned his head and tapped his cheek. ''If the kisses don''t count, then feel free to lick,'' he said inside my head, not moving a muscle.

    I widened my eyes, not believing what he was saying. I knew that my licking him did not mean anything at the end of the day, and I couldn''t say why my brain was going there like a 12-year-old girl''s. But it did. And the fact that he was not upset or disgusted or just done dealing with me meant all that much more.

    He tapped his cheek again, showing me exactly where he wanted me to lick and I quickly nced around. Although we were still in the training hall, surrounded by people I didn''t know, the other guys had epassed us in enough of a circle that no one would be able to see what we were doing.

    ''Go ahead,'' he whispered in my head. ''Just realize that I am going to have to lick you back at some point.''

    That statement caused my brain to wander in apletely different direction and short-circuit a bit.

    You know what? Fuck it.

    Gathering my courage, I quickly stuck out my tongue and licked the cheek of the man in front of me.

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    ?

    My tongue scrapped against the stubble that was starting to grow on Wang Chao''s face. It was not enough to be able to easily see, but it was definitely there. I only again heard him chuckle as I quickly returned my tongue to my mouth, my face bright red.

    "Does someone want to tell me what is going on?" asked Liu Yu Zeng as he stared between me and Wang Chao. My face turned an even brighter shade of red, if that was possible, as I looked up at the other three men staring down at me.

    "I can only assume that this has something to do with Zhao Jia Li and her idea that ''if you lick it, it''s yours''," said Liu Wei as he stared intently down at me. He was just as used to me as Wang Chao was after spending so much time together. To the point that even though he couldn''t read my mind, he could certainly guess with a 90% uracy rate.

    "Does that mean we are all going to get licked?" asked Liu Yu Zeng, a devilish smirk on his face.

    "Does that mean we can lick back?" added Chen Zi Han. Once again wishing that the ground could swallow me up, and once again, d that it couldn''t, I buried my face in Wang Chao''s chest as it was the one in front of me.

    "Yes," replied Wang Chao, giving them both of their answers at the same time.

    "You guys are not going anywhere," barked Zhou Gang Jia as he marched back over to our small group. Luckily he was away looking after Zhao Jia Li during the whole licking incident or I might have died from embarrassment. As it was, I was pretty grateful for his interruption.

    Wang Chao turned around, effectively cing me behind him as he spoke to the irritated man. "What now?" he demanded.

    "Captain Zhao Jia Li has decided that you and Liu Wei are to be part of her team of bodyguards," said the Rear Admiral as if Zhao Jia Li was the one making all the decisions on base now. Truth be told, I was not surprised that this was her first demand.

    "No," replied Liu Wei as if the very idea that they, the princes of City A and City H, would be willing to be lowly bodyguards for that woman.

    "I''m afraid that you don''t have a choice in the matter," replied Zhou Gang Jia as he straightened to his full height. I''m sure that it would have been very impressive if he was not attempting to out-alpha my men. As it was, he just came across looking like an idiot.

    Wang Chao raised an eyebrow, looking down at the man. "Do you really think that?" he asked looking at the man seriously. "Do you really think that you can do whatever you want,mand us however you want? Is that what you think?"

    Uh oh, I am pretty sure that this was Wang Chao getting upset. And I could happily say that in the past two months, I had never seen the man that cranky.

    The Rear Admiral snapped his fingers and a bunch of men with guns ran into the room decked out in fullbat gear including bulletproof vests and helmets that obscured their features.

    "Is this really the step that you want to take?" asked Liu Wei as he looked at the men that were currently surrounding us.

    "No," admitted Zhou Gang Jia, "But Captain Zhao has made a few threats of her own, and between the two¡­" He drifted off as if it was clear whose side he was going to be on.

    "Have you ever seen the effects of a poison user on a human?" asked Liu Yu Zeng as he let his dark mist engulf his hands. "I haven''t," he continued like any response from the Rear Admiral was inconsequential. "But it might be fun to try."

    ''You should have killed her,'' hissed the voice inside of me as I looked around at all the threats to my men. There were over 200 soldiers inside of the training hall, not to mention the new ones with the guns. I scoffed at the idea. ''Toote now,'' I said notmitting one way or another.

    ''Find her me,'' hinted the voice, glee injected into every word.

    ''Only zombies have mes,'' I countered, still keeping my eyes on the threat. I could call my purple me and have them killed before they could pose a threat to my men. But I didn''t know if they would be hurt in the process.

    ''You know nothing,'' hissed the voice, this time going back into my darkness without me pushing it away. Curious about what it said, I put it on the back burner until we got out of this.

    Zhou Gang Jia scoffed at Liu Yu Zeng''s threat. "You won''t kill us," he said with a confidence I didn''t feel. "You risk hurting yourself."<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Is that what you think?" Liu Yu Zeng challenged, tilting his head to the side. "I think I could kill everyone here and the five of us wille out just fine. Want to make a bet?"

    ''Extinguish the mes,'' came the voice from the darkness. This time, instead of the hiss that it normally was, it sounded more like a young woman.

    ''How?'' I demanded as I heard the sound of the safeties being released from the guns around us. Silence was the only answer I got. Leave it to my inner self to be just as bitchy as the rest of me. I rolled my eyes and with a wave of my hand, the guns trained on the boys disappeared before a single bullet could be shot.

    "I seem to have a lot of your guns," I said as if it was an afterthought. "How many more can you sacrifice?"

    "This doesn''t have to be like this," growled Zhou Gang Jia as he looked at the men surrounding us and their distinctck of guns.

    "Should I make the men disappear next?" I asked. I mean, I didn''t want them in my space, but I was pretty sure that I could find a ce to store them if necessary.

    "Why could you not just do what you are told?!" asked the man as he looked at Wang Chao like we were being the ridiculous ones.

    Chen Zi Han snorted from where he stood behind me, his arms crossed against his chest. "And why do we have to be subjugated to the whims of that woman?"

    Zhou Gang Jia simply rolled his eyes. "This has nothing to do with you three, you can leave whenever you want to," he said dismissing us. "And you all seem just fine being subjugated to the whims of that woman," he added as he gestured to me. Yeah, because I was the one demanding bodyguards.

    The growlsing up from the men around me though put me at ease. "You wouldn''t even have a healer if it weren''t for her," Liu Wei pointed out.

    "And now we do," replied Zhou Gang Jia as if it didn''t matter now that the results were out. I simply nodded my head.

    "Okay," I said, stepping out from behind Wang Chao. I was done with this conversation. "You let us all go, and we don''t kill you. How does that sound?" I asked, part of me bluffing while the other part was sure that we could easily take out all these people.

    And this,dies and gentlemen, was why I always emptied my ce before I left it. The boys might not have noticed anything, but I had made sure that everything was back in its ce before they managed to figure it out. Essentially, there was nothing to pack and even if we left this minute, the base would not profit off of my supplies.

    "You couldn''t," repeated Zhou Gang Jia, sounding like a broken record.

    ''Extinguish the mes,'' came the woman''s voice again from deep inside me. ''Embrace the darkness and extinguish the mes.''

    "Want to bet?" I asked, repeating the same sentence that Liu Yu Zeng said a few minutes ago. "Are you even willing to bet on the lives of everyone under yourmand?" I stressed, looking the man in the eyes. I let my gaze go unfocused for a moment, trying to see the same me that I had noticed in the zombies.

    "Bitch," jeered the Rear Admiral, causing me to focus on him rather than what I was doing. I felt the mening to attention behind me, but I simply smiled. I was more than willing to wear the title of bitch if it meant that I was not capitting to the man in front of me.

    Because let''s face it, the only time a woman was a bitch was when she was being strong and not giving in.

    "Yes, I am," I said. "But that doesn''t change anything."

    "You already have two other men, is losing two that big of a deal?" he sneered trying to make me embarrassed that I had four men. Unfortunately for him, both me and my inner bitch were in agreement that yes, losing two would be a huge deal.

    "I don''t know, you have over 200, is losing all of them a big deal?" I replied. I would not back down on this issue. There was no way in Hell that Wang Chao and Liu Wei would be bodyguards for some healer that thought she could control anyone and anything that she wanted.

 Chapter 127 127

    ?

    I watched as Zhou Gang Jia''s eyes widened at my threat. Was I willing to kill everyone in this room to protect my men? Well, that was a bit of a dumb question, now wasn''t it?

    I stretched my neck back and forth, trying to lessen the tension in my shoulders as I nned my next move. If we somehow managed to kill everyone in this ce, Huang Xiu Yan being the only exception, what would be our next step?

    That was one of the biggest problems with my brain, you know, besides the weird random thoughts. I needed to n the next few steps and have a backup n for those ns.

    Sometimes it got so bad I couldn''t even remember my original n, that was how many backup ns I had.

    But I digress. If we killed everyone, we could stay here and im this base as our own, but then what? What would we do once the people in the city became desperate and came here? Would we open the gates? Lock them out? Would we be a safe zone or refuse entry?

    ''How about we just deal with the situation before we n the next 10 years of our lives,'' said Wang Chao breaking my concentration. I wrinkled my brows in confusion. How was that 10-year n? If I was thinking that long term, I would have to see if this base had an area where we could start growing crops. I mean, I saw some parks around, but those wouldn''t be big enough to grow all the food that we needed, especially if we became a safe zone.

    ''I''m sorry I misspoke,'' said Wang Chao in a soothing voice. ''We can figure out all of thatter, let''s deal with this first.''

    I was confused. Our next step was dependent on what we were going to do after. After all, was there any point in killing them all if we weren''t going to take over their base?

    And that was when it hit me. The voice said that it was more than just zombies that had mes, and although I couldn''t confirm that right now, I knew that both humans and zombies had vitality. ''Wang Chao!'' I gasped, looking at the man beside me to see if he caught on to my thoughts.

    There was a moment of silence before Wang Chao spoke, ''Done.''

    I breathed a sigh of relief and waited to see what would happen. I mean, it might not even be possible, there were a lot of people here, but if it was! And there was Liu Yu Zeng! I looked back over at Wang Chao, my eyes wide open in shock.

    Could we do it?

    ''Done,'' came Wang Chao''s voice inside my head. With the n in ce, all I could do was wait and hope that it could be done before the Rear Admiral did something else or noticed something was wrong. I didn''t even dare look at Liu Yu Zeng from where he stood just behind me in case I gave something away.

    ''It''s working,'' confirmed Wang Chao, not giving away anything on his face. I couldn''t see anything different, but I trusted Wang Chao. If he said that my n was working, then it was working. I started counting in my head as Zhou Gang Jia just stared at me like I had gone crazy thinking that I could take out everyone.

    But then I saw it. The Rear Admiral''s face started to be paler and paler, sweat started dripping from his forehead and his face wrinkled as if he was in excruciating pain. "What?" he gasped as he suddenly fell to the floor. I didn''t know if he was dead or alive and I really didn''t care. I watched as it spread out from us, like a reverse wave where bodies simply dropped one after another. There were no screams, no exmations, no denials, nothing. Where they were once standing, they had now fallen to the floor.

    Seeing that the threat had been neutralized, I quickly turned to look at Liu Yu Zeng and Chen Zi Han, concern apparent on my face. "Are you two okay?" I asked, looking them up and down as if I could see anything physical on them to suggest that they were in anything other than perfect condition.

    Chen Zi Han just looked at me, his eyes practically sparkling. "I feel great," he admitted as he gently gave me a hug. "I am so d that worked, it never even urred to me."

    "What about you?" I said, turning to Liu Yu Zeng. The man in question pulled me out of Chen Zi Han''s arms and into a big hug of his own.

    "If I said that I waspletely drained, would you baby me tonight?" he asked, a smirk on his face. I gently pped his chest. "I''m d you are okay," I said, letting out the breath that I was holding.

    He simply hummed in agreement as he rested his head on my shoulder. "It was a bit more difficult and intricate than normal, but I got the hang of it," he volunteered. I knew that he hated to admit that he was less than perfect, so to admit that he had a hard time warmed my heart.

    "Does someone want to tell me what is going on?" asked Liu Wei as he looked at the three of us in confusion.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Wang Chao simply smiled and shook his head. "This was all Li Dai Lu''s idea, I just gave the directions," he said looking at me.

    "That tells me nothing," grumbled Liu Wei as he looked at me for an answer.

    "Disease and famine," I said, trying to make my convoluted thoughts into something that makes sense. "I remembered that Chen Zi Han could use his elements to take away someone''s vitality," I started looking at the man in question. "He had done it before with the zombies. So I thought that maybe he could take away enough vitality from the people in front of us to make them pass out."

    Liu Wei nodded his head, understanding what I was saying. "And my brother?"

    "I was worried that it might hurt Chen Zi Han to try and weaken so many people at once, but then I remembered that poison didn''t just kill, it could weaken a person too. So¡­ I thought that maybe Liu Yu Zeng could use his poison enough to weaken everyone, without bing weak himself, and then Chen Zi Han could finish them off."

    I looked at the men around me, wondering if I was making sense. I didn''t know where the idea came from, it just popped into my head.

    "Smart," said Liu Wei as he gave me a gentle kiss on my cheek. "But let''s collect all our stuff and leave before they wake up."

    "If they do," I admitted, a chagrined look on my face. "I am not sure if they can recover." I shrugged my shoulders as if that thought didn''t bother me all that much. And it really didn''t. I had seen Huang Xiu Yan following Zhao Jia Li out of the room, so I knew that she would be safe.

    The four simply nodded their heads at my confession as if they cared about the welfare of the men and women on the ground as I did. "And I technically have all of our stuff in my space right now, so if you want, we can leave right away."

    Liu Yu Zeng narrowed his eyes at me. "I knew some of my things had been moved around," he growled in a joking manner as he nuzzled his face into the back of my neck.

    "Sorry," I said, "The house in my space has enough room that I thought by just putting your stuff in the same ce there, it would be easier to take in and out. Like I just had to think of the room and not the individual thing."

    "Well, whatever you did, we are grateful," said Liu Wei. "But let''s get dressed and start to head out into the city. It iste and already dark out, but I think I would rather take my chances there than stay here."

    I hummed in agreement. Plus if I took out the night SUV we should be able to make good time and stay under the zombie''s radar. But that led to another problem. "Who is going to drive?" I asked looking at the four men.

    "I will," volunteered Chen Zi Han and I sighed. He had already driven me in the snow and I knew that he would be careful.

    "I volunteer to keep our Sweetness distracted," said Liu Yu Zeng as he licked me up the side of my neck. I shivered at the sensation. "I licked you, now you''re mine," he whispered into my ear in a low voice and my brain just shut down.

    It took me a few minutes to realize that the boys were talking amongst themselves as they led me toward the exit. "Great!" grumbled a voice that I recognized as Liu Wei. "Now you broke her. What did you do?!"

    "Nothing," said Liu Yu Zeng, his arm wrapped around my waist, keeping me in a straight line. His voice waspletely innocent as if he really didn''t know why my brain froze for a second.

    "I have never heard her mind so silent," confessed Wang Chao as he turned to look at me. "Ah, there she is," he smiled. "We need our winter gear."

    I nodded my head like a bobblehead with absolutely no control. Taking all the winter gear out for me and the boys, I slowly and clumsily got dressed. As my brain started working again, I looked over at Liu Yu Zeng and saw the proud smirk that quickly appeared and disappeared.

    I definitely had my hands full¡­ but I think I was going to enjoy this life.

 Chapter 128 128

    ?

    We left through the front door and there was not a single soul around. I wasn''t sure if that was because my n was just that sessful, or if the remaining people at the naval base were paying homage to their new queen and couldn''t be bothered with anything else. Either way, it made life easier for us.

    I honestly debated whether or not we should leave the gate open. I mean, it was easier on us if we did, just so we didn''t have to find some way to get over it. But on the flip side, if we kept it open, we were offering the people up on a silver tter to whoever came through before they woke up.

    "She is thinking too hard," joked Wang Chao. "Liu Yu Zeng, whatever it was that you did before, do it again before smoke starts toe out of her ears."

    "Ha ha, everyone''s aic," I grumbled as I stuck out my tongue.

    "Don''t overthink things," suggested Liu Wei, "We are here to help you worry about the small details and the big if you let us. You are not alone," he whispered as heid a kiss on my temple. "And you are going to have to let me do what my brother did to you, it''s not fair that he is the only one of us that can put that look on your face."

    Before I could open my mouth to say anything, the infuriating man quicken his pace to go walk beside Wang Chao. I red at the two as Liu Yu Zeng and Chen Zi Han came up beside me.

    "So I have to do it again?" asked Liu Yu Zeng with a decided smirk on his face. I liked it when he was a shit disturber for others¡­ being on the receiving end did not make me as happy.

    "Keep your tongue in your mouth," I grumbled. I would let Liu Wei and Wang Chao figure out the whole gate situation and where we were going from here. I knew that Wang Chao always had a n, but for the most part, he was always willing to defer to me. In this case, though, I was more than willing to take the back seat.

    Speaking about back seats I took out the ck SUV from my space and ced it just on the other side of the gates. Since I didn''t know if we were opening them or not, I figured this was the best option.

    ---

    Sitting in the back seat of the SUV I red at all four men, really not impressed. This would probably be thest time I let Wang Chao and Liu Weie up with the n.

    "At least we are out of the base," said Wang Chao from where he sat in the front passenger seat. Sure, because that excused everything.

    "Yeah, well, we could have just opened the frigging gates," I said with my arms crossed against my chest. I was ced between Liu Wei and Liu Yu Zeng in the back seat, and while I admit that I was feeling very safe, I was not happy in the least.

    "But you were worried that if we opened the gates, we would have no way to close them, leaving everyone vulnerable when they wake up," Wang Chao pointed out. Sometimes arguing with him was like arguing with myself since he knew everything that was going on in my head. It would be nice if he could turn that power off. "Sorry, I can''t," he said, not looking the least bit sorry.

    "I understand that," I snarled, "But that was no reason to throw me over the fucking gate! That thing was 6 feet high!" By the end of my rant, my decibel level might have been on par with a dog whistle, but I really didn''t care. Liu Wei literally tossed me, as in threw me, sent me flying over, however you want to describe it, he threw me up and over the gates, assuming that Wang Chao or Chen Zi Han would catch me on the other side.

    Have I mentioned the fact that these gates werepletely solid? So you couldn''t see through them?!? Yeah, Liu Wei tossed me over a solid gate and assumed that there was someone on the other side to catch me. I would have much rather have left the entire base to their own devices that go through that.

    Did I mention that they THREW me over the fucking gate?!?

    I stretched my neck back and forth, hearing the different cracks and pops that resulted. I think I needed to take up meditation or something because that was not ok!<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Does that mean I am the only one not on your shit list?" asked Liu Yu Zeng as he leaned forward to look at me. He had his trademark smirk on his face as he brought his face right to mine.

    I raised my eyebrow at him and with my index finger, I poked at him in the head. "I was pissed at you first!" He simply shrugged his shoulders and leaned back in his seat.

    "Yes, but at least I didn''t throw you in the air," he said, pointing out thetest reason why I was pissed at the guys. "All I did was lick you like you licked Wang Chao. What was it you said? You lick it it''s yours? Well, I guess that makes you mine," he said with a satisfied on his face. I studied the man beside me and noticed that he seemed a lot more rxed like there wasn''t as much tension around him as there was before.

    Huh, maybe he needed to lick me as much as I get the need to lick the boys. And maybe that simple, weird act goes a long way to releasing the built-up tension of not actually knowing what was going on.

    Completely on impulse, I leaned over and licked the man on the neck. "Tit for tat," I said as if my actions didn''t mean anything at all, but I looked into his eyes as he turned to look at me, and tried to push everything that I was feeling towards him. I wanted him to feel secure, that I was asmitted to him as he was to me. That I loved his goofy side, his serious side, and even his psychotic side.

    I saw him searching my face for the meaning of my actions and I saw the moment that he understood. His eyes widened before his signature smirk was back on his face. Nodding, he turned away from me and looked out of the window, but even in the dark, I could see the tips of his ears turn red.

    No one else said a word as we made our way down the snow-covered streets and to wherever we were going next. Happy, safe, and content, I closed my eyes andid my head on Liu Wei''s shoulder.

    "Take out a nket," I heard him say as he rested his lips against my temple. Doing what he asked, I found my biggest, fluffiest,fiest ck nket and took it out. Handing it over to him, I was not surprised when he draped it over us and shifted as much as he could in the back seat with his seat belt on in order to get into afortable position.

    Once he had finished arranging himself, Iid back down. Letting out a long breath, I closed my eyes. "Please don''t toss me over a gate again," I asked, my bottom liping out in a pout.

    "I make no promises," he chucked as he ran his fingers through my hair. "I will do whatever I can to keep you safe."

    I guess I couldn''t argue with that. A small smile on my face at his answer, I allowed myself to doze off to the feeling of his hands in my hair and his arm around me.

    ---

    "Lucky bastard," hissed Liu Wei as he felt Li Dai Lu be soft in his arms. Not wanting to disturb her sleep, he readjusted the nket to make sure she was well covered. The air in the SUV was warm and they were all wearing their heavy winter gear, but he knew that she always liked being under a nket, even if it was in the middle of summer.

    His brother simply turned his head to look at him and raised an eyebrow. "You just wish you thought of it first," he said, as he adjusted the nket on his end. "Sorry," he continued as he adjusted his statement. "I''m sure that you thought about it first, you were just too slow in the execution."

    Liu Wei rolled his eyes, not willing to get into an argument when the object of their discussion was sleeping peacefully on his chest. "Yeah, yeah," he admitted. There was a bit of a hollow feeling in his chest as he watched his Queen licking his little brother.

    The more he thought about it, the tighter his chest became until he could hardly take a breath. He knew that licking was not actually a deration of love andmitment, but he also knew that she always calmed down after she licked a person. And so far, it was only his little brother and Wang Chao who had received it.

    Did that mean that she only liked them? What happened if she didn''t like him in the same way? Was he destined to be the one on the outside looking in?

 Chapter 129 129

    ?

    With every thought that passed through Liu Wei''s head, he got more and more worried. He really didn''t know where he stood with Li Dai Lu. Sure, she liked to cuddle with him and epted his kisses, his hugs, and his touches, but what did that actually mean?

    The more he tried to work things out, the tighter his chest became until he felt like he couldn''t take a breath.

    ''You really wonder what her feelings are?'' asked Wang Chao in his head. Liu Wei turned to look at the man in the front seat, his eyes wide and wild.

    ''Not all of us can read her mind,'' he snapped back. Yes, he was jealous of his brother for being imed by her. Yes, he was jealous of Wang Chao for always knowing what was on her mind. And yes, he was even jealous of Chen Zi Han for being able to sleep with herst night.

    ''You don''t have to,'' the other man said as he looked back at his best friend. ''Who did she trust to throw her? Who did she go to first when she needed help? Who is she currently sleeping on?''

    ''Me,'' admitted Liu Wei. ''But she hasn''t licked me yet,'' he added, hating how weak he sounded and for such a stupid reason.

    ''You haven''t licked her either, is she not yours?'' came the response, a slight smirk in the voice.

    That caused Liu Wei to freeze for a second. It was true, it''s not like he had licked her yet. ''Why did she lick you?'' he said, catching Wang Chao off guard.

    ''Because she was worried that I would go to Zhao Jia Li and be her ''male lead'' as she calls it,'' said Wang Chao. Both men let out a low scoff at that idea. But it did give Liu Wei an interesting insight.

    ''So she is just as confused as the rest of us?''

    ''Pretty much. But her fear that we are going to up and leave her is much stronger than even your fear,'' admitted Wang Chao. He didn''t want to betray Li Dai Lu, after all, he only knew this because he could read her mind, but at the same time, he wanted his friend to know where he stood too.

    This rtionship was strange and confusing, and all five of them were simply stumbling around in the dark trying to figure things out. But at the end of the day, Wang Chao would much rather share her with the men that he considered brothers than watch her walk away and choose someone else.

    And he knew that the others felt the same way as well.

    ''Understood,'' replied Liu Wei as he turned his attention back to the woman in his arms. And he did understand. No one was perfect and every rtionship was different. Thiers might be a bit more different than most, but he was not going to let the thoughts of others, or even himself, ruin a future with her.

    Feeling more secure, he leaned his head back in his seat and closed his eyes as well. He might not be able to sleep with her tonight, but he could nap with her right now¡­ and that was enough.

    ---

    I woke up just as Liu Yu Zeng was lifting me up and out of the SUV. My mind still in a daze I looked at him, blinking slowly to try and get the sleep out of my eyes. When I heard his chuckle and we were moving, I realized that I had blinked a bit too long and had dozed off again.

    "Sorry," I murmured, not sure why I was feeling so tired all of the time.

    "It''s all good, Sweetness," he cooed as he lifted me higher in his arms so that he could go up the steps with me easier.

    "I am pretty sure I can walk," I offered, still not willing to open my eyes and leave his arms. I licked him and he licked me, that was the end of it as far as I was concerned.

    "Pretty sure you could too," he agreed, "But since I am not letting you, why don''t you just shut up and go back to sleep."

    "What about the SUV?" I asked, worried that it would be left in the middle of the street.

    "Wang Chao has it parked in the underground parking. It will be fine. Plus, it blends in nicely with all the other ck SUVs down there."

    I rolled my eyes. Yes, I knew that getting a ck SUV was more than a little¡­ standard¡­ but at the same time, I didn''t want to stand out, because standing out could get you killed. I ignored the man carrying me and simply rested my head on his chest, not waking to make things difficult for him.

    After all, he was the one climbing up God only knew how many stairs.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "When we bought this ce, we didn''t take into ount a zombie apocalypse or an EMP," said Wang Chao from somewhere ahead of us.

    "Well now, don''t you feel silly for not nning ahead," I snipped, a grin on my face.

    "Yes, Sweetheart, in the future we will n for everything, including alien invasions and the world returning to normal," said Liu Wei from behind us. I looked over Liu Yu Zeng''s shoulder and smiled at the man.

    Then I paused. I was missing one. "Chen Zi Han?" I yelled, letting my voice echo through the stairwell. I didn''t really care about zombies or anything else right now. I just needed to know where he was.

    "Yes, Princess?" he yelled back, sticking his head over the railing so I could see him a few flights of stairs ahead of us.

    "Nothing! Just making sure you were there," I said as if my heart rate hadn''t sped up.

    "I''m always here, Princess, even when you don''t see me," he assured me before taking his head back and continuing up the stairs. I smiled at that thought. I am sure to some that mighte out creepy or stalkerish, but as far as I was concerned, he was more than wee to go full-blown stalker on me. At least that way I knew he was always around and always had me on his mind.

    What can I say? I am territorial and it is almost to the point with these men that if they are not territorial in return I might take offense to it. I mean, they didn''t have to worry about one another, but they were more than wee to kill, torture, or otherwise maim any other men that came near me.

    I know I would do the same to any woman.

    Huh, maybe Liu Yu Zeng wasn''t the only psychopath in our little group. Or was it sociopath? I always got the two mixed up.

    "You are born a psychopath, the environment creates a sociopath," said Wang Chao, reading my mind.

    Well, I guess you learn something new every day. That still didn''t answer if I was a psychopath for being willing to cut anyone into ribbons with my own hand for going near my men or a sociopath, but either way¡­ I was pretty sure it wasn''t normal.

    "We define what''s normal," continued Wang Chao as if he was having a conversation with me instead of just interrupting my thoughts. Rude much.

    "Not rude, I can''t interrupt a conversation that you are having with yourself, that doesn''t make sense." I debated whether or not I wanted to open my eyes to re at the man, but I decided that I was happy where I was and I was not going to bother with the man.

    I did open one eye to re at him, but since his back was turned, I don''t think that it had the effect I wanted it to.

    "Movie tonight?" I asked when a few minutes of silence had passed.

    "Sure," said Liu Yu Zeng as he looked down at me. "Are you sure you are up for it?"

    "Yeah, I tend to be more nocturnal than diurnal, not to mention that the snow makes me want to hibernate until spring," I said, not really caring one way or another. I was much happier to sleep when the sun came out, but unless one of the boys were with me, I never had that great of sleep at night.

    "Sound good to me. What do you think? Action or horror? I know, I saw a horror movie about a clown, should we watch that?" asked Liu Yu Zeng smiling.

    "Try it and you will be sleeping by yourself for a month," I said shuddering at the very idea of a clown. As far as I was concerned, there was nothing more creepy, or terrifying than a clown. Even when they didn''t star in their own horror movies, those things terrified me.

    I remember I was a kid when one of my foster families took me to a parade. There was a whole lineup of clowns walking down the street waving, and one approached me. It said that it was one of my friend''s mom, but I was convinced that the clown had eaten the mom and was talking to me out of her mouth. Kind of like the wolf did in Little Red Riding Hood.

    Nothing anyone did or said could convince me otherwise and I even refused to go over to their house after thinking that even if the mother looked normal, it was in fact still a clown in disguise.

    I heard Wang Chao''sughter echoing through the stairwell. It was a full bellyugh that I had never heard from the serious C.E.O. before.

    Fucking mind readers.

 Chapter 130 130

    ?

    We made it up the 30 flights of stairs and into the penthouse suite that belonged to Wang Chao and Liu Wei. After Liu Yu Zeng deposited me on the couch, he went to the kitchen with the others to try and get things organized.

    Feeling energized for a change, I walked after him. "Where do you guys want me to put all your stuff?" I asked as I looked at the four of them in the kitchen washing counters and throwing out things that had gone bad. I waved my hand and in exchange for the old, broken fridge, I reced it with the brand-new one that I had purchased before the EMP.

    With another wave of my hand, I filled it with all the food that I thought was important. I had a bunch of milk, eggs, and meats from the ranch not to mention fruits and vegetables. I would make yogurt tomorrow when I had the time. What else did we need?

    I went to look at the pantry and frowned when I saw how empty it was. "You knew the apocalypse wasing, and yet you didn''t think to stock up on supplies while you still could?" I asked, looking at the two men in question. Liu Wei had the grace to look embarrassed, but Wang Chao just shrugged his shoulders.

    "We hadn''t been here in a while and it slipped my mind," said the man honestly. Still. I was not impressed with hisck of preparedness.

    "I will make sure that from here on out, all of our homes are well stocked with supplies," said Liu Wei, drawing my attention, and my re, from Wang Chao. Giving the man a big smile, I nodded my head in approval. With another wave of my hand, I fully stocked the pantry from pasta to sauces, cereals to rice, and everything in between.

    I might have even snuck in some chips into the pantry and ice cream in the freezer, but shhh¡­ that was my little secret. There were some things I wasn''t willing to share, not even with the boys.

    "Remind me to make some yogurt and bread tomorrow. Does anyone want anything else?" I asked, looking at the four men in front of me. "Gran? I have a bunch of different jams in the pantry¡­ butter! I''ll make butter at the same time."

    All four men just stood there, staring at me like I had grown an extra head or two. "What?" I asked confused. "We are staying here for a while, right? Because no matter how much I trust Chen Zi Han''s driving, I refuse to travel across the country in the snow," I said, putting my foot down. There was more than enough room for all five of us here in the penthouse, and even though there were only 4 bedrooms, I could bedhop as needed.

    "You know how to make yogurt?" asked Liu Wei like I just said that I was really a mermaid onnd.

    "You know how to make bread?" added Liu Yu Zeng, a simr look of awe and wonder on his face.

    "You know how to make butter?" said Chen Zi Han, just as confused as the other three men.

    "What? Like it''s hard?" I replied, not knowing where this was alling from. I had spent my first life trying to perfect all of the basics of a homestead in case I transmigrated into the past. This was just the first time I was able to show off my skills.

    "My Queen," said Liu Wei as he picked up my hand to give me a kiss on the sensitive skin of my wrist. "We are not worthy."

    "As long as you are aware," I smiled at his dramatics. In fact, I was really looking forward to being able to do all this. Switching out the broken stove and oven for a working one, I took out all of my kitchen appliances from my space.

    It might not be the ranch, but I would be able to make this ce a home for as long as we were here. Taking out my paper and colored markers, I started making notes on what I wanted to do and what I wanted to change.

    As the list got longer and longer, my smile grew more and more. The men left me alone to my own devices after asking for their things from my space and went off to move into their rooms. Wang Chao had the biggest closets out of everyone, so I just put what I needed in there. But let''s face it, with my space, I didn''t really need any closets or anything like that since I could just pop into my house whenever I wanted to.

    Besides, I waspletely in my element making lists, an energy surrounded me that I hadn''t felt since forever.

    "What about that movie?" asked Liu Yu Zeng as he poked his head around the corner of his bedroom to look at me at the dining room table.

    "I''m still up for it if you guys are," I said, putting down my pen. I would just leave everything on the table for now. "As long as it''s not a clown movie," I added, ring at the man to make sure he got my point.

    "Ok, ok," he said as he held up his hands to show his innocence. "We''ll just need you to swamp out the TV and add the DVD yer. I can take it from there."<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Doing as he asked, I got myselffortable on the couch and waited for the men to gather around where they wanted to.

    ----

    Honestly, I didn''t know if I was awake or dreaming, Hell, it could have been a mixture between the two with all my luck. But what I did know was this was not the same ce where I had fallen asleep.

    I remember Wang Chao''s arms around me, a softfortable mattress under us, and his calm steady heartbeat lulling me to sleep.

    What I didn''t remember was how I got here, to this ce,pletely by myself.

    ''Look, remember,'' came the voice inside myself, but I had no idea what I was supposed to remember. I had never seen anything even remotely close to this in any of my lives.

    I wasying on a soft carpet of grass, my fingers running over its smooth surface as each individual de tickled my fingers. Overhead, the sky was a mixture ofvender purple and sky blue, reminding me of my mes.

    I definitely did not remember a sky with two moons hanging in it, their silver crescent shapes slicing through the night¡­ day? I had no idea because as much as I might not be able to see the sun, I could feel its light and warmth.

    Sitting up, I looked down at myself, shocked to see that I was in a flowing white dress, held up by two straps on one shoulder and a small gold belt at my waist. Gold bangles let out a soft sound as they moved about on my wrists up to my forearms.

    Looking up further I noticed two gold armbands on each arm, secure but not too tight on my upper arms, a faint design that I could not make out danced in the light.

    Feeling something around my neck, I lifted my shaking fingers up to my throat to find a solid gold choker around my neck, spanning the entire length from shoulders to just under my ears. I panicked for a second as a brief feeling of being choked by the ne appeared, only to be gone once I realized that the gold moved with me.

    Stretching my neck from side to side, I was able to move it freely, but the choker gave me a sense of stability and safety.

    Reaching my fingers up to my ears I discovered small drop earrings, presumably in gold, decorating my ears.

    My feet were bare, but there were small, think anklets, two on each foot that made a small, crystal sound when I moved them.

    And finally, a tiara sat on my head, so light that I didn''t even notice it at first. I shook my head and watched as my hair fanned out around me, but the tiara didn''t move.

    Not knowing what to make of everything, I slowly stood up and looked around.

    To my right was a clear, blue pond with water so enticing that even I wanted to step in. On my left was a luscious forest of trees so big and green that no matter how high I looked, I couldn''t see the top of them.

    In the distance in front of me, I could see a mountain range, the valley beneath it stretching out in a carpet of green the color of which I had never seen before.

    Turning around, the field continued, almost reaching the horizon. The green was broken up by a scattering of flowers. White, blue, red, purple, and all sorts of flowers littered the ground.

    And that''s when I saw them, my men, the four of them standing shoulder to shoulder, looking across the distance at me.

 Chapter 131 131

    ?

    But they were dressed in nothing like I had ever seen them wear, and yet, it all seemed so familiar. Each man wore what looked like loose silken ck pants that tapered in at their ankles. They didn''t wear any form of shirt, but there was golden armor on their shoulders and gold cuffs at their wrists that covered the entirety of their forearms.

    On their heads were helmets that prevented me from being able to see their faces, but I knew exactly who they were; Wang Chao, Liu Wei, Liu Yu Zeng, and Chen Zi Han. My men.

    And I felt that connection to them more than I ever had before.

    But the longer I looked at them, the more I noticed that they were dressed for war. Each man carried a shield that had to be at least 4 feet in height on their left arm while their right hand carried a weapon.

    Wang Chao held an unsheathed sword and looked ready to fight. The eyes behind his helmet seemingly glowed red in the darkness.

    Liu Wei had a giant scythe in his hand, the de alone seeming to be as long as he was. His eyes glowed in a silver light as they focused on me.

    Liu Yu Zeng was the most rxed, his eyes also glowed in a white light, and never seemed to leave mine, like he wanted to make sure that I could never leave his sight. In his right hand, he held a bow while a quiver of arrows was slung across his back.

    Lastly, Chen Zi Han stood tall and proud, two glowing ck orbs pinned me into ce like prey before the hunter. There was nothing in his right hand, although a sword sheathed at his waist.

    I could feel their quiet presence surrounding me, demanding that Ie to them, but as I ran forward to answer their calls, they turned around and disappeared one after another until only Liu Wei was left. He stood there, staring at me as if wondering what was taking me so long to go to him.

    I tried to run faster, but no matter how fast I ran, no matter how many times I stumbled and fell, I could not reach him.

    Then he too turned around and simply vanished, leaving me alone in the field.

    Where I had originally felt happiness and security, thendscape now turned into a twisted, perverted version of itself that left me scared and anxious. The purples and the blues began to swirl together looking like something from a madhouse.

    I screamed the boys'' names over and over as my voice turned hoarse and the darkness surrounded me until I too, vanished.

    ''You are nothing without them,'' a voice hissed in my head before everything went ck.

    ---

    I sat bolt upright in bed, looking around but not able to see anything thanks to the darkness. A sound, somewhere between an anguished scream and a heart-breaking cry filled the air until I couldn''t take it anymore and I had to cover my ears with my hands trying to block out the sound.

    I curled over myself, trying to rock back and forth in a soothing manner, but nothing seemed to work. Above the screams, I could still hear the hissing voice echoing in my head that I was nothing without the guys.

    That was not true! I screamed back at it, my throat raw and painful. I survived two lifetimes without my men around me. Just because I didn''t want to go through a third did not make me weak! It did not make me nothing¡­.

    Or did it?

    Was the voice right?

    Before those thoughts could take hold, a loud sound exploded in front of me and a bright light flooded the room. I blinked a couple of times, trying to regain my vision, but thankfully, the screaming had stopped.

    By the door to the room stood three of my men, each in a state of undress, holding a gun in their hands as they scanned the room for the threat. Seeing only three, I started to panic. "Wang Chao!" I tried to yell, but my voice was so hoarse that barely a sound made it out past my lips. Frantic, trying to find my fourth, I never caught on to the fact that I was being held in a strong pair of arms.

    I breathed in and could practically taste Wang Chao on my tongue as his scent drifted to me, taking over my senses.

    Still too raw from my dream and turned to look at him, to look at all of them. "Why did you leave me?" I tried to yell as tears streamed down my face. "Why did you leave me?" I whispered again, this time copsing like a puppet with its strings cut.

    ''You are nothing without them,'' came the hiss again. And I knew that it wasn''t right, that it didn''t speak the truth, I knew it. I''m sure I did. Didn''t I? Was it right? Was I nothing without them?<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    I felt myself shatter at that moment, like a crystal vase that had been carelessly tossed to the floor. It was like nothing I had ever felt before and like nothing I ever wanted to feel again. My eyes lost focus as I tried to stare at my guys, but my body refused to listen to me.

    ''They are going to leave again, after all, they did it once before,'' hissed the voice like it was talking to me in my ear.

    "They are going to leave again, after all, they did it once before," I repeated, unable to control myself. I knew that they wouldn''t leave me, not if they had a choice. I knew that, deep down, I knew that. And yet, it didn''t seem to matter.

    ''You are nothing without them,'' came the hissing voice, this time sounding much more gleeful.

    "I am nothing without them," I repeated, staring off into space, wanting the hissing voice to take over and just make the pain go away.

    ''You should kill everyone,'' hissed the voice softly in my ear. ''They all deserve to die.''

    I could feel my mouth open to repeat what the hissing voice said when I felt something cold and wet against my cheek. Startled, I shook my head, wondering what it was that I felt.

    ''You should kill everyone, they all deserve to die,'' this time themand came louder, more insistent. And yet again, I could feel something cold and wet, this time up the length of my neck. The very feeling caused me to shiver and I could feel goosebumps rising on my skin.

    The more I was forced to feel, the less I was able to concentrate on the voice.

    ''Kill them all!'' This time, the hiss came so loudly and forcefully that I could only cringe under the assault.

    However, as much as the voice overwhelmed my senses, so too did the feeling. I could feel something wet and insistent push itself passed my closed lips and into my mouth, the vor of it exploding on my tongue and in my mind. "Liu Wei," I whispered past my injured throat, knowing the smell and taste of that man without even trying. I felt my body rx and I slumped forward before darkness overtook me.

    ----

    "What the fuck was that?" demanded Chen Zi Han as Liu Wei caught the limp body of Li Dai Lu.

    "No idea," admitted Wang Chao as he ran his finger through his hair. "But we need to find out," he continued as he got out of bed and made his way towards the door.

    "We can''t leave her," said Liu Wei, his calm appearance belying his inner turmoil. What just happened had rocked him to the core. "If she wakes up and we are not around, there is no telling what could happen."

    Wang Chao paused for a second at the threshold before turning to look back at the men crowding his room. "Is there enough room in here for all of us?" he asked, looking around and raising an eyebrow. Chen Zi Han briefly scanned the room.

    "We could do it with a bit of change," he volunteered, not knowing how much Wang Chao would like to have his room turned around. Everyone that had ever met or even heard of Wang Chao knew how particr he was about his space. "Or we could do it in my room."

    "No, this is the biggest room," said Wang Chao, not caring about anything other than the girl in his bed. A slight tremor shook his body that he desperately tried to hide from everyone else. "Whatever she needs, she will have," he vowed. "How do we start?"

    Liu Wei brought Li Dai Lu into the living room and gently sat down on the couch with her still in his arms as the others move the furniture around and brought in the other mattresses to create a bed big enough for everyone toy down on.

    Gently kissing her temple, Liu Wei reassured himself over and over again that she was safe and sound in his arms. Truth be told, he had never heard a sound like thating from any human''s mouth and he would do everything in his power to make sure that didn''t happen again.

    Closing his eyes, all he could see was Wang Chao wrapping his arms around her and yelling that they were all there, that they didn''t leave, that she was everything. And still, the screaming continued.

    He knew that this night would haunt all of them for a very long time. Maybe sleeping in one room, in one bed was the way to go.

    If that was what she needed, he would be more than happy toply and he knew that the others felt the same.

 Chapter 132 132

    ?

    I woke up feeling the best that I ever had. The lingering sensation of being mentally and physically tired was gone and in its ce, it felt like Wang Chao hit me with a bolt of lightning. I was charged and ready to go. And I had a whole bunch of ns for the day.

    It took me a few seconds to realize that the heavy weight on my waist was not my own arm, and I was much, much warmer than I normally was. Opening my eyes, I found myself staring into the beautiful grey eyes of Liu Wei. "Morning," I croaked, my voiceing off more of a hoarse whisper than anything else. Confused, I tried to clear my throat and try again. "Morning," I repeated, but still my voice was weak like I had been screaming or something.

    "Good morning, Sweetheart," whispered the man in front of me as he brushed a gentle kiss on my lips. His eyes studied my face as if looking for something and I watched as his forehead wrinkled with his thoughts.

    "Was I drooling?" I asked, somewhat self-consciously, bringing my hand up to my mouth to try and wipe away any evidence.

    "No," he said, the worry on his face smoothing out, revealing a relieved smile that lit up his entire face. "You are perfect," he continued as his hand gently stroked my hair and cheek.

    Happy that I hadn''t done anything weird in my sleep, my eyes widened when I saw Liu Wie''s hand on my face, and yet the arm on my waist still remained fixed in its original position. If anything, the second hand was gently stroking my stomach, its fingers creatingzy circles on my bare flesh.

    Turning my head away from the man in front of me, I looked over my shoulder to see Wang Chao smiling down at me. "Good morning, little girl," he said, his own voice deep and husky from sleep. "How are you feeling?"

    "Honestly? I have never felt better. I don''t know why, but I feel like I could run a marathon and I hate the very idea of doing anything faster than a quick walk," I said, my voice cutting in and out with pain. Wincing, I started to rub my throat, hoping that would relieve some of the rawness to it.

    "Why does my throat hurt so much?" I wondered out loud, looking between the men on either side of me. The two of them shared a look before turning their attention back to me.

    "We pleasured you so muchst night that you were screaming until you passed out," grumbled a voice on the other side of Liu Wei. Confused, andpletely ignoring what he actually said, I leaned over Liu Wei to see his younger brother on his back, his arm over his eyes, andpletely topless.

    Convincing myself that it was rude to stare at the 8-pack in front of me, offered up like a buffet, I raked my mind for something to say. "Funny," I said with a slight smirk. "I might be new to the whole thing, but if that actually happened, I would expect more than just my throat to be sore."

    "You sure about that, Sweetness?" the man groaned as he rolled over to his side and looked at me. He studied my face just like his brother did. A darkness seemed to fill his light grey eyes, something that was not there before.

    "Yeah, I was just telling Wang Chao that it feels like I got chargedst night and am now at 100%." Liu Yu Zeng studied me one more time before nodding his head.

    "I''ll go get you something to drink, your voice sounds like crap," he said as he rolled out of bed.

    "Grab me something too," growled a voice on the other side of Wang Chao. Rolling over to that side, I saw Chen Zi Han still partially asleep on his stomach, his intricate back tattoos seeminglying alive in the morning sun.

    "Get it yourself," grumbled Liu Yu Zeng before he closed the door behind him, enclosing the four of us back in our own little world.

    "Chen Zi Han! You''re here too," I said, unable to hide the excitement in my voice. I had never had the ability to wake up in the same room as all four guys, and to be able to be was even better than I had dreamed.

    "Of course, Princess," he said smiling as he turned his face to look at me. His arms were crossed under his pillow and he looked¡­ happy. "Do you really think I could leave you with the other three? The princes would have no idea how to look after our princess."

    His very words made me grin. "And my knight does?" I asked, a teasing tone in my voice as I felt Liu Wei give me a kiss on the back of my neck.

    "Of course," Chen Zi Han scoffed at the very idea that he couldn''t take care of me. I only hummed in agreement as Liu Wei continued his assault on my senses.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Wang Chao didn''t say anything, simply watched me with an intensity that I had never experienced from him before. He opened his mouth like he was about to speak, but before he could get the first word out, Liu Yu Zeng came back in the room, caring a mug of steaming something.

    "Honey water with a squeeze of lemon," he said as he waited for me to extract myself from Wang Chao and Liu Wei''s grip.

    "Did you put an ice cube in it?" asked Chen Zi Han, still on his stomach, his eyes closed.

    "Of course, I put a single ice cube in it. I am not a moron," growled Liu Yu Zeng as I managed to sit up, my back against the wall behind the bed. Confused, I reached out and took hold of the mug, noticing that it was, in fact, the perfect temperature.

    I looked around the room and noticed things that I hadn''t seenst night. Like, while I could have sworn that I had fallen asleep on a bed, in a beautiful, magazine-worthy, bedroom done up in all greys and neutral tones. But now, there didn''t seem to be any furniture in the room, only two king-sized mattresses pushed together on the ground to make up one massive bed that was big enough to fit the five of us.

    I turned to look at Wang Chao, my forehead wrinkling in confusion. "Did I miss somethingst night?"

    Wang Chao frowned as he looked at me before his expression cleared up. "No," he said, answering my question. "We got in a disagreement over who would be able to sleep with you so we figured this was a much betterpromise."

    I nodded my head, more than a little happy that things worked out this way. "Maybe that''s why I am feeling so good," I admitted as I looked at all four men, their eyes trained on me. "Because we were all together."

    The men just continued to look at me as if I had grown a second head. "Guys, seriously, is everything okay? You keep looking at me weirdly. Did I snorest night or something?" Completely freaking out over the fact that I might have snored or had done something equally embarrassing during the night, I missed the look that passed between the four men.

    "You didn''t snore," said Liu Wei taking the now empty mug from my hands. "But none of us believe that you actually know how to make yogurt or bread, let alone butter. So, we thought that you were just prolonging your time with us to avoid all that."

    My eyes widened. I hadpletely forgotten that I wanted to get all that stuff done after I realized that I was in bed with all the guys, and yogurt took up to 12 to do from start to finish. Letting out a squeak, I crawled across the bed and towards the door. "What time is it?" I asked, looking between the men.

    "No idea," said Liu Yu Zeng rolling his eyes. "I''m going for daytime," he continued pointing to the sun outside. Crap, I forgot about the stupid EMP thing.

    "Anyone knows how to hook up sr panels?" I asked, hoping that at least one of them did.

    "No," admitted Wang Chao, "But if theye with instructions, I am sure that the four of us can figure them out."

    I quickly took out all of the sr panels that I had stored, still in their boxes, and looked over at my men. With a huge smile on my face, I skipped out of the room. "Have fun!" I hollered as I took out a scrunchie and put my hair up in a messy bun. Still in the same pajamasst night, red fleece bottoms and a ck cotton T-shirt, I went into the kitchen and pulled out my frilly 1950s American apron.

    I would fully admit that it looked a bit weird, the ck and white polka dot apron with two red pockets, red frills on the edges, a red belt on the waist, and ck and white polka dot bows on each pocket, but I truly loved this thing. It always made me feel cute and productive all at the same time for some reason.

    The generator was up and running since yesterday when we first got here, but I didn''t like the idea of it running for so long. Even though I technically made Wang Chao set it up outside on the balcony so we didn''t have gas burning in an enclosed space, if I could get the sr panels working, it would provide us with a longer-term, more stable solution.

    Pulling out a gallon of fresh milk from my space, I started to heat it up slowly on the stove. Another jar full of milk went into the stand mixer to start being churned into butter and I was left free to get started on my bread. Pulling out my phone, I turned on some music and got lost in my own world as I shifted flour and kept my eye on the milks.

 Chapter 133 133

    ?

    "She doesn''t remember," said Liu Wei and he and the rest of the men carried boxes upon boxes of sr panels up the final flight of stairs and onto the roof.

    "Maybe it''s better that way," suggest Liu Yu Zeng as he bnced four boxes on his shoulder.

    "Is it?" asked Wang Chao as he too carried four boxes of the massive sr panels that Li Dai Lu had requested they put up and install.

    "I think it is," replied Chen Zi Han from the rear. "The way she was screaming our names, demanding to know why we left¡­" he shuddered at the thought. "Maybe her mind is protecting her from something by not letting her remember," he added as Liu Wei opened the door to the roof.

    Putting down his load, he looked at the t surface in front of him. The roof was huge, and except for all of the air conditioners and a few vents, there was more than enough room for them to install all of the panels Li Dai Lu asked for and still have room left over. The biggest issue was how to actually go about doing it.

    "I think it is a good thing," Liu Wei said quietly as he watched the rest of the men put down their boxes. "She seemed so much brighter and happier this morning, almost like apletely different person. There is no need to bring up an unpleasant nightmare that we know will never happen. Unless you guys are nning on leaving her?"

    The remaining three men simply grunted like the very idea was too stupid to even consider.

    "Exactly," said Liu Wei as he opened one of the boxes and pulled out the instructions. "Now, there are about 300 of our men currently in this building," he pointed out,pletely changing the subject. "Let''s get the majority of them up here and help with this. I don''t know about you, but I feel ufortable being even this far away from her."

    Chen Zi Han simply turned around and left the rooftop, intent on going to get their men. They were basically free toze around the naval base for the past few days so they should have more than enough energy to get this project done. Besides he was looking forward to some fresh bread, yogurt, and butter.

    -----

    I had just taken thest batch of chocte chip cookies out of the oven when my rm went off to tell me that the bread had just finished its second proof and was now ready to be baked. Bobbing my head to the song "Cindere''s Dead", I quickly took the cookies off of the cookie sheet and onto the ind to cool.

    "When did we have an ind there?" asked Wang Chao as he and the other four men walked into the penthouse. I looked at them confused.

    "Already done?" I asked, not sure how they could be done installing all those units in just under two hours.

    "No," admitted Wang Chao, "But that doesn''t answer the question of how this ind appeared in the middle of my kitchen."

    "That''s cute," I said with a smirk, the right side of my mouth twitching. "You think this is still your kitchen."

    Chen Zi Han sat down at one of the stools I had taken out along with the long ind with a butcher block countertop. Grabbing a cookie, he took a bite and moaned. "Good?" I asked, the self-satisfied smirk on my face not moving. I knew I could make a damn good chocte chip cookie and I had no doubts that those were among some of the best.

    "So good," the man groaned again as he took another bite. Hearing him, Liu Yu Zeng quickly grabbed a hand full of his own cookies before finding a seat beside Chen Zi Han. Iughed as I watched them fighting like kids over who got more cookies. Wang Chao and Liu Wei stood behind them, both of their arms across their chests and small smiles on their faces.

    It felt like home, I realized. I could picture our children running around the ind ying together as the others tried to sneak cookies when they thought the adults weren''t paying attention. Realizing where my thoughts had gone, I froze, looking wide-eyed at Wang Chao, wondering if he knew what was going on in my head.

    ''I always know what is going on in your head,'' said the man as he looked at me over the heads of Chen Zi Han and Liu Yu Zeng.

    Worried that the idea of kids would send him out the door quicker than you can say zombie invasion, I was startled when he walked around the ind and gave me a kiss on my temple. ''I liked that idea,'' he whispered in my head, "Your bread is ready to go into the oven I believe," he said out loud looking at the four bread pans on the counter.

    Realizing that he was right, I quickly turned to do just that. "But seriously," I started as I put the first loaf pan into the preheated oven. "Aren''t you guys supposed to be installing my sr panels so I can get all this stuff off of the generator?"<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "What''s the point of having so many men if you aren''t going to put them to use?" asked Liu Wei as he stole a cookie while his little brother and friend were arguing.

    Fuck, I hadpletely forgotten about the men including Huang Tian Kuo and Hua Chan Juan. Realizing that my small world of only having the five of us to worry about expanded exponentially, I began to think about what our next step would be.

    I took the mixing bowl out of the stand mixer I was using to make butter (because I had like five different stand mixers on my counter all for different purposes) and began pouring out the buttermilk into a clean jar to put in the fridge. From there, I pulled out another bowl and started to wash out my butter.

    I began to consider the logistics of what I wanted to do versus what needed to be done, because let''s face it, as much as I wanted to, I probably couldn''t spend all my time in the kitchen. I absently watched as the butter began to run clear and I took out a paper towel in order to dry it off.

    Sprinkling some salt onto the fresh butter, I started to knead it in. The only way to get everything done would be to turn this whole building into a safe zone and then go out for supplies. But would we keep it just as a safe zone for us or bring other people in? Because I know what side of that equation I was leaning towards.

    I pinched off a small piece of butter and tasted it. It was perfect; rich and creamy with just a hit of salt to enhance its vor, it will be even better once the breads were out of the oven and had rested.

    I had enough sr panels and batteries to be able to supply power to the whole building, especially once the batteries were fully charged, but I didn''t want to go through all that work to have outsiders benefit from it.

    My mind was made up and I got started on my double chocte mint cookies, the perfect cookie for a cold winter night.

    "You have decided?" asked Wang Chao as he took a bite of his third cookie.

    "Yeah," I said nodding as I began to measure my dried ingredients. "Tomorrow we will get started clearing out this building of everyone and everything. Supplies will be brought up here to be processed and distributed and then the men can figure out their own living arrangements. There should be more than enough apartments in this building to allow for each man to have his own and then some."

    Liu Wei grunted as he went to the fridge and got a ss of milk for himself. Coming to stand behind me, he looked over my shoulder and watched me work. "And the people still here?" I scoffed as I turned my head away from measuring the baking soda and looked at the man.

    "Do you really have to ask? Or are you trying to make me the bitch by saying it out loud?" I asked. I was not squeamish about kicking the people out of their homes. There were more than enough buildings around for them to find some other ce to live. Those that didn''t want to leave¡­ well¡­ Step One and all that.

    "More like trying to make sure that we were on the same page so that we didn''t upset you," rified Liu Wei as he gave me a brief kiss on the back of my neck and walked back over to the ind where the others were.

    "Take what you can; give nothing back," I smirked as I turned on the stand mixer.

    The four men simply looked at me with a big smile on their faces. It was always better to find like-minded people than to try and make a go of it with people that did not share your thoughts and views.

    "Then we will get started tomorrow," said Wang Chao as he got his own ss of milk. "I''ll let the men know. But for now, what are your ns?"

    "I''m thinking peanut butter cookies, what do you think?"

    "Anything dinner rted?" he asked with a weary smile. I pointed to a second stove that I had pulled out from my space and put in a corner out of sight.

    "There is a pot roast in there with potatoes and carrots roasting along with it. Once those are done I''ll make some gravy and Yorkshire puddings to go with it," I said with a giant smile on my face. I had been too busy, too tired, or too upset to be able to get into the kitchen and do the type of cooking that I wanted to do, but that changed as of now.

    "Sounds delicious," said Chen Zi Han.

 Chapter 134 134

    ?

    In the movies, the door always shatters with just a solid kick to the middle of it, in reality¡­ that doesn''t happen. Case in point, every flipping door in this building. But let''s start at the beginning of the day¡­ because it just went downhill from there.

    We woke up early in the morning, and for the second time in my life, I had no problem getting out of bed. After a quick breakfast, Wang Chao and Liu Yu Zeng called a meeting of all of their team captains at our ce to exin our ns for the day.

    There were 30 floors plus a basement in this building, but because Wang Chao''s penthouse took up the entire top floor, there were only 29 floors and a basement for us tob through for both people and supplies. Given the number of men that we had, the n was to divide up into 30 groups of 10 men each (give or take) and each group take a floor.

    That part of the n worked just fine.

    The boys had given me the choice between making more sweets in the kitchen or going to help them clean out our new home. Honestly, I would like to say that I chose the first option, because let''s face it, that was what I would rather be doing, but at the end of the day, I went with the boys.

    We were with Hua Le Yang and his team and were going to clear the 29th floor. We made it down the single flight of stairs just fine, but then we ran into a bit of trouble as soon as we opened the fire door that led to the actual floor itself.

    And when I say we ran into trouble, I mean we ran into the wrong end of a barrage of bullets. Quickly closing the door, Hua Le Yang looked over his teammates to see if any were wounded. I knew that my boys were fine since we had been hanging out towards the back, one of the perks of being a leader I guess.

    When everyone reported in, it turned out that no one in our group was injured, just very pissed. In fact, I don''t recall a time when Hua Chan Juan had sworn quite that much. But then again, she did get narrowly miss stopping a few bullets with her body so if there was any time to swear up a storm, it would be now.

    "What the fuck were they thinking? For fucks sake," she grumbled under her breath as she rechecked her semi-automatic Colt Carbine. I knew that it was in working order, the only thing she loved more than that gun was her husband, and even then, she would let her husband fend for himself if it meant her ''baby'' getting hurt.

    More prepared this time, we cleared the entrance, the team splitting up so they were along the wall on either side of the door. This gave the bullets a ce to go that wasn''t in us. The first person behind the door, Zhou Hui Fan, slowly opened the door, allowing the heavy steal to act as a barricade between him and anything that came flying out.

    As soon as the door opened a second time, there was another burst of rapid fire, but this time, it didn''tst as long.

    "I take it someone is alive down there?" I yelled out from my position between Wang Chao and Liu Wei. Leaning against the wall I tried to make myselffortable. This could go on for a while. Especially since they were dumb enough to waste bullets shooting at nothing.

    "Yes," came the disgruntled voice, "And I n to stay that way."

    "Solid n," I agreed with him, checking my nails, "What''s your n for when you run out of bullets?" Only silence met my statement, but I really didn''t care. Each one of the 15 people on my side was exceptionally trained and those that were not power users could still hold their own in a fight.

    "Nothing?" I called out when the counting in my head reached 60. "I can give you a few options if you want," I continued as I slide down the wall to sit on the ground, my legs straight in front of me.

    "Option 1," I started as I stared forward, not really looking at anything. "We wait until you are out of bullets and then go in, kill you, and take your supplies." I let out a minuscule pink me, one so small that you could hardly see it, and ced it on the ground. I watched as it slithered out of the opened door like a snake hunting down its prey.

    "Option 2," I continued as the silence drew on. "You take what you want and leave for another building, you get to live with whatever supplies you have on hand. Personally, I think that is the best option, after all, you stay alive."

    "Why do I need to leave?" the disgruntled voice seemed to being closer, but I couldn''t be sure.

    "Because this whole building is mine," I said with a smile on my face. "And I am not that good at sharing." I cracked my neck, wanting nothing more than to put in my headphones and listen to music while a made a cheesecake. I couldn''t figure out if I wanted a blueberry cheesecake or a caramel one. Either way, I didn''t want to waste my time in this hallway.

    "Fuck you! This is my home!" shouted the voice, this time definitely closer. I closed my eyes, wishing that I was able to see what my mes could see. But that very idea was ridiculous since fire really didn''t have eyes. Still, it would be nice to have eyes in the hall.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "I don''t suppose anyone can tell what type of gun it is simply from the sound of it," I grunted quietly as I looked around our group.

    "Type 81 assault rifle, issued to the infantry forces of Country K''s military force. It hasn''t been the gun of choice for the past 5 years," said Huang Tian Kuo. I rolled my eyes. Leave it to the gun-obsessed couple to know the different types of guns simply by the sound it makes when it is trying to kill you.

    Not to mention, I never even heard about any gun that was simply called a ''type''.

    Oh well, not that I really cared.

    "And the number of bullets it can shoot at us?" I asked with some level of sarcasm in my voice. And when I mean some, I mean, my question was dripping in it.

    "Depends," said Hua Chan Juan looking at me.

    "On?" I asked, stretching my neck to the right. One of the downsides of having a really, really good sleep is that I always seem to wake up with a kink in my neck. Ugh.

    "On how many rounds he has on hand," came the smart-ass response.

    She was your best friend in your past life, just breathe and ignore it. "Thank you for that helpful information," I said under my breath so softly that only Liu Wei who was sitting on the floor beside me could hear me.

    "And how many bullets can he shoot before he has to reload?" I asked, thinking that this was the exact question that I had put forward earlier, but apparently not.

    "That information is ssified and is only avable to military personal," came the reply. Great, the military was no longer a thing, but the soldiers in it still acted the same. I guess you can take the soldier out of the military but not the military out of the soldier.

    I closed my eyes and allowed my head to rest against the wall. Why did I think it was a good idea to be surrounded by people? Especially when some of them make it very clear that I will not be part of their exclusive club since I was not in the military before the end of the world.

    Oh well¡­ those types of thoughts aren''t going to get us out of this current predicament.

    "You''ve been awfully quiet," I yelled down the hall, a half smile appearing on my face. I didn''t know if I liked the type of challenge he presented or not. But just as my thoughts were about to wander, I heard it. A slight scuffling on the steps below us. "Awe, you didn''t think that would work, did you?" I asked, my head tilted to the side, my smile growing bigger. Fuck it, might as well enjoy myself while I can.

    ''Hey, Prince Charming, there is someoneing up the stairs from under us,'' I thought to Wang Chao, tilting my head to the stairwell across from where I was sitting. He nodded in response but didn''t say anything. A few quick hand motions and about half of our group broke off, led by Hua Le Yang since his vice-captain was still holding open the door.

    "You are military," I said out of the blue, trying to add some noise to cover up the fact that we had men on the move. "What a coincidence. Did you work at the base?" I let out a low chuckle when there was only silence from myst statement.

    "I supposed you have been trained on how to deal with psychological warfare," I said as I thought about my pink me justying on the carpeted floor of the hallway. ''If you can see him strike, but don''t burn him too badly,'' I thought to my me, trying to impart my will into it. I knew my mes could sense my feelings and that they weren''t normal but I might as well try some new tricks with them.

    "Too bad they never trained you on how to deal with me."

 Chapter 135 135

    ?

    "I mean, I''m not saying that I am crazy or anything, just a bit¡­ off-kilter," I said to the mysterious shooter down the hall of the 29th floor. I was hoping that the other teams were fairing a bit better than we were, but what was the chance we would have other military personnel in this building?

    It wasn''t fair.

    ''Go,'' I whispered to my pink me. "But off-kilter in the cute and cuddly way, not the serial killer type way, I promise," I said out loud. I was waiting for the screaming to start to let me know when we could meet this person who has taken up so much of my time. Not to mention the friends with him. But then again, I rarely saw soldiers go anywhere without another member of their team, so I guess I would have to employ the plus one strategy; if you see one, always assume that there is at least one more around.

    1¡­2¡­3¡­4¡­.5¡­. there it is¡­ a loud piercing scream filled the hallway and stairwell as my pink me found its target. Standing up, I dusted myself off and walked towards the railing that blocked the hall where we were from the stairwell. "I suggest that you hurry up and do whatever it was that you were supposed to do. The distraction in the hallway is currently burning. And it is just going to get worse the longer we prolong this meeting," I yelled down at the people who I knew were trying to surprise us in the stairway.

    Silence met my statement. "Suit yourself," I said as I walked through the opened door and down the hall where my me was waiting for me.

    I heard a growling from Chen Zi Han as he rushed to my side. "You don''t do that, Princess," he growled in my ear sending my mind spinning in directions that were not conducive to a hallway with people trying to kill us hiding somewhere.

    "Do what?" I asked, seriously confused. The threat from this direction had been neutralized, otherwise, I would have walked into a hail of bullets. Seeing as there was none, I was safe. See?

    "You do not walk first through a doorway towards people that want to kill you," Chen Zi Han said as he pulled me off to the side and allowed the rest of the team to go through first.

    I chuckled at that thought. "I am pretty sure that I am always surrounded by people wanting to kill me," I admitted as I nodded my head towards the men and woman rushing down the hall to find the poor sap that was standing in a circle of my mes.

    Chen Zi Han just let out a low sound of displeasure but did not contradict me. I was sure that in his time as an enforcer with the Red Dragon Syndicate, he understood what I was saying. No matter how hard you worked or how much you got along with the people around you, there was always the chance of being stabbed in the back when you least expected it.

    "Don''t do it again," he stared at me, his index finger inches from my nose. I jokingly snap at it, only for him to move his finger out of the way so quickly I didn''t even see him reaching around the back of my neck before pulling me closer to him. I couldn''t move, I couldn''t even really struggle, not like I really tried all that hard. My breath was trapped in my lungs as I looked at the towering man in front of me.

    He was a freaking enforcer of a criminal organization that did not think twice about snapping someone''s neck or shooting them point-nk in the back of the head. The man was almost a foot and a half taller than me, and with his bulk, I was nothing more than a kitten in the clutches of a tiger.

    The tattoos that I could see, those on his fingers, hands and neck were practically pulsing with the energy inside of them, drawing me in, begging for my touch. But even with all that, I was not the least bit scared. This man was my knight, my dark knight willing to protect me from the world. How could I possibly be scared of him?

    In fact, his entire being called to me, making me want to soak in his essence so that there was always a part of him in me.

    He stared into my eyes, a harsh look on his face, but that didn''t bother me at all. Whatever it was that he saw on my face or in my eyes caused him to grip the back of my neck even harder, but I only smiled.

    Slowly leaning closer to the man that had me enthralled, I went onto my tiptoes and licked him across his right cheek. "Mine," I whispered into his ear as I came back down to the floor. I looked up at the man, my neckpletely exposed as I had to tilt my headpletely back to be able to see him.

    Once again, his grip on me tightened with my statement, but he said nothing, just continued to stare down at me. It was his turn to lower himself to be able to look me directly in my face. With a quick move, just like the predator that he was, hetched onto my exposed neck and not so gently dug his teeth into my skin. I gasped in surprise, the feeling somewhere between pain and pleasure as I closed my eyes and let him do what he wanted to me.

    As if he was just waiting for my surrender, he released his mouth from my throat as I let out a soft moan of protest. He ttened his tongue and swiped it up and over where he had just bitten. "Mine," he growled down at me as he stood to his imposing height, his hand never leaving the back of my neck.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Yours," I agreed, not able to look away from him. It was like we were in our own little world at that moment where only the two of us existed. I could still feel my neck throbbing from his bite and I raised my left hand to cover the spot. "Yours," I said again, this time making both a statement and a promise.

    "Yours," he said in return, this time a smile breaking out over his face making him look 10 years younger. My heart thumped painfully in my chest at his words, his promise to me.

    "If you two are done, we are going to need you," yelled Zhou Hui Fan as he stood with his gun raised in front of an open door in the middle of the floor.

    "Some people really like being a lightbulb," I grumbled as Chen Zi Han slowly released my neck with a low chuckle at my words.

    "We can continue itter, Princess," he reassured me and his hand slid down my arm to grab my hand. Raising it to his lips, he brushed an incredibly soft, gentle kiss to my knuckles. "We have a whole lifetime."

    Grunting because he wasn''t wrong, I was still a bit annoyed at being interrupted. It was the first time that I had ever seen him like that and I wanted and needed to see it more. But, the more rational side of me admitted that this was not the right time to be lost in his arms as we were in the middle of an operation, but I was really finding it hard to step out of his embrace.

    Still chuckling, he continued to hold my hand and brought me down the hall to where the rest of our team was waiting.

    I walked right up to where Zhou Hui Fan giving him a re before going to look into the apartment building in front of us. "Sorry," he said, sounding anything but sorry. I grunted in reply, still too cranky to form words. I heard himughing under his breath and I stuck out my tongue. Stepping through the opened door, I saw the reason why none of the men would go inside.

    In the middle of what could only be the living room, stood at least nine swirling columns of pink mes that reached from the hardwood floors to the ceiling. I raised my eyebrows at the sight. Apparently, I would have to rethink my plus one strategy and change it to plus 8, and that didn''t even include however many people were in the stairwell trying to ambush us.

    "We still have a team on the stairway, right?" I asked, not taking my eyes away from the mes in front of me.

    "We do," confirmed Wang Chao as he came up behind me and wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling my flush against his front.

    I hummed in reply and leaned against the man. "So, is anyone going to im to be the leader of this motley crew or are we just going to start killing people? Either way, I don''t particrly care," I said, enjoying the feeling of Wang Chao.

    "Me," came a voice from one of the pirs. Waving my hand, I reduced the me just enough to expose his face but not enough to give him the idea that he could get away if he tried.

    I felt the man stiffen behind me and I turned my head to look at him. "Li Yi Ming?" came the deep voice behind me. Now it was my turn to stiffen.

    "General?" he asked, his voice hesitant as if he didn''t recognize Wang Chao. Wang Chao hummed and nodded his head confirming his identity.

    Well fuck.

 Chapter 136 136

    ?

    I sighed and moved out of Wang Chao''s arm that had grown ck as soon as he recognized the man in front of us. Going to sit down on the couch, I waited for things to either explode or calm down, but either way, I was not going to get into the middle of it.

    Only soldiers could be shot at one moment and then be best friends the next second. Sometimes I had no idea what was going on in their heads. I wonder if they would still be so buddy-buddy if I had been shot and killed.

    Hearing Wang Chao growl, I raised my eyebrows in his direction. But it wasn''t like I was wrong, and even if the boys didn''t let me go in first, they would have, which meant that they would be the ones killed. Was I just supposed to let that happen simply because they worked for the samepany?

    Letting out a huff, I sunk back into the couch, enjoying howfortable it was. Huh, maybe I would put this in my space for future use. Rubbing my hand over the soft fabric, I purposefully ignored the looks that the men were sending me.

    That was until Liu Wei cleared his throat loudly. Sighing, I looked over at the man in question that wanted my attention but couldn''t bother toe over to get it. In fact, not a single one of my guys came over, not even Chen Zi Han. "What?" I snapped, more than done with the day. Any type of energy I felt this morning had beenpletely depleted. Taking out an energy drink from my space, I opened it and took a quick chug. Praying that it would help wake me up, I waited for whatever was going toe out of Liu Wei''s mouth next.

    "Would you mind dropping your mes, Sweetheart?" asked Liu Wei, like calling me Sweetheart was going to get me to do what he wanted. Part of me was demanding to engulf the man in fire again, but this time let him burn while the other part of me just wanted to leave the room and go to bed.

    Huh, why was my energy draining so fast? Was it because I was using my fire like this? Should I kill them and just be done with it? We had at least 10 other apartments on this floor to get through and if everyone was going to be like this, then I would be overdrawn in under an hour.

    I continued to just stare at Liu Wei, not really seeing him. All of a sudden, my head started to spin and I copsed on the couch, all of my funnels of mes disappearing in an instant, and my energy drink spilling from my limp hand.

    ----

    Chen Zi Han had to lock his knees as he and Li Dai Lu started walking toward where everyone was waiting for them. His legs were getting progressively weaker and weaker with every step that he took, but he refused to show any hint of what was going on. He let go of her hand as she approached Zhou Hui Fan at the door and managed to rx even more when he saw Wang Chao going up behind her.

    As soon as everyone''s attention was drawn to whatever was going on inside, he let himself slowly copse to the floor as his head started to spin. "Chen Zi Han?" came a voice from his right. He tried to turn and look at Liu Yu Zeng, he could hear the concern in the voice of his friend, but he simply couldn''t. Without a sound, he slowly slumped down to the floor, using the wall as a guide.

    "Chen Zi Han!" came a panicked shout before the darkness engulfed him.

    ---

    When he next opened his eyes, he was stunned by what he saw. He was in a beautiful meadow surrounded by green fields, cool water, and a majestic mountain range off in the distance. When he turned his head to one side he could see a forest of trees so tall they seemed to reach the sky. But his line of sight was incredibly limited.

    He spun around quickly, making sure that there was no one around and immediately became aware of what he was, or was not, wearing.

    Looking down he saw ck silken pants that hung off his hips and tapered in at the ankles while on his shoulders were gold armor ting, simr to those that he found on his forearms. Hanging on his left arm was a giant shield that had seen a lot ofbat judging by the number of scars and nicks in it.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Hefting the shield up, he noticed that there was almost no weight to something that was almost the size of him as if his body was so used to carrying it that it didn''t even register anymore. The only thing that made him ufortable was the helmet on his head, it greatly reduced his line of sight. There were only thin vertical slits in an otherwise solid helmet that allowed him to look out and see what was around him.

    He rolled his shoulders back trying to getfortable in this unknown location. Looking around to try and find somewhere to go, he spotted a figure standing in a perg on the banks of the water. Even if he couldn''t make out anything more than the flowing white dress that she was wearing, his body demanded to be near her.

    "Li Dai Lu," he breathed, picking up his pace until he was almost at a run. "Princess!" he yelled and watched as she turned around to face him. He stumbled mid-step as his breath caught at the sight before him. Her hair hung down her body like a waterfall, begging him to run his hands through it just to see if it was as soft and silky as it appeared.

    She was adorned in gold jewelry from her ankles to her wrists and even up her biceps. A gold belt clinched in her waist, and her white, floor-length, one-shouldered dress had a slit up the front that made him want to fall to his knees and pray at her altar. On top of her head, she wore a delicate gold tiara, saying what he always knew; that she was royalty.

    "Li Dai Lu," he breathed as he approached her. Setting his shield down against one of the pirs, he got down onto one knee, folding his arms on his remaining knee, and bowed his head.

    "Why did you leave me?" came the anguished cry of a woman that should never know such pain. He stiffened in realization. That was the exact words and tone that she had said two nights ago when she scared the crap out of all of them.

    He wanted to deny the fact that he had ever left her, that he could never even consider leaving her, but what came out of his mouth waspletely different. "I was called," was all he could get past his lips no matter what he wanted to say. Even his body was frozen in this position, no longer willing to obey hismands.

    "So every time they call, you will leave?" came the choked response.

    "It is my duty," he felt something inside him replying. But Chen Zi Han refused to be overtaken by something that could cause his princess to feel such heartache and devastation.

    "So, the humans are more important to you," she said,pletely crushed. He watched as a single tear fell from her eye as she looked at him like he wasn''t even there, as if she was prepared to bepletely annihted by him.

    "Fuck that," Chen Zi Han growled as he forced his unwilling body to stand up and take his woman in his arms. Having her curled up against his chest, he felt like he could finally breathe again. "Let them die," he growled down at her. "You are mine." That statement, that fact that she was his just as much as he was hers snapped something inside of his chest and he tilted his head back to let out a roar.

    Li Dai Lu seemed to feel the same as she too arched her back as much as his arms would allow and let out her own scream. "Yours!" she said as she calmed down enough to look at him. "And you are mine."

    The band that seemed to snap inside of him felt like it was reaching out to the person in his arms only to be entangled in her own band. As the ties between the two of them tightened, a rush of power and energy filled him up and he couldn''t help but let out another roar to the heavens. "Yours," he yelled before he bent down and captured her mouth in a soul-searing kiss. "Forever and always," he promised against her lips as he broke the kiss for just a second before diving back in.

    Li Dai Lu was so soft in his arms, pliant to his every need as he deepened the kiss, trying to draw every part of the woman he loved into himself so that they would never be apart. "I will never leave you," he dered just as the world went back and he lost consciousness.

 Chapter 137 137

    ?

    "Li Dai Lu!" screamed Chen Zi Han as he woke up to realize that she was no longer in his arms. He frantically looked around, but all he could see was an empty hallway with red carpeting running down the length and beige walls. "Li Dai Lu!" he screamed again as he quickly got to his feet.

    "Chen Zi Han!" yelled a voice beside him and someone grabbed his arm to calm him down. Flinging the offending hand away, he spun around to see who would dare keep him from his woman. It took him a second to recognize Liu Yu Zeng and even longer to notice that his hands were up, his palms visible in surrender.

    "You need to calm down," said Liu Yu Zeng in a soft voice. "She is fine."

    "Where is she?" Chen Zi Han demanded, not taking a step towards his friend but also not willing to step back either. With his hand still up, Liu Yu Zeng pointed to the opened door diagonally from them.

    With thundering footsteps he entered the room, quick to push away anyone that was standing between him and his princess. Thebative part of his brain saw that there were nine unknown people in the room, but because they were not close to Li Dai Lu, he would not kill them.

    Yet.

    He remembered his promise to her. He would let them all die if they tried toe between the two of them, but as always, she had the final say. Searching the room, he saw Liu Wei kneeling in front of a couch, his frame blocking whoever was on it, but Chen Zi Han knew.

    His Li Dai Lu was unconscious on the couch and there were people standing between him and her. Letting out a roar that caused more than a few people to cringe away in fear, he stomped towards where Liu Wei still knelt.

    "Out of my way," he growled, knowing that she would not be happy if he started a fight with one of her men, but he didn''t think he could possibly go back to normal until he held her in his arms. That dream, whatever it was, wherever it was, had shaken him to the core. He wanted to talk about it with the other guys, but at the same time, he wanted and needed to keep it to himself at the same time.

    Liu Wei looked up at him from his position on the floor, running his fingers through her hair. Chen Zi Han took a deep breath and tried to push down his fear, rage, and relief in order to talk to one of the people he considered his brothers. "I need to hold her," he said through gritted teeth.

    Taking one look at the man that seemed to be holding on by a thread, Liu Wei slowly got up and backed away from Li Dai Lu. But he refused to back so far away that he could not save her if Chen Zi Han did something unforgivable to her.

    Not caring what was on Liu Wei''s mind, Chen Zi Han rushed to Li Dai Lu''s side and gently picked her up. Unconcerned about the dripping energy drink or the part of the couch that was still soaked as a result, Chen Zi Han pulled her into his arms and sat down.

    "I am here," he whispered in her ear, making sure that no one other than her heard what he was saying. "I am not leaving. You are mine and I am yours, forever and always," he continued, repeating the words he spoke to her in his dream. "And if anyonees between us, then let them all die." As soon as he spoke hisst word, Li Dai Lu''s eyes fluttered open.

    "Chen Zi Han?" she asked confused. "What happened?" Seeing the same nk look that she had on her face after she woke up the next morning from her dream, Chen Zi Han realized that she didn''t remember anything that happened in his dream.

    If that was the case, then did he just imagine it? Was it only a dream and he was putting too much stalk into it? Was he the only one to experience it?

    Fears and doubts filled his brain, leaving nothing but confusion in its wake. Tightening his arms around the woman that meant more than anything to him, he bent his head until his cheek was resting on the top of her head.

    ''Are you okay?'' came a soft, tentative voice inside his head. Stunned, he froze, unable to move. ''Chen Zi Han? Can you hear me? I can feel you inside me¡­ how did that happen?"

    The voice was real! Li Dai Lu was inside of his head and she could feel him. Taking in a deep breath, trying to calm his racing heart, he searched inside his body, trying to feel if she was inside of him like he was inside of her.

    There she was! A blue me flickered deep down inside of him, as clear as if he was looking at it with his own two eyes. ''I can see you,'' he breathed inside of his head, hoping that he was doing it right. Whenever they spoke mind to mind with Wang Chao, it felt different than this. This felt like they were one soul inside of two bodies.

    ''I can see you too,'' came the shy response. ''You are this beautiful ck me burning inside of my heart. How did this happen?''

    That innocent questionpletely stunned Chen Zi Han. How did he respond? Did he tell her what happened even if she couldn''t remember anything? ''You are mine and I am yours. Is it really that weird that we are now connected this way?'' he asked, telling the truth but leaving some parts out.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    There was a brief silence before he felt her smile inside his mind. It seemed to light up everything that was inside of him. ''No, it''s not too weird. I like it,'' she admitted.

    "Come on, Princess," said Chen Zi Han out loud as he gently rubbed her back. He didn''t want to let her out of his arms, but this was also not the ce to figure everything out. "Let''s get this shit done so we can go home for some dinner."

    He felt more than saw her nod of eptance, but as soon as she was out of his arms, he feltpletely hollow, like his heart was being ripped out of his chest with every step she took. Resisting the urge to pull her back into his embrace, he followed closely behind her as she came to a stop beside Wang Chao.

    Ignoring the looks of the other three men, he stood silently behind her, ready to be anything and everything that she needed.

    ----

    I might have been so tired that I passed out, but it seemed to be just what the doctor ordered because as soon as I woke up in Chen Zi Han''s arms, I felt refreshed and ready to deal with the shit before us. But there was one thing that I couldn''t deny. I loved the feeling of Chen Zi Han inside of me right now, like a dark shadow that filled me up in a way that I didn''t realize that I needed.

    "So, you guys all know each other," I said clearly stating the obvious. Chen Zi Han and I could figure things outter, but for right now, we had to deal with these soldiers.

    Wang Chao grunted before he wrapped his arm around my side and gave me a kiss on my cheek. ''We will be talking about thister,'' he whispered in my mind. "I was theirmanding officer while I was still in the Navy," he said out loud, answering my question.

    "Does that make us all friends now?" I asked. The urge to crack my neck with the amount of stress that I was feeling was almost unbearable. We had 301 people, including ourselves, to look after and what? We were adding another nine just for the Hell of it?

    "Yes," said Wang Chao as if that was a given. Like I said, once a soldier, always a soldier. "We don''t leave our own behind."

    Yes, yes, I understood that concept. I even admired it in my first and second lives, but now¡­. Not so much. These were grown-ass men that had no problems shooting at us, but now we were going to take them into our fold?

    With what fucking supplies?!?

    Did I make things too easy on this man that he didn''t realize what was actually waiting for us out there once the snow melted? Did he not understand just how much food alone we would need for just us, let alone another 310 men?!?

    This was the lull before the storm, and we needed to prepare and hunker down if we were going to have any chance at surviving it.

    I could feel my temper slipping the more that I thought about it, but just as I was spiraling down, I heard the footsteps of even more people.

    "Great! Now that we are all here, let''s figure out our next step," said the man that I hadpletely engulfed in mes not five minutes ago.

    Really? OUR next step? What the fuck is that supposed to mean, ''our''?

    ''Kill them all,'' hissed the voice that managed to break through the ice that I had encased it in. I had discovered a direct link between the voice and my temper, but that didn''t mean it wasn''t right.

    I felt a shifting beside me. Turning to look at Chen Zi Han behind me, I noticed that he had taken out his leather gloves and was meticulously putting them on.

    "There is no ''us'' unless she says that there is an ''us''," he said very slowly as if he was measuring out every word out of his mouth.

 Chapter 138 138

    ?

    The man in front of us scoffed at Chen Zi Han''s statement, not realizing just how close to death he wasing. "As far as I know, no one here outranks the General," he said, the confidence in his voiceing through loud and clear.

    I just nodded my head, waiting to see where Wang Chao was going to go with this. He had already said that What''s His Face''s team could stay with us, but I didn''t know the exact logistics of it all. "Our next step is to clear out all the homes on this floor," said Wang Chao looking at the man in front of him.

    "And if they are upied?"

    "Kill them or drive them out," said Liu Yu Zeng as if only made sense to go in one of those two directions. Mind you, as far as I was concerned, those were the only two directions we could take this. Li Yi Ming (that was his fricking name!) looked at him with disgust.

    "You would kick them out of their homes?!" he demanded, like the very idea of it waspletely asinine.

    "Yes," replied Liu Yu Zeng. "Because I am certainly not going to be supporting them and protecting them for the rest of their lives."

    Li Yi Ming scoffed at that, "It will be more like the other way around. The majority of people in this ce are military of some kind or another."

    Great, we traded one base for another. I watched as the smile widened on Liu Yu Zeng''s face, but it was not a¡­ happy smile by any stretch of the imagination. "Sure, let''s go with that. So, fearless leader, what is your final say?" he asked looking at Wang Chao. I was d that he was the one to ask that question because I was also really interested in his answer.

    "We will allow them to stay if they want to," said Wang Chao, changing his stance, as he looked at Li Yi Ming. The other man smirked at me and Chen Zi Han and I was done.

    Turning around, I left the apartment of Li Yi Ming and his team, pushing those in my way to the side. I would officially have to regroup and n my next step. With my mind whirling, I didn''t see or care who followed me out or stayed behind.

    I mmed open the door to the stairwell and started to go up to our apartment. Or maybe I should have called it Wang Chao''s penthouse since he had just made it perfectly clear where he stood. I honestly thought that he had understood that there was no more government, no more loyalty to what didn''t exist anymore. But I guess he just didn''t understand.

    That was fine, he would learn the hard way¡­ and without me.

    ''Wait before you do something rash,'' he said, his voice still giving me goosebumps without even trying. I scoffed under my breath as I opened the door to the ce that I had thought would be my home for the next few months. Looking around, I brought all of my stuff back into my space, returning the things that were originally here.

    ''Just calm down,'' he tried again. My head snapped up at his words and my eyes narrowed even though he was nowhere near me. When, in the history of the world, had telling someone to calm down actually had the desired effect. Because I can tell you that it had never worked on me.

    In fact, I am pretty sure that it had the opposite effect.

    I took a deep breath and closed my eyes,pletely making my mind nk. I pictured building a wall, brick by brick between my core and the outside world. I had once read about this technique in an online novel, but I had never bothered to really try it before now.

    Now, I was going to create an imprable wall between me and the outside world. I would not let anyone pass, not even a hotter-than-hell man that apparently couldn''t stop ying hero long enough to save those he cared about.

    It reminded me of a quote I had once read. It went; "It is better to love a viin rather than a hero. A hero would sacrifice you to save the world, but a viin would sacrifice the world to save you."

    I wanted the men by my side willing to watch the world burn if it meant keeping me safe and happy, just like I was willing to do for them. And if they weren''t willing to do that? Well, at least I would know where I stood.

    As soon as I felt thest brick fall into ce, I felt a warm arm wrap itself around me, cradling me in its embrace. "You and me against the world," whispered Chen Zi Han as he slowly guided me closer to his body.

    I heard a scoff as Liu Yu Zeng walked around the two of us to go sit down on the couch. His arms spread out and resting against the back cushion, hezily crossed his legs. "You need to learn how to share, brother," he said, looking at Chen Zi Han. "And that was one of the reasons why Liu Wei went into the military instead of me. Can''t stand their holier than thou attitude."

    "I don''t think it is a matter of being holier than thou, more like the longer they are in it, the more of a heroplex they develop," I said shrugging my shoulders.

    "I resent that," said a third voice as Liu Wei closed the penthouse door and went to sit in a chair across from his brother. "I don''t think I have a heroplex, not to mention the only damsel in distress I want to rescue is Li Dai Lu."

    I rolled my eyes, but I couldn''t help the feeling of warmth and happiness that spread through my body at the fact that these men had followed me out of that ce.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "But you would think that Wang Chao would have been able to remove the stick up his ass now that the zombie apocalypse has happened," said Liu Yu Zeng, shooting his brother a smirk. "After all, big brother over here managed to."

    Liu Wei simply raised his eyebrow as he ignored his brother. Sitting in the exact opposite position as Liu Yu Zeng; his back straight, his legs crossed in front of him with his sped hands resting loosely on his knees, Liu Wei seemed posed and ready to take on the world.

    "So, what is the n?" he asked, looking directly at me.

    "I don''t know," I replied, not really knowing which direction I was going to go in.

    "I don''t believe that for a second," smiled Liu Wei, his tone was reprimanding, but his eyes were sparkling with humor.

    "It''s true," I said, tapping Chen Zi Han''s hand. As soon as he let me go, I went to sit in the chair beside Liu Wei and across from Liu Yu Zeng. Instead of stilling beside Liu Yu Zeng like I thought he would, Chen Zi Han came to stand right behind my chair.

    "There are a few possibilities, but I don''t know what step I want to take."

    "Okay, then talk them through with us," suggested Liu Wei. "We can make the decision together." Together, I liked that idea. Letting out a smile of happiness I started to try and unravel everything in my mind.

    "I am worried that if we stay here, we will be toopliant," I said looking at the Liu brothers in front of me. I could feel Chen Zi Han behind me like a strong, sturdy tree. I knew he would protect me from even the most violent of storms. I closed my eyes and marveled at his ck me burning within my heart.

    "What do you mean?" asked Liu Wei as he uncrossed his legs and leaned forward to look at me.

    "I mean, I think that I sheltered you too much from the realities of what is toe," I said, trying to grasp the right words to express my thoughts without offending them.

    "Just spit it out, Sweetness. We are big boys, we can handle it," smiled Liu Yu Zeng, the easy-going smile on his face still there, but I could see the slightest tightening of the corners of his eyes.

    "Do you know how most people learn to use their powers?" asked, looking at the men around me.

    "Isn''t it the way that we learned it?" asked Liu Wei, tilting his head to get a better look at me. I scoffed at that very idea.

    "Fuck no," I said. "It took humans almost a year into the apocalypse before they found out that they had any type of power."

    "Why did it take them so long?" asked Liu Yu Zeng, copying his brother''s position, his gaze intent.

    "Because the only way that humans learned what they were made of, deep down, was to be pushed to the very brink of extinction," I said as I closed my eyes, remembering what it was like three years after all this had happened. Technically, things had kind of smoothed out by the time I had arrived in this body, and it was still a constant fight for survival.

    "Extinction?" said Liu Wei, his eyes widened with rm.

    I hummed in reply. "This apocalypse¡­ it is like stepping in quicksand," I said, trying to exin. I was not overly good with words and I came out offensive more often than not, so many people didn''t take me seriously.

    "The zombies had been around for months before November 1st. Even if they weren''t in County K until October, countries like M and S had been experimenting with gic maniption for years before this vine was even created."

    "So what you are saying is that this didn''t start with the creation of the zombies," said Liu Yu Zeng as he leaned back against the couch.

    "Exactly."

 Chapter 139 139

    ?

    "Everyone expects the apocalypse to be this big, sudden change from everything that they knew. And technically, that was what happened when the EMP went off and we lost all of the electricity that we hade to depend on for our very survival. But that was the first step," I said, willing the guys to understand what I was trying to say.

    "The EMP was our first step into the quicksand," said Liu Wei, looking at me intently. "But because the apocalypse didn''t happen overnight, people just stood still."

    Ah, it was so nice for someone to speak Li Dai Lu. I chucked. "Exactly. People still expected the government toe around and save them, they still expected everything to go back to normal quickly and easily, and that the grocery stores would miraculously have food in them again. So what was the point of stressing or preparing?"

    I saw the men nodding their heads and I tried to really drive home my point. "How many times have we really encountered the zombies?" I asked, watching as the men froze. "Not that often, right? Especially not if we are considering this to be a zombie apocalypse."

    "So, what exactly is happening right now?" asked Liu Yu Zeng.

    "Humans are frozen,pletely unaware of any dangersing their way."

    "And the zombies?" asked Chen Zi Han. I looked over my shoulder to see the man staring down at me from where I sat.

    "The zombies are taking their time discovering a whole new world," I said. "They are fighting amongst themselves for positions of power, and getting their ranks in order. They are learning about all the new and fantastic changes that their bodies have undergone and they are slowly learning how to sessfully hunt their prey."

    "Not to mention that they are stuck in all this snow too," pointed out Liu Yu Zeng.

    Once again humming in agreement, I leaned against the back of my hair and felt Chen Zi Han''s hand on my shoulder.

    "If we are lucky, we have five months to gather as many supplies as we can and set up a safe haven for us to be able to withstand the initial onught. But it is more than that, we have to find a ce where we can have enough room to grow our own food, we have to make sure that we don''t have anyone around that would betray us, and we need to hone our powers to be even more efficient at killing."

    "Killing zombies or killing humans?" asked Liu Yu Zeng as he stared at me, wondering just how grey my own lines were.

    "Both," I said, slowly, surely. He raised his eyebrow as if asking if I was sure, but there was still one thing that he didn''t quite understand. I had no lines to cross. Any shackles of morality, humanity, or evenmon courtesy were shattered when I was ripped limb from limb in my previous life.

    Liu Yu Zeng simply nodded his head. "So essentially we are starting our own syndicate and we have five months to be up and running." Thinking about his statement for a second, I realized that he was exactly right.

    "Oh, and one more thing," I said with a deep sigh. The three men stared me down as if their very lives were dependent on what was going toe out of my mouth next. And in a way, they were. "The zombie hordes that we have been dealing with? Those were child''s y in front of the tide that ising."

    "Tide?" asked Liu Wei. He had nned to stand up, but at my words, he sunk back down into his chair.

    "What else would you call an endless surge of zombies that as soon as the first line falls there is an unending number of them to take their ce. Some tides went non-stop for weeks, even months. Most ces couldn''t deal with the sheer numbers and were annihted."

    "Fuck," whispered Liu Yu Zeng as he tried to wrap his head around that idea.

    "Yeah, the only good thing toe from it was that people discovered that they had powers that they could use against the zombies with more sess than just bullets."

    "And that is why you only want our people in this building," said Liu Wei nodding his head as if he had alreadye to that conclusion.

    "If I was beingpletely truthful? I don''t even want your people here. But I can''t tell you to abandon them. However, there is a finite number of supplies right now. And no one is going out looking for them seriously yet. Yes, they are raiding grocery stores, but not on the level that they are going to be," I said, cracking my neck. Before I could even finish, Chen Zi Han wrapped both hands around my shoulders and started to give me a massage.

    I groaned in pure bliss.

    "So, what are your ns?" asked Liu Wei making himselffortable again as he watched Chen Zi Han running his hand in small circles around my neck, shoulders, and head.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Option A, I leave this ce and try to find somewhere else to live. But I would be taking everything that is mine with me," I said, implying the stove and sr panels.

    "Then you will not be leaving this ce alone," said Liu Wei as he studied his nails, his own mind going a hundred miles per hour.

    I looked over at him. "We are yours, so by your very statement, you cannot leave us here." I smiled in agreement. He was right, they were mine so I couldn''t leave them behind.

    "Option B, we stay here and try to find enough supplies and space for everyone to be able to function. But we are also leaving the door open for someone to betray us to save themselves when the tide actuallyes."

    "Don''t know how much I like that idea," admitted Liu Yu Zeng as Liu Wei and Chen Zi Han nodded their heads inplete agreement.

    "Option C, we stick with the original n of kicking everyone but our men out of here and taking over the building," I said with a wiry smile on my face. "But Wang Chao kind of shot that n to hell."

    The boys grunted in agreement over that statement. "Is there an option D?" asked Liu Wei.

    "Of course," I said smiling. "But it means getting over my crippling fear of driving in the snow and we all high tail it back to the ranch and hope to get there before the zombies do."

    "If you had everything go your way, which option would you choose?" asked Chen Zi Han as he worked out one stubborn knot in my neck. I tilted my head to the side to give him better ess.

    "I have no idea," I said, my eyes closed. "And that is the biggest problem because we are still dealing with a ticking time bomb until the end of the world actually arrives and humanity is wiped out."

    "Do humans actually be extinct?" asked Liu Wei as he took off his sses and proceeded to clean them on the handkerchief from his breast pocket.

    I snorted at that question. "If we were anything other type of living thing, we could have been ssified as critically endangered. As it was, I think our poption went down to only 10% of the original, not including those that became zombies. But it would have been so much nicer if people becamepletely extinct." I shuddered at the memories that shed through my head. "People don''t exactly be nicer when pushed into adverse conditions," I said, trying to be as diplomatic as I could.

    Zombies were much more predictable and nicer to deal with than our fellow humans.

    "I say we go with option A," said Liu Yu Zeng as he broke the silence we had fallen into. "I am not willing to be caught with my pants down around my ankles, nor do I want to be putting in the hard work for someone else to enjoy."

    I chuckled as a child''s book popped into my mind.

    "What''s so funny?" he asked looking at me. A dark glower spread across his face.

    "Nothing," I said as I smiled at him. "It''s just that it reminded me of a child''s book we would read to the kids in my first life. It was called ''The Little Red Hen'' and it was about a hen that was asking for help from other animals, but none of them were willing to help. Then, when she was all finished and had a loaf of bread fresh out of the oven, all the other animals that couldn''t be bothered to help wanted a piece of her finished product. She said no and sent them on their way. If they did want to help with the making of it, then they couldn''t enjoy it when everything was done."

    Liu Wei nodded his head and stood up, "That is a very important lesson for children to learn, too bad most adults seem to have forgotten it. Make sure you tell that story to our kids in the future so they learn."

    I was stunned. I couldn''t help but stare at him as he came to stand in front of me and ced both of his hands on either side of my armrests. "You seem to forget that we are yours, and you are ours. Try not to do that in the future."

    "Yeah," I stuttered. "But that is still a long way off from kids."

    "Might as well inform you now of my future ns," he said shrugging as he walked towards the door with one hand in his pants pocket.

 Chapter 140 140

    ?

    Liu Wei walked down the single flight of stars between their penthouse and the apartment of the Naval Specialist Team thinking about what Li Dai Lu had said. He agreed with her. People were not willing to see what was in front of their faces, preferring the feelings of safety and security of the known.

    And if that was the case, then why should he bother being the harbinger for people with their heads stuck in the sand? It was much better for them to use this time to get what they needed than worry about hundreds or even thousands of unrted people.

    The biggest question was, what was Wang Chao thinking? Could it be that he was so wrapped up in the idea of duty and honor now that he was among other military personnel again that he couldn''t see what he was doing? He was willing to break off ties with his grandfather for Li Dai Lu only months ago, so what had changed?

    Liu Wei shook those thoughts out of his head as he approached the door being guarded by two of the Navy''s finest. Nodding his head to each of them, he turned the handle and walked into the same space Li Dai Lu stormed out of an hour ago.

    It was mind-blowing how much things could change in just a short hour. Li Yi Ming stood up and saluted him, but Liu Wei only nodded in acknowledgment. Going to stand just behind the chair that Wang Chao was sitting in, he forced his mind to go nk. He didn''t want Wang Chao to be able to read anything from him, especially in this room, so he forced himself to only think of a ck wall.

    "Is the princess settled?" asked Li Yi Ming with a small smirk on his face. The man standing behind him did not look impressed by his statement. In fact, if Liu Wei had to wager a guess, he would go as far as to assume that Li Yi Ming''s teammate was pissed.

    How interesting.

    Liu Wei refused to answer his question until Wang Chao tilted his head to look at him. Raising his brow, Liu Wei gritted his teeth beneath his smile and looked at the offending man. "Princess is fine," he said, his words and face giving nothing away to even Wang Chao. Startled over this turn of events, Wang Chao swung around in his chair to stare at Liu Wei.

    "Is there something wrong?" he asked, his eyes widening a fraction as he tried to get a read on Liu Wei. Still thinking about the ck wall, Liu Wei could feel Wang Chao just on the other side, trying to get in, but not wanting to be rude about it.

    "Considering that things went FUBAR, yes, there have been a few wrinkles to iron out," he said, not really caring if his oldest friend was upset with him or not. What could he do? Fire him? He hadn''t seen a paycheck in almost two months, let alone be able to go online to check his bnce. Money didn''t mean much right now.

    "And have they been ironed?" Wang Chao asked, looking at him more intently. Liu Wei looked up to see Li Yi Ming sitting there in a rxed position with a slight smirk on his face. "For me? Yes," he said looking down on his boss. The rest of the sentence, the part left unspoken, said that Wang Chao still had his own wrinkles to deal with.

    "Anyways, getting away from the spoiled princess, let''s go back to talking about the next step," said Li Yi Ming as he sat back and stared down at Wang Chao. "You are going to need me and my men in the near future."

    "Oh yeah? And why is that?" asked Wang Chao, also sitting back in his chair and looking at the man in front of him.

    "Because we are one of the most valued teams in the Navy," came the reply. "No matter what you are going to face, you would need people with our expertise on your side."

    Wang Chao nodded his head. "Your expertise," he repeated as he drummed his fingers gently on the armrest. "And what would that be, exactly?"

    "We faced the freaks out there and survived," came the smug reply.

    "You mean the zombies," Liu Wei pointed out. He had no idea what type of game Wang Chao was ying, but he hoped that it would be worth it to the other man. After all, he screwed the pooch when it came to Li Dai Lu.

    Li Yi Ming scoffed at Liu Wei''s statement. "They were not zombies," he said withplete certainty.

    "Round head? Big mouth? Lots of teeth?" asked Wang Chao looking at the man just over Li Yi Ming''s shoulder. When the other man nodded his head silently, they all waited for Li Yi Ming''s answer.

    "Yeah, those things. They were definitely not zombies."

    "Oh? You have seen zombies before?" asked Liu Wei a look of shock and awe on his face. Li Yi Ming couldn''t help but squirm in his chair.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Well, no," he started as he looked at Liu Wei as if he was stupid. "But they looked nothing like the zombies in movies and video games. I figured if so many sources had the same type of zombies, then that was what the zombies looked like."

    Wang Chao and Liu Wei couldn''t help but look at each other. Was this man seriously the leader of one of the best Naval Specialist Teams that Country K had? Just because they didn''t look like the ones in the movies then the zombies couldn''t be zombies? Was that really what he had said?

    Neither Wang Chao nor Liu Wei was willing to touch that statement with a 10-foot pole. "So you survived a group of the ''freaks''," started Wang Chao rubbing the spot between his eyebrows. "How many?"

    "We only lost two of our men," came back the proud answer, like losing only two men was something to congratte him on. When they were with Li Dai Lu, they never lost a single man and they were a lot more than a team of only 16 people.

    "How many ''freaks'' did you fight?" rified Wang Chao, this time turning his direct attention to the Vice-Captain behind Li Yi Ming.

    "It was a group of five," came the answer. "And we managed to hold them off until we could get to safety."

    "Oh," said Liu Wei nodding his head in understanding. "So how many did you manage to kill?"

    The Captain and the Vice-Captain exchanged looks. "None," admitted the second man as Li Yi Ming pressed his lips into a tight line. This was not the way he expected this conversation to go. The General hadn''t seenbat in years, so he thought that it would be easy to exchange his stills for the General''s protection.

    "I stopped counting my kills after 68," admitted Liu Wei, shrugging his shoulders like that number wasn''t overly impressive.

    "I reached 73 before I stopped," said Wang Chao staring down Li Yi Ming. "They are somewhat easy to kill once you get the hang of it."

    "And have a ''princess'' telling you exactly how to go about doing it," added Liu Wei, pissed that Li Yi Ming had simply dismissed Li Dai Lu as nothing more than a useless princess.

    Li Yi Ming snorted at that idea. As far as he was concerned, there was no way that someone that fainted on his couch could be of any use. Unless of course, it was for other activities¡­. He stared at the two men in front of him and wondered which one was screwing the chick.

    Wang Chao''s smile tightened as the thoughts in Li Yi Ming''s mind flooded into his. "So, technically, you are more useless than the princess. What else can you do for us?" He asked the men.

    He could feel the slight shifting from the men around them as they began to understand exactly where they stood in the hierarchy of it all. They might have been the best of the best before, but clearly, that was not how General Wang Chao saw them right now. And that idea stung.

    "What do you want?" asked Li Yi Ming through gritted teeth. No longer looking so cocky and rxed.

    "I want you to follow orders. You should be good at that, right?" asked Wang Chao as he stood up. Coming to his full and impressive height, he looked down at the man still sitting in front of him. "When we say kill them all, that is what we mean. When we give the option of leaving or death, there is no third option. And if you really think that some Captain of some Naval Speciality Team has enough power to dictate what me or mine do, then you have something elseing."

    Li Yi Ming could only stare at the General he thought he understood so well.

    "So, what is your choice?" the man demanded, looking down on Li Yi Ming as if he was looking at gum stuck to his shoe.

    "Sir?" he asked, not understanding what was going on.

    "Do you leave with your lives or do you stay here and die?" came the ice-cold voice of the God-like man in front of him.

 Chapter 141 141

    ?

    Wang Chao looked down at the man in front of him. He had enjoyed working with him. Li Yi Ming had always been professional andpetent when it came to his missions. Hepleted them on time and with a high rate of sess. In fact, his team was one of the most sought-after teams in the Navy, used for all sorts of missions from rescue to assassinations.

    He had heard rumors about a messy private life, but as far as Wang Chao was concerned, as long as that mess didn''t impact ore to work, it was none of his business. He was theirmander, not their babysitter. If Li Yi Ming wanted to screw a bunch of women and then disappear, as long as everyone was willing, then it was no concern of his.

    But then he crossed Wang Chao''s bottom line. He had shot at his team, including his little girl, and no one would walk away with that sin unscathed.

    It didn''t help his temper that Li Dai Lu had managed to close herself off from him. She had even managed to do it in such a way that he couldn''t feel anythinging from her, that soothing presence that he hade to rely on was just gone.

    That was strike number 2 against the man in front of him. And for a man that did not agree with giving second chances, the fact that Li Yi Ming was able to still be breathing was a miracle in and of itself.

    Then, even after all that crap, instead of making the smart decision to keep his head down and y least in sight, he called his little girl a princess in a derogatory way. Well... strike three, he was dead. Even if he chose the smarter option of leaving this building Wang Chao would still hunt him down and offer his heart to his little girl.

    Wang Chao felt his lip trying to flex into a snarl, but he fought to hold it back. Keeping his ice-cold persona was hard when every cell in his body was demanding retribution. But sometimes he also enjoyed ying with his food before he killed it.

    "I''m sorry, Sir," said Li Yi Ming standing up and saluting him. "It was wrong of me to address you in such a manner and I will not do it again."

    Wang Chao just stared at the man, wondering where the misstep inmunication happened.

    "I don''t remember the General asking for an apology," said Liu Wei and he adjusted his sses. "I believe he asked you to make a choice."

    "But¡ª" stammered Li Yi Ming as he looked back and forth between the two men. "I said that I wanted to stay here. Me and my team could be helpful to you."

    Wang Chao nodded his head like the man had made a good point. "Your team might be beneficial, but you are not. So chose before I chose for you," he growled looking at the smaller man. Even standing right in front of him Li Yi Ming was smaller than him in both height and muscle mass.

    When Wang Chao said that the team might still be beneficial the Vice-Captain behind Li Yi Ming straightened a look of surprise and hope on his face. Wang Chao simply raised his eyebrow at the man. He couldn''t remember his name, but sometimes that was more of a good thing than a bad.

    "You have two seconds," he snapped returning his gaze to Li Yi Ming just in time to watch the man visibly swallow in fear.

    "Two¡ª"

    "I''ll leave, but I am taking my men with me," growled Li Yi Ming as he took a step forward and practically into Wang Chao''s chest. His face took on an almost demonic snarl to it as he allowed his anger to take over.

    Wang Chao snorted,pletely unimpressed. "Everyone has the ability to make their own decisions," he said calmly as if this man that killed people with his bare hands meant little to him. And he did. There was no way Wang Chao considered him a threat to his safety. However, he was not willing to take a chance with Li Dai Lu''s safety so the man needed to die.

    "Those that want to follow you can, those that don''t¡­"

    Wang Chao watched as five others followed Li Yi Ming around the cramped apartment to gather their supplies and then quickly left. He turned his gaze to Liu Wei. No words were needed between the two men. Liu Wei nodded his head and quietly followed after the six men. As to however many men actually managed to leave the building? Well, that was up to Death.

    The remaining eight men stood still in the apartment, their gaze never leaving Wang Chao, especially after they watched him send Liu Wei away. They knew what Liu Wei''s ability was and they let out a slight sigh of relief that they were not among the stupid ones that decided to leave.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "What is your name?" asked Wang Chao as he returned to his seat and looked at the Vice-Captain in front of him.

    "Cao Mu Chen," he said,ing to attention. Wang Chao nodded his head as he crossed his legs and tilted his head towards the chair that Li Yi Ming just vacated. Taking his seat, Cao Mu Chen waited until the remaining seven members of his team came to stand behind him. Whatever came next, they would face it together like they always did.

    "Li Yi Ming was not wrong," started Wang Chao as he looked over the men standing in front of him. He was impressed that they stood strong as a team, that was a big point in favor of Cao Mu Chen. "There are benefits for bringing you guys in."

    When none of the men even twitched in front of him, his opinion of them rose even more. This was the behavior and demeanor of men that were considered some of the best of Country K''s military force. They were not as well known as the Infantry Specialized Teams as they were still a new development in the Navy, but they had managed to carve out a ce for themselves even after all that adversity.

    "But, if you want that to happen, then you will have to go through one final test before being epted. And I warn you, this test will not be easy," said Wang Chao as he rolled his shoulders, trying to reduce the tension in them. The longer he went without being able to feel his little girl inside his head, the more on-edged he became.

    "Understood, Sir," said Cao Mu Chen as he looked over his shoulder to his men to get their opinion on the matter. "What are our options?"

    Wang Chao smiled. It was so much better to deal with a smart person than a person that thought they were smart. "Your options are simple; leave, die, or pass the test."

    "And if we fail this test?" asked the man just to the right of Cao Mu Chen.

    "Then you are left with option A or B," answered Wang Chao with a shrug of his shoulders. Not willing to waste any more time with these people when he had some groveling to do upstairs, Wang Chao turned around and strolled towards the door. Liu Wei would meet him at home when he was done. "When you have made a decision,e upstairs to the penthouse."

    Leaving the men to make up their own minds, Wang Chao waited for the apartment door to close behind him before he rushed down the hall, almost at a full sprint. He took the steps three at a time to get to his floor as fast as he could, and the woman that he hoped would still be there.

    ---

    I was leaning over the coffee table studying a map of City J with Liu Yu Zeng to see where we might want to go next when the front door burst open scaring the crap out of me.

    ASee, that door was apparently easy to kick in¡­

    Calling on my pink me, ready to confront the intruder, I was takenpletely off guard as a blurred mass flew across the room and wrapped itself around my lower body, resting his head on my stomach.

    "I am sorry," he said, not even sounding the least bit out of breath. I tried to hide my smile as I felt Wang Chao''s arms gripping me tightly around my hips. I wanted to stay mad at this man, but this move was so unlike anything I ever thought that I would see from him that I wanted to know where we went wrong.

    Because clearly, he was not willing to let me go.

    I let out a soft sigh as I tentatively ran my fingers through his sweat-dampened hair. "Clearly we got our wires crossed and there is nothing I hate more than a misunderstanding that seems to drag on forever. So, tell me what was going through your mind."

    I could feel him shudder as he continued to tighten his arms to the point where I was about to lose my bnce. Seeing my predicament, Liu Yu Zeng walked up behind me silently, offering me his support so I didn''t fall. However, he didn''t let out a single sound, not willing to take this moment away from me and Wang Chao.

    "I am sorry," came the heartbreaking voice. "Please don''t keep me out, I can''t take not knowing what is going on in your head."

 Chapter 142 142

    ?

    I was startled when I heard what he had said. I honestly didn''t know how much he needed to be in my head until he wasn''t allowed in it anymore. But then again, I guess it made sense. No one could bepletely strong all of the time, and even the toughest man needed reassurance sometimes.

    Hell, I licked them when I needed my own reassurance that they were mine, and let''s face it, that is high on both the weird and the ick scale.

    So maybe having a constant dialogue of my thoughts was what kept Wang Chao grounded and reassured about his ce in our group. And more important, his ce with me.

    I was so tempted to tell him that I would not let him back in until he told me what was going on, but that felt dirty, almost like I was ckmailing him where I wouldn''t give him what he desperately needed until I got what I wanted in return first.

    And yes, I was ticked off, and yes, my stress levels were still through the roof, but this man was literally on his knees before me. I allowed the walls I erected in my head to crumble down, giving Wang Chao what he seemed to need. Whether it was what he wanted or not was another story.

    Once again I felt his whole body shudder in relief as it was wound as tightly as a bowstring only to now be released from all that pressure. "Thank you," he whispered out loud. ''I couldn''t feel you,'' he continued inside my head, his voice taking on a vulnerable quality to it that I had never heard before. ''Since the first time I met you, you have been in me. I could feel you invading every part of me from my muscles to my brain and even my heart. it got to the point that I could only breathe easier if I was able to see you. But once I got the spirit power, the feeling was even more intense. I no longer had to be in the same room as you to breathe, but you took over every fiber of me. Your thoughts and your presence kept me sane.''

    His confession left me breathless as I could feel his deep seeded need to be near me. ''I am sorry,'' I replied as I bent down to give him a kiss on the top of his head. ''I know I should have taken a step back, but¡ª'' I didn''t know how to describe the feeling that went through me when I saw him with Li Yi Ming. I sighed, not bothering. He could feel me and hear my thoughts. He already knew what I was going to say.

    ''Yes, but sometimes I like to hear you say it out loud,'' he said with a smile. I was about to open my mouth when I heard the sound of a voice being cleared from behind Wang Chao.

    Looking up, I saw some of Li Yi Ming''s team standing in my doorway. Feeling my hackles rise, I swung my vision down to the man that was still kneeling in front of me.

    "I believe that you have something to say?" I asked him. Yes, I forgave him simply because to not was like cutting off my nose to spite my face. But we still needed to hash out what actually happened. I had to hold off a chuckle when a long-forgotten thought popped up in my head.

    "Hey, Liu Yu Zeng," I started because this joke was too good to pass up, even if the timing was somewhat awkward.

    "Yeah?" he asked as he tightened his hold on my shoulders.

    "Do you know why most archaeologists are women?" I said, not able to hide the smile on my face.

    "No, why?" he asked and I could practically feel the smile in the voice of my joker.

    "Because they are so good at digging up the past," I replied tilting my head back so he could see the smile on my face. "Alright," I said tapping Wang Chao on his shoulder. By the look on the faces of the men by the door, I was worried that they would consider Wang Chao less by being willing to kneel in front of me.

    Wang Chao got to his feet and gave me a toe-curling kiss on my lips. "You can dig up the past as much as you want, because at least that way, you have to be around me in order to do it." My brain did not process his words as it was concentrating on the feeling of Wang Chao in front of me, almost pushing me back into Liu Yu Zeng who refused to take a step back to give me more room.

    In fact¡­ I shivered in delight as I felt Liu Yu Zeng''s lips trailing up and down my neck as Wang Chaopletely dominated my lips. I had never felt so out of control and overwhelmed in a good way as I did now, and I never wanted it to stop.

    "Okay, break it up," said Chen Zi Han as he stepped out of the kitchen and into the living room. He had volunteered to make dinner if I returned all of the working appliances to the kitchen. "You can keep going after thepany is gone," he continued as he came to my side and pulled me out from between the two towering men.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Guiding me to the head seat in the living room, a white oversized, wingbacked chair with a grey pillow and ck nket draped over the back, he waited for me to sink down into its softness. Giving me a quick once over to make sure that I was good and up for whatever wasing, he took his regr position behind me and to the left.

    Wang Chao and Liu Yu Zeng took their normal seats to my right and left and once we were all settled, he waved in the men that had not moved from our doorway. A small part of me was impressed that they didn''te in even with the door opened and instead waited for an invite.

    I leaned back into my chair and curled my legs under me as I got morefortable. Seeing me, Chen Zi Han quickly pulled off the nket andid it over my legs. I tilted my head back to smile at him, and he returned my smile, giving me a quick kiss on my cheek at the same time.

    "Is someone going to tell me what is going on?" I asked once I wasfortable and all the men had managed to file into the living room.

    "Li Yi Ming was right," said Wang Chao only to be interrupted by my hiss. I hated that man. Well, maybe hate was a strong word, but that man made my skin crawl and I was not willing to let him step foot in any ce that I called home. I frantically searched the faces of the unknown men, but when I didn''t see him, I rxed once again.

    "He is not here," Wang Chao reassured me. "He and Liu Wei are having a discussion on one of the lower floors," he continued, but the expression on his face let me know exactly what type of ''discussion'' he was actually having.

    I will fully admit that I was enough of a bitch that I didn''t even bother to stop the smirk on my face.

    "But he was right," said Wang Chao, pausing to see if I was going to interrupt him again. Looking at him, one eyebrow raised, he took that as my permission to continue. "His team is considered to be one of the best in the Navy. They can do anything and everything, and they do it very well."

    An impressed look crossed my face as I looked at the men in front of me. Wang Chao had never praised any team as he did them.

    "I was originally nning to have them be your own personal team, almost like bodyguards, but the very idea of them being around you all the time caused me to be¡­ unhappy," said Wang Chao, and I could feel that sh of anger at the idea of them being around me more than the men.

    "But that aside, they can integrate just fine with the other teams and still be used by you exclusively when needed. As long as they are not around you without one of us there." Wang Chao was interrupted by Liu Weiing into the penthouse, pulling off simr leather gloves as Chen Zi Han.

    He skirted around the men in the room, not even putting them in his eye as he made his way to me. Leaning down, he gave me a soft kiss on the cheek. "You have a bit of blood stter on your cheek," I said, licking my thumb ready to clean it off, but he flung his upper body backward and out of my arm''s reach.

    "You don''t need to touch something so dirty," he said when a brief streak of vulnerability shed through my eyes. I nodded my head, understanding where he wasing from but not necessarily agreeing with him.

    cing a kiss on my forehead this time, he went to go stand behind me on my right side beside Chen Zi Han. Once he had taken his ce, I turned my attention back to the men in a line in front of me.

    Wang Chao had said that they could be useful, and I had to give them credit for not even flinching when they saw our public disy of affection, but I didn''t know if they would be a good trade for the number of supplies we would need in order to keep them alive.

    "Give them a chance," said Wang Chao. "You might be surprised."

 Chapter 143 143

    ?

    If Wang Chao was asking me to give them a chance, then I would. But I would do it in my own way and on my own terms.

    "I understand that you guys have probably been a team for a long time, and, while I can appreciate it, I care more about you as individuals. Therefore, I don''t guarantee that I will want to keep you all. It is up to you to prove that you belong here."

    "May I ask what benefit there is to staying with you versus going off on our own as a team?" asked the man in the middle and I have to admit, I was impressed with his question. If he was so desperate that he was willing to join us no matter what, then I would have some concerns.

    "Good question," I said nodding my head, butpletely ignoring it. They would learn the benefit of being with us in due time. "What''s your name?"

    "Cao Mu Chen," he said as he took a step forward.

    "Are you the new captain?" I asked looking between all of the men. I knew that Li Yi Ming was the original captain, but he was clearly no longer here.

    "I am," he said as he continued to look forward, but not actually at me. I didn''t know if I should take offense to that or not. I understood that this might be a practice in the military, and after being around the zombies for so long, I knew that it was a sign of respect, but still¡­

    "Are you trying to insult me by not looking at me or are you trying to be differential to me? Or are you not willing to look at me because of Wang Chao?" I needed to know the answer to this because it could be a big deal in the future. If he recognized me as a leader, then that was fine, but if he was doing it in order to not insult Wang Chao by looking at something that was ''his''¡­ we would have issues.

    Poor Cao Mu Chen looked startled and his eyes widened as he turned his gaze to look at me. "No disrespect intended, Ma''am."

    And that too would have toe to a quick stop. "You are no longer in the military," I said as I looked at him seriously. "You do not need to call me Ma''am. Your choices are Head, Boss, or Li Dai Lu. Do you understand?"

    I saw Cao Mu Chen briefly look over at Wang Chao and my eyes narrowed. Before Wang Chao could so much as twitch, Cao Mu Chen turned his attention back to me. "I will try to call you Boss, but Ma''am might slip out," he admitted. I smiled at his statement.

    "At least you are honest," I said. "Now, what is your specialization?" I asked, tilting my head to the side and staring at the new Captain.

    "My specializations are in leadership, cold weapons, and hand-to-handbat," he said,ing to attention. Nodding my head in approval, I continued. "How are you with swords?" My question seemed to startle him and he flinched slightly.

    "The military does not train us in using swords as part of activebat," he said, skirting the issue.

    "Not what I asked," I said simply as I continued to stare at him, taking in every expression and micro-expression that he showed.

    I didn''t do this type of interrogation when I was letting people into mypound before, and it was a mistake that I would not be repeating at any time in the near future.

    "I am¡­ good at them," he confessed. Not the answer I was looking for.

    "Look," I said as I stared at him in the eyes. "This is going to be nothing like your old life, do you understand? So if you think that you get points for being modest, you are sorely mistaken. If you are good at something, say it. If you are not, tell me now. We are going to hash everything out right now because if I find you were holding something back or not admitting to something¡­ well, Liu Wei won''t be the one to hunt you down and kill you. Am I clear?"

    "I am one of the best swordsmen in my ss at the academy and I studied it extensively in private," he said, sticking his chest out. "I have yet toe across anyone better than me with it."

    "What is your weapon of choice if you could choose any of them?" I asked.

    "Katana," was his instant reply. I nodded my head and took out an unused katana from my space. It was a good thing that I bought every sword I could find both in person and online because otherwise, I would be running out of them really fast.

    I pointed to the right and, once he had gone to stand behind Wang Chao, I turned my attention to the next man in the center of the line. Pointing to him, he took a few steps forward and snapped to attention.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Were you paying attention?" I asked as I raised my eyebrow.

    "Yes, Boss!" came his reply. It looked like he was going to salute, but stopped himself just in time before his intention became obvious.

    "Good," I said. "What is your specialty?"

    "Communications, technology, and hot weapons," he said before looking somewhat downcast. "But it''s not like we have much in the way ofmunications or technology right now," he continued before lifting his head again and looking at me.

    "Can you definemunications and technology?" I asked. I mean, he would be seriously good to have if I could put him on the sr panels and the like. Not to mention all the other ns that I had for the future of this building.

    "I kept all of ourmunications equipment in order, both personally and in corrtion to work. I was also the hacker of the group. Not only that, I could build anything that was needed, as long as I had the parts for it. And even then, I could make do with what was on hand."

    "How are you with hardware?" I asked, my eyebrows lifted. This man might just be perfect for what I want to get done.

    "Good," he replied. "But everything is pretty much fried right now."

    "Sure," I said, waving my hand. My mind was already spinning on how I could make use of this man. "What is your name?"

    "Jiang Ming Tao." Nodding my head as I tried to figure out how I was going to remember all these names, I tilted my head to the right. I was not going to give him a cold weapon simply because what I had nned for him meant that he would not be seeing muchbat from now on. Hopefully, he would be okay with that.

    I looked at the lineup and picked someone at random. "You," I said as I pointed to the man on the far left of the line. He was so big that he might actually give my guys a run for their money. I heard Wang Chao let out a soft sound of protest at that thought, but I only smiled in response.

    When the man stepped forward, I didn''t even need to open my mouth to ask anything. "Feng Dong Yang. Specializations are hot weapons, cold weapons, and hand-to-handbat. Although I am not as good with the sword as Mu Chen, I can hold my own." he saiding to attention. I smiled at his response.

    "All muscles, huh?" I gently teased him.

    "I prefer to leave the nning to the smart ones," he said showing a boyish grin that took years off his appearance. He tilted his head to Cao Mu Chen and Jiang Ming Tao to indicate who he meant as the brains of the team.

    With his good-natured response, I let out a bark ofughter. Honestly, I didn''t know if he would be insulted by myment or have a quick reply. I was d that it was the second one. I pointed my finger at him and then to the right to let him know that he also passed my test.

    I went through everyone one by one until there was only one person standing by themselves in front of me. All the other members of his team were on the right as Wang Chao was right, they would be useful in the kingdom I was building myself.

    I raised my eyebrow at the man. He was smaller than all of his teammates, but he was still a hulking monsterpared to me. "Andst, but not least," I said to him, waiting for him to introduce himself. I was a bit surprised when he looked at me nervously looked at me and then at the ground.

    Cao Mu Chen came out of his line to stand beside his teammate. "Sorry, Boss, he doesn''t really talk much," he said apologizing. I simply looked at the two men now standing before me, wondering where they were going with this. They clearly knew what I was expecting, seven people passed, Cao Mu Chen being the first one, and yet, neither one spoke after the brief apology.

    I raised an eyebrow. "Name?" The sound of my voice startled the two in front of me, like after hearing that thest one didn''t talk, I would not be willing to have him stay here. I mean, he was put on this team in the first ce. He had to have some skills.

    "Jin Si Cong," said Cao Mu Chen as he looked at me, a fierce expression crossed his face like he was willing to risk everything for the man beside him.

 Chapter 144 144

    ?

    "And what is his specialty?" I asked, looking between him and Cao Mu Chen. I didn''t really care what was going on between the two men. Whether his overprotectiveness was professional or personal, it was none of my business unless it affected the day-to-day running of my base.

    Besides, I was hoping to enter into a serious,mitted rtionship with four men. I am pretty sure that I was the Queen of unconventional rtionships and had no room to talk or judge anyone else.

    "Mechanics," said Cao Mu Chen, almost daring me to say something offensive.

    I cracked my neck from side to side and decided topletely ignore Cao Mu Chen. Turning my attention back to Jin Si Cong, I asked him my question directly; "What type of mechanics?"

    I tried to contain my enthusiasm, but between him and Jiang Ming Tao, a huge portion of my logistical concerns could be taken over by these two men. "He can fix pretty much anything and everything mechanical," said Cao Mu Chen as if the answer was incredibly obvious. And I mean, if we are going through the most basic of basics, yeah, that would be a good answer. But that was not what I wanted.

    "What she means is, what mechanical operations does he specialize in?" started Liu Wei as he repositioned his sses. Cao Mu Chen looked back and forth between me and that man, but my gaze never wavered from Jin Si Cong. At this point, I was treating Cao Mu Chen more like a trantor than anything else, and as such, I really didn''t need to acknowledge him in this conversation. I was talking to Jin Si Cong and whether he could respond or not, he was the one that got my attention.

    "Fixing things," said Cao Mu Chen in exasperation. "He is the mechanic in our group."

    I rolled my eyes, not so subtly if Jin Si Cong''s expression was anything to go by. Even Liu Wei paused for a second to take in that response.

    "I can fix anything and everything," came a soft but firm voice in front of me. I smirked as Jin Si Cong continued. "I was in charge of any automobile repair, either on base or in the field, but I can also fix everything from an aircraft carrier to a toaster."

    I burst outughing at his response. "Perfect!" I said, practically rubbing my hands in glee. "I am going to pair you up with Jiang Ming Tao. Come see me tomorrow morning around 10 am and I will have a list of things for you to do. I also want to go more in-depth with your skill sets."

    I saw Jiang Ming Tao''s eyes go wide before he nodded his head, but Jin Si Cong was still staring me down as if waiting for the other shoe to drop. "You can bring your trantor if that will make you morefortable," I said to him, raising an eyebrow in question.

    "I will be good," came the stuttered response.

    "Great! I''ll see you two tomorrow morning. There will be another meeting around 1 pm as a group to go over a few important matters. Right now, find a ce to stay. I think the rest of the men have managed to clear out the remaining apartments so there should be enough if you wanted your own space."

    "And if we don''t?" challenged Cao Mu Chen. I don''t know who put a bee in his bo, but the calm, collected man that I first met was nowhere to be seen.

    "Listen," I said, ready to be done with it all. As far as I was concerned, only Jiang Ming Tao and Jin Si Cong were irreceable members of the team. The rest would have their own missions to go on and we would see just how capable they were. In the meantime; "I am not your mother and frankly, I don''t care if you want your own ce or to share your room with 15 others. How you want to live your life ispletely up to you. I will say it one more time so that it sinks in: I really don''t care one way or another. Just make sure you don''t force me to care. Is that understood?"

    I must have sounded a wee bit scary because everyst one of the eight men in front of me came to attention and saluted me. "Yes, Ma''am," they all shouted in unison.

    "Dismissed," I said, waving my hand to indicate the door. I was back to being tired and hungry. Not a prettybination by any stretch of the imagination.

    After the eight new members of our team left, I stood up and made my way over to the kitchen. "What did you make me?" I asked, looking over my shoulder at Chen Zi Han.

    "Breakfast for dinner," he said with a shrug. Going back to the stove he started to cook up some scrambled eggs to go with the bacon, pancakes, sausages, hashbrowns, and fruit sd already on the table. It was all cold by now, but I was so hungry I really didn''t care.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    ----

    You would think that if I was the one to set the time for the meeting, then I would be awake in plenty of time to get all my shit done before everyone arrived. And yet, here I was, at 9:50 in the morning, still in bed and not willing to get out.

    Don''t get me wrong, another night with all of my men was doing wonders for me and I slept like a baby. But I think that was part of my problem. I had such a good sleep that I didn''t want to get out of bed. I sighed in frustration as I heard a knock on the door, and as much as I wanted to pull the covers over the top of my head, I knew that wasn''t going to work.

    Wriggling out between Liu Wei and Liu Yu Zeng, I stumbled out of the door and right into the arms of my waiting coffee. Grabbing at the elixir of life as if it contained the secrets of the universe, I chugged it down. The men had be wise to the fact that I normally chugged my first coffee and they made it a point to make sure that it was cooled down enough that it wouldn''t give me second-degree burns going down.

    As much as I love their attention to detail, there were some afternoons when I was so tired that I needed that jolt of pain to wake me up. Oh well¡­ in the grand scheme of things, having four men taking care of you too well was not even on the radar of the worst things to ever happen.

    Want to know what was? nning a meeting at 10 o''clock in the morning. Hell, since all the clocks but ours were destroyed by the EMP, I didn''t even know how they figured out what time it was. And yet, here they were, 10 minutes early.

    "Morning," I groaned as I walked up to where Wang Chao and Chen Zi Han were standing in front of the opened door. Getting my mandatory kisses from them, I went to my chair and cuddled up under my nket. With the first cup of coffee vanishing in under a minute, I looked around for the second cup.

    "Here you go, Princess," said Chen Zi Han as he handed me a giant cup that was roughly the size of my head. I grunted my thanks and then looked at the reason why I was out of bed right now.

    Jiang Ming Tao and Jin Si Cong were standing at the entrance to the living room as if it was the entrance of a boardroom. Their feet were shoulder-width apart and their hands were behind their back. It was way too early for this crap.

    Scratch that, it wasn''t that it was too early, I just didn''t want to deal with the formalities of it at any time of the day. I was not military, never was military and to be treated as such was an ufortable feeling. Like I was being disrespectful or something.

    "At ease," I said and then pointed to one of the couches across from where Wang Chao had taken his seat. There might not be assigned seating, but we all seemed to gravitate to our own spot organically. The two men took a seat gingerly, so close to the front that it appeared that they would fall off at any second.

    I rubbed the spot between my eyebrows as if to ease the headache I felting. God only knew if it would work or not. "Rx boys," I said, taking a sip of my giant drink. "This is going to be a long meeting." They pushed back on the couch until they no longer looked like they were about to fall off and I sighed in relief.

    "Alright, here is the deal," I said as I ced my coffee cup on the table in front of me. I was putting a lot of faith in these two men, and I was a bit stressed that it woulde back to bite me in the ass. After all, they might decide that I was no longer needed and, as a result, get rid of me.

    Wang Chao, knowing where my mind was going, stayed silent, allowing me to work things out on my own. Not like I med the guy, he did manage to screw up rather spectacrly yesterday and this was not the time for round two.

    "Would you two be willing to keep secrets from your entire team and everyone else on this base besides the people in this room?" I asked. It was pointless to have them sign NDAs or any other type of legal document because even if I did, how exactly was I going to enforce it?

    The two men looked at each other and then turned their attention back to me.

    "Yes," they said,pletely in sync.

 Chapter 145 145

    ?

    I raised an eyebrow at their conviction. "Not ever your lovers, friends, or family?" I demanded. I mean, I was sure that they had top-secret clearance before the end of the world, but that didn''t really ount for anything.

    "No," they said, once again in creepy unison. I looked at Wang Chao for confirmation. I would rather believe what he saw in their heads than what they spoke out of their mouths. At his curt nod, I smiled.

    "Perfect," I said with as much of a smile as I could manage at the time. "The n is to set up a working cell tower here and at a few other key locations around the city. It is up to you two to figure out where those key locations are," I started, picking up my coffee and taking another sip. Letting the taste of the sweet, creamy, and bitter vors fill my body, I sunk back even further into my chair.

    "Not possible," said Jiang Ming Tao with a bit of a snort. Jin Si Cong looked at the man before turning his attention back to me.

    "Something to say?" I asked him.

    "I can build the tower," he said slowly, "But I don''t have any of the tools or materials to do it. Plus with all of the electronic equipment being fried, there is no way to make it work."

    "Not to mention, no one has cell phones that they can use, so what is the point?" said Jiang Ming Tao as if I had a screw loose and didn''t understand the current state of the world.

    I sighed and took another sip of my coffee to perk myself up for whates next. "You have an entire empty city at your disposal. And even if it isn''tpletely empty, there are still many ways that you can get your hands on the tools and materials you need. I am sure that given your expertise, you could MacGyver something up," I said, looking at Jin Si Cong.

    "MacGyver?" he asked confused.

    "Just an expression meaning to use random pieces to create something useful to you," I said,pletely forgetting that they probably didn''t have the same tv shows that I had growing up.

    Jin Si Cong nodded his head in understanding. "I could probably MacGyver something up," he said hesitantly.

    "Good," I replied taking a piece of carrot cake out of my space and digging in. I would fully admit that it was not a Breakfast of Champions, but at least it was tasty.

    "But that still doesn''t mean that we have the electricalponents needed toplete that task," pointed out Jiang Ming Tao. I didn''t take his questions or statements as a confrontation, Ipletely understood where he wasing from.

    What he didn''t understand was the magic of ''moi''.

    "And that is where youe in," I said looking at the man beside me. "I will give you every single working electricalponent that I have, and I have a good amount, and you are going to see what you can do with them."

    "So you expect me to MacGyver too," he said with a slight smirk on his face. "But without power, how would we even know if I was able to get something up and working?"

    "I have about 150 sr panels that can join the ones upstairs that the guys were supposed to install," I stared, allowing myself a smirk of my own as I watched his eyes widen at my statement. "You can check them over to make sure that everything is in working order. I think there should be around 300 batteries avable to store backup power. Is that enough?" I asked, tilting my head.

    "150 sr panels?" Wang Chao asked, a look of confusion on his face. "I think we might have only brought up about 20 of them," he admitted. I hummed.

    "I will go upstairs in a bit and deposit the remaining 150. I just didn''t see the point of overloading you with them all," I said with a shrug. "Can you work with that?"

    Jiang Ming Tao simply stared at me, a serious look crossing his face for the first time since we had met. "Am I allowed to ask what your end goal is?"

    "Didn''t you just?" I asked with a smile as I took thest sip of coffee and allowed it to drown the sweetness from the carrot cake inside my mouth. He continued to stare at me and I could see how he became part of one of the best navy Speciality Teams in K Country.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "My end goal is to turn this whole building and any other areas around it into a working city just for us. But since we will need to go out into hostile territory, we need a way tomunicate with each other from other ends of the city," I replied.

    "This is City J, it is not a hostile territory," said Jiang Ming Tao. He refused to back down from my gaze, but if he thought that he could win this staring contest, he had another thinging.

    "Yet," I said. "It is not a hostile territory yet. Wait for the snow to melt and thene talk to me." That statement earned me a scoff from the man in front and I briefly wondered how much I really needed amunications technician in this base. Well¡­ I suppose he isn''t the onlymunications technician in the whole country or maybe even in this city... I should be able to find a recement if he suddenly died due to unexined circumstances.

    "I don''t think you understand how this is going to work," I said, changing my direction of attack. I slowly closed my eyes, showing that I was not scared of the man, but that I considered it beneath me to continue to engage in the staring contest. "You are going to do what I ask, or you are not. Either way, I will not be heartbroken. But this base is going to be set up in the remaining four months, give or take, that we have. However, this is yourst chance to back out. So, what is your decision?"

    I never said that I would kill him for backing out at this point, but I am pretty sure that we all knew where that was where this was headed.

    Jiang Ming Tao snorted again. "I am going to stay just to be able to say that I told you so at the end of it."

    I nodded my head in understanding. "And until you submit, you will not be dealing with anything moreplicated than building mymunications tower. Once you have proven yourself, we can get to the brass tacks," I said as I stood up. "You are done until this afternoon." Walking into the kitchen, I tried to hunt down something else sugary to drink. It seemed like it was going to be a long day and a cherry sparkling water would go a long way to making me happy.

    I hadn''t even had the chance to open the fridge door when Chen Zi Han came up behind me and pulled me flush to his front.

    "Are those little green aliens on your pajamas?" he asked looking down at my loose-fitting ck pajama bottoms with neon green aliens and flying saucers all over them.

    "Yes it is," I said nodding my head, I absolutely loved the pajamas and he was going to have to learn to like them too.

    "And is that my ck hoodie?" he asked again, pulling it out at the waist as if to double-check.

    "Yes, it is," I confirmed again, not really caring. I had four men to steal hoodies from and as far as I was concerned, all items of clothing were fair game.

    "Looks good on you," he hummed in my ear as he gave the outer shell a gentle nibble. I melted into his arms and closed my eyes.

    "I know," I smirked, not the least bit modest. He chuckled at my response before working his way from my ear down to my neck. I tilted my head to the left, trying to give him as much room as possible to work with as his lips made a leisurely path down to my shoulder.

    "Is a Li Dai Lu sandwich on the menu for breakfast?" asked a low, husky voice as a shiver of pure pleasure engulfed me. I didn''t know if it was because of Chen Zi Han''s administrations or Liu Yu Zeng''s question, but either way, my head was in the clouds and I never wanted toe back down.

    I felt the vibrations in Chen Zi Han''s chest as he chuckled at Liu Yu Zeng''s question. But since neither one of us openly objected to his idea, he smirked and strolled towards me like a panther that just spotted its prey.

    Don''t get me wrong, I was more than willing to be eaten alive by those two.

    Liu Yu Zeng stopped right in front of me, squeezing between me and the fridge. I had never managed to get my drink, but this was much more pleasant than some cherry water.

    "Good morning, Sweetness," he purred right before he kissed me. But to say that it was simply a kiss was way too tame of a word for what it was doing to my body and my head. I feltpletely engulfed by the fire growing inside of me.

    The juxtaposition between Liu Yu Zeng''s demanding kiss and Chen Zi Han''s slow methodical ones left my senses reeling and a low whimper escaped me. Unable to control myself, I grabbed Liu Yu Zeng''s neck and held on for dear life as two sets of hands yed with my body until I could think of nothing but them.

 Chapter 146 146

    ?

    *cough¡­ reader discretion is advised. I will put in a page break when the low-key smutty stuff is over*

    My mind was lost in a swirl of pleasure and sin, sucked deep into the world of lust that Liu Yu Zeng and Chen Zi Han had created for the three of us. I kept my eyes closed, too weak to open them, but all the sensations seemed to be enhanced by the darkness and I could feel their breath ying across my skin like the lightest of breezes.

    I could feel Chen Zi Han''s fingers glide across my body, from my rib cage, that he was practically able to span with a single hand, up to just under my breasts, wringing another moan from me. The sound was eaten up by Liu Yu Zeng as he continued his assault on my lips, not giving me a second to breathe, let alone think. I felt Chen Zi Han pulling the sweater over my head, causing Liu Yu Zeng to break off the kiss just long enough for it to pass my mouth before he descended on my swollen lips one more time. I heard the sound of my sweater falling to the floor and I was left in just my pajama pants and a sports bra.

    Chen Zi Han returned his attention to my body and the jerk that he was, allowed his hands to just brush my needy breasts before sinking down my stomach--- I gasped, wanting his hands to continue south, but just like my breasts, he merely teased me with the possibilities. His hand just skinned the part of me that was throbbing, demanding to get the same attention as the rest of my body, and then he moved his hands back up and away from where I needed them.

    I could feel my temper and my need rise as both men continued to tease and taunt me beneath my clothes, making me dripping but then refusing to so much as touch me in the way that I needed to be touched.

    I was sure that if my brain was at full working capacity, I would be making my wants and needs damn clear. But as it was, I waspletely helpless in the whirlwind of emotions that they invoked by their touches. And I was loving every minute of it.

    While Chen Zi Han''s hands were gently ying with my front, Liu Yu Zeng''s hands were doing the exact opposite with my back. His fingers gripped each cheek of my ass, almost pulling them apart in their need to dig deep into my flesh. I heard him groan, this time into my mouth, as he pulled me closer to him, locking Chen Zi Han''s hands between our bodies. But since his hand was right over top of the pulsing part of my body that was weeping for attention, I was notining in the least.

    My hips started to move on their own, first pressing into Chen Zi Han and then arching into Liu Yu Zeng, trying to catch something that was elusive to me up until now. But the more pressure I was able to put on my front, the better I felt and the more frantic I became.

    I ripped my mouth from Liu Yu Zeng''s and tilted my head back to rest against Chen Zi Han''s chest as the two continued, never once stopping their worshiping of my body.

    But since he could not longer ess my lips, Liu Yu Zeng changed his attack to the front of my neck and corbone,ying small nips across my flesh that was the perfect bnce between pleasure and pain. I leaned back even more into Chen Zi Han which ended up trapping his hand even more against where I wanted him to be. He moved a single finger past my lips and into my wetness just as Liu Yu Zeng bit my breast hard. The sensation between the two caused me to explode, seeing stars before my legs turned weak and I copsed. The only reason why I was still upright was because I was still sandwiched between the two men as they whispered sweet nothings into my ears as I slowly came back down to earth.

    I shuddered one more time before Chen Zi Han cautiously stepped back, giving me only enough room to see if my legs would hold up. They started to shake, but before anything could happen to me, Liu Yu Zeng scooped me up into his arms and took me back to our room.

    ----

    Gentlyying me down in the middle of the bed, Liu Yu Zeng quickly followed me, not allowing his touch to leave me for a second. Gently leaning his head down to lick the bite that he gave me, I couldn''t help but groan in enjoyment.

    "Now you are mine, you know that, right?" he asked softly, a rare note of vulnerability in his voice that caught me off guard. Looking down at my joker, I stroked his soft hair as he rested his head on my breast right beside his bite mark.

    "And you are mine," I promised him in return,pletely confident that this dangerous man was as much a part of me as I was a part of him.

    Completely content, both mentally and physically, I closed myself and allowed myself a quick nap before my next meeting in the afternoon.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    ----

    Liu Yu Zeng didn''t know when he had fallen asleep or even if he was even asleep right now. Thest thing that he remembered was resting his head on Li Dai Lu''s chest and her gently ying in his hair and then the next thing he knew, he was in a different ce that felt both familiar and strange at the same time.

    He looked around and saw a wide field with mountains in the background that pulled at a part of him that he didn''t even know. Turning to one side, he saw there was a whole forest of trees, the height of which he has never seen before. Spinning to the other side, he saw a beautiful, pristineke with a dock stretching out from the shore into the water, and a perg standing proud and tall in the picturesque setting.

    When a cold breeze blew off the water, Liu Yu Zeng could feel his body breaking out into goosebumps. Looking down, expecting to see himself still wearing his sweatpants and T-shirt he was when he first fell asleep, he was stunned to see that his outfit hadpletely changed.

    Where his legs were once covered by grey sweatpants, there were now ck silk pants that reminded him of a warrior''s pants that he had once seen in a book of ancient warfare. A gold belt encased his waist, but his stomach and chest werepletely bare except for a leather strap that bisected his torso. A set of gold arm bands fit snugly on his upper bicep and he could see gold armor padding on his shoulders.

    On his left arm hung a giant shield, feeling like so much a part of him that he didn''t even register the weight of it at first. He held a bow in his right hand and the slight weight on his back made him think that he might be carrying a quiver of arrows on his back.

    Now that he was paying more attention to himself rather than his environment, he could feel a helmet that almostpletely engulfed his face, leaving only two vertical lines for him to see out of. He was not able to actually see it, but by the feeling, he thought it was very simr to a helmet of one of the greatest empires to even have existed in the world.

    The longer he stood here, the morefortable he felt, like he had managed toe home after a long time away. Taking in a deep breath of the fresh air, he let it go, allowing his body to just rx in a way that he had never experienced before.

    The wind blew again, carrying a voice with it so faint that he couldn''t make out what they were saying. Looking around, he saw a figure in the perg that he didn''t notice before. However, even at this distance, he knew exactly who it was.

    "Li Dai Lu," he breathed under his breath as he started running towards the woman. The shoes on his feet left prints in the grass.

    Rushing up to the woman that he considered to be his, he found himself sinking to one knee. Crossing his hands over the knee that wasn''t on the ground, he bent over, bowing to the woman before him. Even though he had never been in this position before, his body hadpletely taken over and performed the ritual without any input from him.

    "Why did you leave me?" came the heartbreaking question from the woman in front of him. He knew in his bones that it was Li Dai Lu, her words and pain part of the ongoing nightmare that witnessed the other night. But as much as it was her, she looked vastly different. Her white dress, gold essories, and a tiara were something that he had never even thought about seeing her in, and yet, he knew that this was who she truly was deep down inside.

    "Why did you leave me?" she cried again, and this time he could see the sparkle of tears in her eyes as she tried to retain herposure.

    "I was called," he felt himself saying. But that was not true. There was no way that he would be willing to leave her after just finding her a few months ago. He fought with every cell in his body, but a feeling of helplessness washed over him as he realized that he was nothing more than a spectator.

 Chapter 147 147

    ?

    "So, the humans are so important to you that you will just answer when they call, no matter what?" the woman that looked like Li Dai Lu asked him almost choking on the words. "Even if it means leaving me?" The look of helplessness and vulnerability on her face was one that Liu Yu Zeng never wanted to see on his woman. I would destroy the whole world to make her smile.

    He could feel his body fighting him, his mouth wanting to apologize, to insist that he needed to answer when he was called. ''Fuck that shit,'' thought Liu Yu Zeng as his anger began to rise. What was the point in having all that blood on his hands, following all the rules of his family, even when he wanted to do nothing more than break down and refuse? But he fought, he killed, and he made a ce for himself despite everything. He would not be a spectator in this matter. Li Dai Lu was his reward from Heaven and he would not let her slip through his fingers.

    Liu Yu Zeng continued to fight inside his body, forcing his protesting muscles to stand up. Sweat broke out on his forehead as his legs began to shake, not wanting to follow his orders. ''Fuck this shit,'' he thought again, and in a single heave, he was standing in front of the woman that held his world in her hands.

    "No one will ever be more important to me than you," he promised her as he stalked the remaining distance between them. Pulling her roughly into his arms, he stared down into her eyes. "If they want to separate us again, then let them all die," he growled before taking her lips in his and forcing a demanding kiss that spoke of all his desires, his fears, his dreams. He kissed her as he had never kissed her before, wanted to take part of her into him so they could never be separated.

    Liu Yu Zeng didn''t know if it was his imagination or not, but he felt himself pulling a piece of her into him and in return, giving her a piece of himself as well. However, he was unable to take his lips off this sulent offering in front of him to even begin to figure out what was going on.

    His lips continued their journey across her silken skin, giving her lips a brief reprieve as he moved on to her jaw, her neck. "You are mine," he growled, pulling himself back just enough to look at her. "Do you understand that? You. Are. Mine!"

    "I am yours," she agreed, the smile on her face lighting up his very being. "And you are mine," she continued looking up at him as if she wanted reassurance on that matter.

    "I am yours, forever and always," he vowed, bringing his lips back down onto hers. "Forever and always," he repeated before everything went ck.

    ------

    "Li Dai Lu!" screamed Liu Yu Zeng, sitting up in bed in an absolute panic. Looking around the bedroom that they had imed in the penthouse, the only one to be able to allow all of them to sleep together, he couldn''t find the woman that he was just dreaming about. "Li Dai Lu!" he yelled again as he desperately tried to untangle himself from the nkets.

    Cursing about the waste of time, he furiously ripped them off, not caring if he damaged them or not. He needed to find her, he needed to hold her, to make sure that she was alright. Finally free of the nkets, he was so distracted that he didn''t notice the door open and then quietly close. He rushed forward, determined to hunt down the woman, when a solid handnded on his chest, preventing him from going forward.

    "At ease, brother," came the growled voice of Chen Zi Han as the taller man leaned down to whisper in his ear. A feeling of rage rose in Liu Yu Zeng at the very idea that the man in front of him was attempting to keep him from his mate. Letting out a growl of his own, he gripped Chen Zi Han''s hand that was on his chest with his right hand and as hard as he could, drove his left forearm into his opponent''s elbow causing him to break his hold.

    Darkness clouded his vision and he let out a low growl as he felt something surging inside of him. Throwing Chen Zi Han over his knee, he watched impassively as the man he considered to be closer to him than his brotherid stomach down on the floor with his knee digging in on his lower back, applying more and more pressure.

    But Chen Zi Han didn''t fight back, didn''t struggle in anyways, and instead only said three words: "She doesn''t remember." Those words shocked Liu Yu Zeng and he rxed his pressure on the other man''s back and arm.

    "What do you mean, she doesn''t remember?"

    "You had the dream too, right?" asked Chen Zi Han as he stood up and dusted himself off. He didn''t take offense to Liu Yu Zeng''s attack. He would have done a lot worse to the person that tried to keep him away from Li Dai Lu.

    "Dream?" asked Liu Yu Zeng, refusing to admit to anything. He knew that his dream was way too real to be considered something as fleeting and mundane as a ''dream''.

    "The valley, the mountains, the perg," said Chen Zi Han, as he studied the man before him. But like him, Liu Yu Zeng was not willing to admit to anything and simply stared back at him, his arms crossed over his chest. "The woman," he whispered to the other man, like saying her name was tomit sphemy. "She does not remember any of it like we do," admitted Chen Zi Han as he took a step back from Liu Yu Zeng.

    "Why?" he asked, not willing to admit to anything but still needing to know what was going on.

    ''Are you two ok? I see a new me. Is that Liu Yu Zeng?'' came a voice inside the heads of Liu Yu Zeng and Chen Zi Han. Chen Zi Han, who had gotten used to not being able to hide anything from Li Dai Lu simply smiled.

    ''We are fine,'' he reassured her. ''Just trying to figure out a few things.'' He red at the stupefied man across from him, wanting him to hurry up andfort their woman.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    ''All good, Sweetness,'' said Liu Yu Zeng.

    ''You sure?'' came the tentative voice.

    ''I am right beside him, Princess, he is fine,'' said Chen Zi Han in a calming voice. ''You just worry about finishing your lunch and getting ready for your meeting.''

    ''If you''re sure.''

    ''We are,'' reassured Liu Yu Zeng, no longer as stunned about having a whole conversation with multiple people inside his head. ''We will be out in just a little bit.''

    ''Sounds good. And Liu Yu Zeng?''

    ''Yes, Sweetness?'' came the chuckled reply. Now that he knew the woman was safe, he was able to push back the rage and begin to function.

    ''Your me is beautiful.''

    As soon as she spoke the words, he could feel a link inside of him close, like an old-fashioned telephone being hung up.

    "You going to exin what is going on?" he asked out loud, looking at Chen Zi Han before going to sit down on the edge of the mattress.

    "First, look inside of yourself, deep down," said Chen Zi Han as he went over to sit beside the man that was about to have his world rocked. Whether he considered it a good thing or a bad thing still had to be determined.

    "You know I don''t subscribe to that new-age bullshit," said Liu Yu Zeng rolling his eyes before he attempted to follow Chen Zi Han''s instructions. He let go of everything and imagined diving deep into the darkness that was inside of him.

    There, in the distance, he was able to see two mes burning, chasing away the darkness. Startled, he snapped his head back and looked at the man beside him, looking for answers that he was hoping the other man had.

    "I don''t have all the answers," said Chen Zi Han, effectively reading the face of the man that was his boss most of his life. "I only know what I was able to figure out."

    "And that is?"

    "The blue me is the Princess''s, hers burns the brightest inside me," started Chen Zi Han as his eyes lost focus and a smile appeared on his face. "Mine is the ck me," he continued as he opened his eyes and looked over at Liu Yu Zeng. "Yours is white. It was how I figured out that you probably had the same dream that I had."

    Liu Yu Zeng took a second to draw in a breath before he went back to study the mes inside of him. Chen Zi Han was right. There was a blue me in the center, its very size almost dwarfing the other two mes. He studied his white me that seemed to be orbiting the blue me before turning his attention to the ck me that was doing the same thing.

    He had managed to overlook the ck me before, simply because it blended so well into the darkness, but now that he saw it, he couldn''t ever mistake it again.

    "What does this mean?" he asked, looking to his second inmand and the man that he trusted more than anyone in the world.

    "No idea," the other man admitted.

 Chapter 148 148

    ?

    I was a bit distracted as I finished off the rest of my turkey and bacon sandwich. I didn''t know how or why I started finding the mes of the other boys inside of me, and the fact that I could read their thoughts and emotions was somewhat unsettling.

    Don''t get me wrong, I loved having a piece of them inside of me. I felt like two puzzle pieces had just clicked into ce, removing part of the weight that was stilling on my chest every time I thought of my men. It left me feeling more whole as a result. I just didn''t like the fact that I had no idea how it was happening.

    And why was Chen Zi Han and Liu Yu Zeng? I was falling in love with them just as I was with the other two, so it was not a matter of favorites or anything like that, but I was simply curious about why those two. I finished off myst bite, and, finally managing to get my cherry sparkling water, I took my final sip just as there was a knock on the front door.

    Taking my time because I knew that one of my men would open the door, I took the extra few seconds to get myself in order. I wanted this meeting to go better than this morning''s, I just had no idea how to make that happen.

    I looked up just in time to see Wang Chao escort the men of the special forces team, or whatever they were called, into the living room and showed them where they could sit. Even Liu Yu Zeng and Chen Zi Han hade out of the bedroom to find their spots in the living room.

    Closing my eyes, I briefly took a peek at the two mes circling around mine. Stroking the white one, the one I knew was Liu Yu Zeng, I was relieved to feel that he was no longer as angry as he had been before. Although he wasn''t what I considered to be happy, he was definitely back to normal. A quick check on Chen Zi Han showed that he too was neutral. And with strangers in our territory, I knew that neutral was the best that I was going to get out of the man.

    ''I can feel you,'' said the man, not looking over at me hiding in the kitchen but keeping his eyes on the eight men taking a seat.

    I chuckled, ''I can feel you too,'' I replied, throwing him a kiss.

    ''No, I can feel you touching my me. It sets me off as if you are touching my body,'' he said with a smirk in my head. His physical body didn''t so much as twitch. I raised my eyebrows at the idea that my stroking his me was the same as my stroking him. Oh, the world of possibilities that had just opened up¡­

    ''Yes, yes, now get that cute ass over here and deal with these people so we can go back to doing what it was that we were doing in the kitchen,'' said Liu Yu Zeng as I watched him licking his thumb and then running it over his lip. Even thinking about his lips left me hot and bothered.

    I narrowed my eyes on him, disgruntled that he could so easily work me up. Reaching inside, I stroked the white me and watched as the man on the couch simply turned around to look at me. But I could see it in his eyes that he was just as affected as I was.

    "Little girl," growled Wang Chao as everyone made themselvesfortable, effectively knocking me out of mine¡­ and the boys¡­ heads. I walked into the living room and took my seat. I waited as Chen Zi Han tucked me into the ck nket, knowing that I hated being without a nket on before I opened my mouth.

    "I am sure that you guys are considered to be the best of the best, but I am afraid that that means less than nothing right now," I said as I studied the men in front of me whom Wang Chao thought were some of the most impressive men that he ever worked with. I watched as they stiffened, darting a questioning look between themselves.

    I didn''t even need to be a spirit user to know what they were thinking. But I couldn''t stand a cocky person even before the end of the world. And now, well¡­ being cocky was a good way to get killed.

    "I am going to give you two days to train and prepare and then I am going to send you out on a mission," I continued,pletely ignoring their looks. "You are to use only cold weapons on this mission, no guns or anything with ammo. We cannot rece what you fire, so you will not be firing anything."

    "We are well trained and don''t need any additional time to train," said Cao Mu Chen, puffing his chest up in confidence. I pursed my lips and nodded. Well, I didn''t really want to give them that much time before sending them out to collect supplies anyways.

    "Fine, then you will leave tomorrow morning at 0600," I said looking around the room. "Your mission will be to gather as many supplies as possible before the sun sets and you return to base."<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "That''s it?" said one of the ones whose name I forgot.

    "That''s it," I confirmed. I watched as the eight men all turned to Wang Chao to see if he was going to protest or something, but Wang Chao simply sat there with his legs crossed in as rxed a posture as was possible for him.

    "But we are trained to take out people. Not collect supplies. Surely there are others in the building that would be more suited for that job," said a third person. I turned to look at Feng Dong Yang, to see if he had any objections. He returned my gaze, simply giving me a frown and a shrug of his giant shoulders. Not sure what he meant, I turned to Wang Chao.

    ''He doesn''t care what he does, he is just wanting to get out of the building and do something,'' exined the man inside of my head. I nodded in understanding.

    "The only use that I have for five of you is to collect supplies," I said without remorse. I needed to keep the mechanic andmunications specialists in order for them to do their job, and I liked Feng Dong Yang as a team leader. But the rest could live or die based on their own strength.

    "Now, you have two options," I started. I liked giving options because then everything is the choice of the other person, they couldn''te back and bitch to me about what they chose. I mean, they did, but at the end of the day, they had to take responsibility for their own choices. Even if they were choosing between a shitty option and a shittier option.

    "The first one is that you are ready at 0600 to go out and collect supplies, and the second one is you go out and don''t collect supplies."

    "And if we don''t?" asked Jiang Ming Tao.

    "Then you don''te back," I said simply. I could understand pushing when it came to a new authority figure, but I was not one to budge.

    Two or three men raised their eyebrows when they heard my statement and turned back to Wang Chao to see if he could contradict me. When he didn''t, they turned to look at me.

    "Make your choice, gentlemen," I said as I stood up and took Chen Zi Han''s arm. "Hopefully you make the right one." But whether they chose to gather supplies or to leave and nevere back, I refused to be upset. I would find those that I wanted to be part of my kingdom and those that didn''t¡­ well¡­ the zombies needed to eat too.

    -----

    I woke up the next morning at 5:30 and watched as Wang Chao and Liu Wei got dressed in their winterbat gear. One of the best things about the winter, as far as I was concerned, was that because of how manyyers a person wore, zombies weren''t able to prate the skin or even rip off limbs as easily as they could in the warmer weather.

    The men took their sword and their 9mms as protection against both the zombies and the humans, and I closed my eyes, whispering a soft prayer for their protection. I understood that this was the safest time of the year, and it was made even more so by the fact that the zombies were spending all their energy creating their own social structures. But I was sending two of my men out, those without mes connecting us together, and as such, I was stressed beyond all belief.

    Making our way to the front doors, we saw the rest of the team assembled. They were wearing the samebat gear as my boys, but on their backs, attached to their backpacks were their guns. The ones I specifically told them to leave here. Rolling my eyes, I vanished them into my space and reced them with a sword.

    "I said no guns."

 Chapter 149 149

    ?

    The men reached back to try and find their guns but I had tucked them away in a ce that they would never find.

    "We need those," grumbled Cao Mu Chen as he took a step towards me. I simply raised my eyebrow as Wang Chao and Liu Wei stepped in front of me, effectively building a solid wall between me and the pissed-off elite soldier.

    "You have what you need," I said, not bothering to move the boys or go around them. I conjured the keys to the two SUVs and the 8-wheeled ATV. Between the three vehicles, there should be enough storage space for the supplies. cing my hand on Wang Chao''s back, I waited until he turned around before handing him the keys.

    "Liu Wei is to drive the ATV," I started as I looked into his eyes. "You are to take the blue SUV and the remaining people can have the ck one. Grab anything and everything that could potentially be useful. Construction equipment, food, toiletries, clothes¡­ anything." I hated sending them out there to do this, but I had to cut the apron strings sometime if they were ever going to be able to survive. "Jiang Ming Tao and Jin Si Cong should have their own lists of supplies that they need as well," I continued to instruct. "Make sure you are back by tonight. Don''t make me go out and look for you."

    ring at the man looking at me, I tried to drive home my points. "Understood," he said as he gently kissed my lips. "We will be safe and we wille back home to you." ''Even if it is just me and Liu Wei,'' he added in my mind. I nodded.

    "Leave the supplies if you have to. We can pick them up tomorrow if necessary."

    With onest grunt and a kiss from Liu Wei, I watched as the men entered into the stairwell to go down to the underground parking garage where all of our vehicles were stored. Sending another prayer to the heavens, I turned around and went back upstairs and back to sleep.

    -----

    They entered the parking lot and walked over to the three vehicles that Li Dai Lu had specified for their use. Throwing the keys to the darker SUV to Cao Mu Chen, Wang Chao opened his mouth. "Jiang Ming Tao, Feng Dong Yang, and Guo Bi Ming with me. Cao Mu Chen, Chu Chang Pu, Du Ya Ting, and Han Xi Yang will take the ck SUV," he continued as he threw the second set of keys to Cao Mu Chen. "Liu Wei, you and Jin Si Cong will have the ATV."

    Cao Mu Chen could only grind his teeth in protest. He didn''t agree with the vehicle assignments, but it was not like he could question his general either. Filing into their designated vehicles, Cao Mu Chen noticed a walkie-talkie system hooked up in the central console. Pointing to it, he smirked at the other three in his car. "It is debatable whether these things even go or not," he said indicating the vehicle as a whole. "Want to make a bet whether it even starts?" he continued. The other three simply smiled.

    Pressing the button that would start the car if it was before the EMP, the four men''s eyes widened when it started easily. Looking at each other, Han Xi Yang, who was sitting in the passenger seat, picked up the mic to the walkie-talkie and pressed the button to openmunications. "Testing, testing," he said as he looked at Cao Mu Chen.

    "Car 1; received," came the voice of Feng Dong Yang from the blue SUV in front of them.

    "Car 3; received," said Liu Wei as he started up the ATV. He knew that they were not going to trust the team with a working vehicle at the end of their convoy, let alone with the supplies. Li Dai Lu was willing to use them based on Wang Chao''s word, but there was no way that she was willing to risk the supplies.

    He turned to look at the smaller man sitting beside him. Although he had a nervous energy to him, he sat calm and collected in his seat. "Li Dai Lu said that you had your own list of supplies," he said as he started the ATV and waited for Wang Chao to lead the way out.

    The man nodded, not saying a word.

    "Would you rather be ced in the car with Cao Mu Chen?" Liu Wei asked as he pulled out of the parking space and followed behind the ck SUV. When Jin Si Cong shook his head, Liu Wei rxed a bit. He didn''t care if the man didn''t speak, but Li Dai Lu wanted him protected, and he couldn''t do that if he was in the other vehicle.

    The small convoy exited the underground parking lot in the dead of night. Sure, it was already 6:15 am, but the sun had yet to rise so they were still surrounded by darkness. Driving behind everyone, Liu Wei let his thoughts drift to what Li Dai Lu said would be in store in theing months.

    "Do you know your ce?" he asked the silent man beside him. He didn''t mean for it toe out as offensive, but he needed to make sure that the man knew what was happening. The other man nodded. "I am here to gather supplies for cell towers," he said as he looked around at the scene outside. It was not far off from the war zone that they had once traveled to in order to take out a terrorist.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Have you told anyone that?" Liu Wei asked, knowing that it was one of Li Dai Lu''s major concerns. She knew that eventually, people would learn about what she was nning, but she didn''t want to deal with a coup in the early stages.

    Jin Si Cong shook his head. "Not even Cao Mu Chen?" Liu Wei pushed. The other man turned to re at him, not bothering to respond. Facing back towards the front, the two men continued to drive in silence.

    ---

    "What are we even doing?" asked Jiang Ming Tao as the blue SUV exited the parking lot and drove out onto the deserted streets. It looked like someone hade by and plowed a single path down the road, but that was impossible. There were no working electronics right now, the cars not counting.

    "Getting supplies," said Wang Chao as he looked out the front window. Li Dai Lu said that the zombies were too busy dealing with each other to really care about any humans, but he didn''t know anything, human or other, that was too busy for food.

    "But why?"

    "Not our ce," said Feng Dong Yang, noticing that Wang Chao was constantly scanning the area for threats. It made him feel like he was in the middle of a war zone, looking for an IED instead of City J.

    "We deserve to know," the other man replied from the back seat. Although he had kept his word and didn''t say anything to his teammates, he was starting to get frustrated about the secrecy.

    "We didn''t need to know when they had us jumping out of nes in Country X," argued Feng Dong Yang, preventing Wang Chao from answering. "And we didn''t ask questions as we swam to the shores of Country F. Why are you acting like this is any different?"

    "Because it was our superiors that sent us on those missions to save lives," snapped Jiang Ming Tao as he looked out the window.

    "I fail to see the difference," interjected Guo Bi Ming. He was the second quietest of the group and while he had a few different specializations, he preferred hot weapons and was considered to be the sniper of their group. He very much embodied everything that it took to be a sessful sniper, willing to watch and wait for the best chance to strike. They would find out the answers to their questions one way or another, but right now, he was not willing to make waves until he had gathered the needed information.

    Wang Chao didn''t bother to interrupt their conversation, letting them work things out on their own. He chose Jiang Ming Tao toe with him because he was the most stubborn and would probably only listen to him or Cao Mu Chen, but that didn''t mean that he would be putting up with the man.

    "Guo Bi Ming," he said, interjecting in their conversation. "You said that you were the sniper and the backupmunications expert on the team." The three men stopped talking abruptly and looked at the man driving.

    "Yes," confirmed Guo Bi Ming hesitantly. Exchanging looks with his other two teammates, a look of confusion passed over his face.

    "Do you know what that means?" Wang Chao continued, taking a second to look at Jiang Ming Tao through the rear-view mirror. Silence met his question and he continued. "That means, First Lieutenant Jiang Ming Tao, that you are receable. So I suggest that you show the courtesy and respect that you were known for before you meet a mishap on this mission. Am I clear?" He released a bloodthirsty aura that caused the hardened killers in his vehicle to cringe.

    "Yes, General," said Jiang Ming Tao, going pale at his words.

    "Good," said Wang Chao, pulling back his aura.

 Chapter 150 [Bonus ] 150

    ?

    Not for the first time, Wang Chao wished that they would be able to split up to cover more ground. He had briefly seen the thoughts in Li Dai Lu''s head and knew what she was hoping to get out of this impromptu trip to the city center and there was no way he could get everything on her list in the time frame that she had stated.

    Now he understood why she scoffed when Rear Admiral Zhou Gang Jia sent her, Liu Yu Zeng and Chen Zi Han to grab supplies. After all, anyone can go out and pick up things, but ensuring that they came back to the base with them was a whole other story, and he didn''t seem to trust Cao Mu Chen''s team as much as he originally thought.

    It was one thing to send them across the world and trust them toplete their mission, but it was apletely different level of trust to send them out for things that would be a matter of life and death on a personal level. He would see where this mission went before making any further decisions on them.

    "Wang, Liu," came a voice over the radio. Picking up the mic, Wang Chao clicked the button to openmunications.

    "Go."

    "How much further?"

    Wang Chao paused before answering. He looked around outside of his window. It was still pitch ck outside, but he was able to roughly make out where they were. "10 minutes out," he said,ing to a conclusion. They would take care of the city center first. There should be a malling up soon that they could raid.

    "How long does it take to build amunications tower?" he asked, looking at Jiang Ming Tao from the rear-view mirror.

    The answering scoff was enough to make his knuckles go white on the steering wheel.

    "I told her already that it wouldn''t be possible to build," came the reply as the other man stared out into the darkness.

    "And I told you that you weren''t receable. Guo Bi Ming, how long would it take you to build amunications tower?" Guo Bi Ming looked back and forth between the General and his team leader before cautiously answering. "If we have all the tools, the supplies, and working electricity, then about two weeks."

    Wang Chao nodded his head. Li Dai Lu wanted the towers built and in ce within four months, so even if they didn''t pick up all the supplies today, there should still be time to get it all done.

    ''You don''t have to reinvent the wheel,'' said the soft, melodic voice inside of his head. ''There should be plenty of cell towers in the city. Maybe we can take them down and repurpose them somehow.''

    Wang Chao grunted at that idea. She was right. There should be more than a few cell towers around here that they could use instead of having to build their own. ''Good job, little girl,'' he said to her and felt her smile through their connection. However, he was now getting out of range for his telepathy and whatever she was going to say next was cut off.

    "How long would it take to have one of these cell towers up and working?" Wang Chao asked, this timepletely ignoring Jiang Ming Tao and going straight to Guo Bi Ming.

    "Seeing as there is no electricity, there is no way to get them up and working," said Jiang Ming Tao, answering the question that was not meant for him.

    Tired of the bullshit, Wang Chao pulled out his 9mm and aimed it directly at the head of the man in the back seat. "That was not what I asked or said. Try to pay attention," he said, dividing his attention between the man and the road.

    "If we had everything that we need, it might take us a couple of days to uninstall everything and then reinstall the workingponents. But Jiang Ming Tao is correct, we would need some form of electricity to make them work properly."

    "Can you install their own sr panels onto the towers to generate the power needed?" asked Wang Chao, driving with his left hand while holding his handgun steady at Jiang Ming Tao.

    "Do you have working sr panels?" asked Guo Bi Ming excitedly.

    "At thest count, there should be around 170 panels with 300 batteries," said Wang Chao, repeating the information that Li Dai Lu had given Jiang Ming Tao. Whether or not those were the only ones that she got her hands on was an entirely different story.

    "Given the size and the amount of power the batteries can store, that should be more than enough to supply all of the towers in the city and still leave some sr panels for our building," admitted Gua Bi Ming, almost rubbing his hands in delight.

    Since Jiang Ming Tao''s primary specialization wasmunications, Guo Bi Ming was willing to take a step back for the good of the team, but that didn''t mean that he didn''t have as much passion and knowledge formunications as the other man. After all, unlike his teammates, he went to University A before joining the military after he got his degree in Science and Technology.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    He was also just really, really good at being a sniper, and was happy to amodate his team and go wherever they needed him.

    "But the electricalponents have all been destroyed by the terrorist attack at the beginning of November," pointed out Jiang Ming Tao, not willing to be left out of the conversation.

    Wang Chao quickly looked at the man who was sitting extremely calmly for a man that had a gun pointed at his head. "And what makes you think that it was a terrorist attack?"

    Jiang Ming Tao shrugged his shoulders, refusing to look at the other man.

    "We heard rumors," said Feng Dong Yang, answering the question. "Country M was looking to do a mass attack on a bunch of other countries, all at the same time. Ours was just one of many on the list."

    "Does that mean that Country M still has power?" asked Wang Chao confused.

    "No," replied the man beside him. "I heard that Country S had ns to send out their own EMP at the same time to make sure that Country M didn''t get any benefits in the long run."

    "Huh," said Wang Chao, deep in thought as he pulled into the underground parking lot of the biggest mall in City J. Waiting for the other two vehicles to park around him, his mind continued to race over what he had heard. If Country M deliberately sent out the EMP to several countries, then that meant that they had nned this thing for a long time.

    First, the gic mutations in order to create apex predators, then an EMP to make sure that no one was able to sessfully fight back or even survive.

    Li Dai Lu said that maybe 15% of the poption of Country K survived the first decade after the apocalypse came, was that Country M''s n? To make sure that they could remain the most powerful country in the world?

    Wang Chao shook the thoughts out of his head. Even if Country M did it deliberately, it didn''t really matter at this point. The world had already gone to pot and he didn''t think that was going to change simply because he found out who probably pressed the button.

    Unless they nned to invade their country in a few years when they were too weak to fight back. But Li Dai Lu never mentioned that happening. So maybe Country S really did manage to get their own EMP off before shit hit the fan.

    First things first though¡­ supplies.

    "We are going to split into two teams," said Wang Chao as he got out of his SUV and walked over to where the rest of the men were waiting.

    "Liu Wei will be in charge of one team. You will start at the top floor and work your way down. My team will begin in the basement and work our way up," he started as he looked around at the men that stood in front of him. In all honestly, he didn''t really want any of them on his team.

    Now he understood why Li Dai Lu was so paranoid all of the time. He hade to understand just how hard it was to trust people when your own life was on the line. Even being able to read their minds was no guarantee about their true nature. After all, wasn''t he willing to put his little girl in their hands to keep her safe?

    "Why can''t I lead my own team?" asked Cao Mu Chen, somewhat respectfully. Wang Chao understood that as a Captain, it was aplete p in the face for an outsider toe in and take over a team.

    "Because we can''t trust you," Liu Wei said, saving Wang Chao from answering.

    "It''s just supplies," protested Cao Mu Chen as he looked at Liu Wei.

    "And that is the reason why we can''t trust you. You think that supplies are not that important, but we know that they could be the difference between life and death," said Wang Chao, not willing to continue on with the conversation.

    "Jiang Ming Tao, Feng Dong Yang, Guo Bi Ming, and Cao Mu Chen will be with me, the rest are with Liu Wei. We will meet back here in six hours. Dismissed," said Wang Chao. ''And remember step one if you need to,'' he sent to Liu Wei. Seeing the slight nod from the other man, Wang Chao felt a little better.

    Unfortunately, that feeling that he had in the pit of his stomach since he left Li Dai Lu''s side was about toe out in full force.

 Chapter 151 151

    ?

    Liu Wei rushed up the stairs with the four men that made up his team behind him, listening to them grumble all the way about not having their guns. The only one that did not voice his opinion was Ji Si Cong and he was pretty sure that was more because he didn''t want to talk rather than him not having an opinion.

    "Do any of you know how to make bullets?" he said, asking the same question that Li Dai Lu had asked him and his men before. "And more than just theoretical knowledge, can any of you make your own bullets? From scratch?"

    Silence met his question as the men continued to run up the broken esctors to the 6th floor. "Unlike what we are used to, bullets are now a limited resource. Once we fire one, we can never get it back. We can no longer just go to the ammo section and request more bullets," he said, trying to make them see reason.

    He was not as cranky as Wang Chao was when it came to this team. He was willing to take the time and exin things to them so that they could understand what was going on in the world around them. If they didn''t understand after that, well¡­ he wasn''t a Saint by any stretch of the imagination.

    "From here on out, consider yourself in the middle of a war zone," he continued as he reached the topmost floor of the 110,000 square meter shopping mall. "You have no one you can go to for bullets, so when you are out, you are out."

    "But we aren''t in the middle of a war zone," said Han Xi Yang as he walked up beside Liu Wei. Both men had a long, military-issued knife in their right hands, the unsheathed de resting against their forearms, the handle cradled in their palm. This was the safest way to carry an exposed de so as to not identally hurt someone, but still keeping it ready in case they needed to use it fast.

    "Yes, we are," said Liu Wei, briefly looking at the man. Han Xi Yang did a double take before turning his attention back to the front. He had heard stories about the man beside him, the man that many referred to simply as Death. He had respected him long before he had ever met him and would continue to respect him for a long time after. If he said that they were in a war zone, then they were.

    "What is the n?" he asked as the rest of his teammates fell into step behind them.

    "We are going to start at the back and work our way forward gathering any and all supplies that we can," said Liu Wei as the cautiously walked down the deserted hallway of a once popr mall. He couldn''t help but think about the wire trap that Li Dai Lu almost ran into on her way to the food court a month ago. "Even if you don''t think it is useful, grab it anyways."

    All five men had a military-issued bag on their backs, but Liu Wei was hoping to find more suitcases orrge duffle bags to be able to take more things. As much as he knew that they would be able to return, that didn''t mean that he wanted to leave a lot of stuff behind for someone else to take.

    The four men nodded their heads and continued to scan the area for threats. Entering into thest store at the very end of the hall, they quickly got to work filling up whatever they could before moving on to the next ce right beside them.

    -----

    "I understand why supplies are important," said Cao Mu Chen as he walked beside Wang Chao in the darkened basement. "I just don''t understand why we need to be the ones that go out to collect them."

    "Because if we don''t, how do we know that we got everything we need?" asked Feng Dong Yang from just behind Wang Chao. Out of everyone on his team, Wang Chao trusted this man the most to watch his back. "Would you send a civilian from Country X to get your supplies when you are hunkered down and hiding?"

    Cao Mu Chen remained silent, but he was beginning to understand. "At some point in time, the supply chain will be up and running again," he insisted, not willing to admit that the other men had a point.

    Now it was Wang Chao''s turn to scoff. "With what people?" he asked, making it a point to look around the deserted mall. "We need people to create the stuff, then others to package it, and then even more people to ship it out to where it needs to go. So, I repeat, with what people?"

    That question stunned Cao Mu Chen. "There have to be people," he said as he too looked around.

    Wang Chao only smiled as the continued down the dark hallway of the basement, his shlight the only source of light.

    Suddenly, there was a slight sounding just off of the left. Swinging the shlight around, the men could only make out a thin, pink tail of a mouse before it disappeared into the darkness, probably finding its home.

    "Just a mouse," said Jiang Ming Tao as he held his knife out in front of himself. "Nothing to be so stressed about." Wang Chao said nothing, and simply continued his way down the hall, looking for a door to the storage room. His footsteps, though, were much slower and softer than before.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    This time, the high-pitched squeak did not cause them to startle as much, but Wang Chao still shone the light in the direction of the sound. Seeing a small, white mouse running by, a trail of blood behind him, Wang Chao stopped dead.

    Taking out his handgun, he shot a single bullet into the darkness.

    "I thought we weren''t supposed to randomly fire," snipped Cao Mu Chen as he tried to continue on his way down the darkened hallway, only to be stopped by Wang Chao. The other man raised a single finger to his lips to demand silence.

    Cao Mu Chen froze on the spot, obeying the directmand from his superior officer. When there was no other sounding from the surrounding area, he looked at Wang Chao with confusion.

    Carefully and slowly, trying not to make any unnecessary movements, Wang Chao reced the gun in his hand with the sword from his back. Watching his movements, the rest of the members did the same, taking out their swords and stared into the darkness, hoping to see what was out there.

    Unlike the other times when they had been with Li Dai Lu, there was no warning, no growls or disys of dominance, instead, there was only silence before they heard a screaming from their group. Cao Mu Chen turned to look around frantically, trying to figure out who had screamed and what had happened, but there was only silence.

    Feng Dong Yang and Guo Bi Ming stood still, feeling a slight breeze between them before the scream echoed in their ears. Looking to their side, Jiang Ming Tao was gone, only bloody drag marks to show where he had once been.

    Cao Mu Chen hissed. "We should have had our guns! She is trying to kill us!" he growled in a low voice, his sword out and ready to attack.

    Wang Chao didn''t say anything. Closing his eyes, he tried to feel for the mes that Li Dai Lu said indicated the zombies. But there was nothing. Opening his mind, he scanned the surrounding area, trying to get a mental read on anyone around, but the only thing he got in return was a feeling of gnawing hunger and a brief glimpse of pleasure.

    "Back to back," he said in a low voice, knowing that they were well beyond the point where they needed to be quiet. There were zombies somewhere out in the darkness and they had already chosen their prey.

    The four remaining men quickly positioned themselves so they each had their backs to one another, but deep down inside, they knew that it would help. The zombie that took Jiang Ming Tao managed had managed to cut through their group from the front to the back without them even noticing before taking him.

    "Cut off their heads," said Wang Chao as he continued to scan the darkness hoping for some small sign. This was nothing like what he had experienced before, even when dealing with the tide that hade to the naval base. Not once did he ever not feel in control, confident that he was strong enough to destroy any zombie before him.

    But this was not the same. He could feel his heart rate increase as he tried to push his spirit power out, trying to find where the zombies were hiding. But there was still nothing. Not a flicker of me that he could see from the other zombie before, not a stray thought that would allow him to pinpoint where they were¡­. nothing.

    The only thing he could feel when he opened his senses was a extreme hunger that overwhelmed any other thought, almost drowning him in its demand for food. And it wasing from all around them.

    "If you cut off any other part of them, you are just going to create more. Cut off the heads and call me. I will try to burn them before they can regenerate."

    "What are you talking about?" demanded Cao Mu Chen. "What are those things?"

    "Zombies," came the calm response. "The ''freaks'' ording to your old captain."

    "No way," denied Cao Mu Chen. "They didn''t move that fast before."

    "Then you were lucky."

 Chapter 152 152

    ?

    "Lucky? How?!" demanded Cao Mu Chen. "We lost two men before when we fought those things."

    "Exactly. Lucky," replied Wang Chao. He was racking his brains trying to find a way out of this situation, a safe ce for them to retreat and preferably one with plenty of light.

    Light¡­

    Electricity¡­

    Lightning!

    Thinking about how Li Dai Lu made those balls of fire that hung over everyone''s head in thest few fights, Wang Chao tried to replicate that, but using his lightning instead. Concentrating, he managed to form a small ball of lightning between his two palms.

    He could feel the energy draining out of him and he wondered how his little girl was able to do something like having 30 balls suspended in the air all at once. Putting more and more energy into the ball in his hands, he concentrated, trying to make the ball bigger so that it would light up more area.

    But because he was concentrating on the energy in his hands, hepletely missed the slight gust of wind that brushed past his cheek.

    Another scream, another body gone.

    Finally building up a ball the size of his head, he released it into the air to act as a giant lightbulb over the remaining three men. And then promptly wished he didn''t. He heard a gulp from one of the men behind him as his lightning illuminated no more than 10 feet around them. But it was enough.

    It was enough to see that they werepletely surrounded by zombies, their pale blue and purple faces the stuff of nightmares. Especially when you have little hope of killing them all. ''Liu, we are in trouble,'' he said, sending the thought out to the man upstairs. ''There is a horde of zombies down here, I have no idea their numbers. If I don''t make it out, tell our Queen that I am sorry for not being able toe home to her and I will find her in our next life.''

    Shutting down the link between him and Liu Wei without waiting for a response, Wang Chao looked at the grinning faces of countless zombies.

    Scanning the zombies in front of him, he tried desperately, one more time, to find the me that he could use to kill them. Not holding out much hope, but willing to do whatever it took to make it home to Li Dai Lu that night.

    There¡­ just a faint flicker in the zombie in front of him, but it was enough. Reaching out his hand like he was physically trying to grab the me in front of him, he closed his fist, picturing the me going out at the same time. It worked! Thank all the Gods it worked!

    The zombie that he was concentrating on fell to the floor, dead. But before Wang Chao could take a single breath, another zombie stepped forward, taking the spot of its dead teammate. Realizing that he couldn''t take them out one at a time, Wang Chao concentrated, trying to find the mes of more than just the zombie in front of him.

    Seeing six mes dancing in the darkness, he pictured snuffing them out, and six zombies fell down dead. Only to be reced by six more.

    The only good thing about this whole thing was that with each me that he extinguished, the more power he could feel coursing within his body. But he needed to be able to physically see the zombie in order to be able to see the me inside of them.

    As soon as he had that realization, the giant ball of lightning that he had created disappeared, leaving the three humans,pletely surrounded by zombies in the dark.

    ----<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    ''Tell our Queen I am sorry for not being able toe home to her and I will find her in my next life.'' The words that Wang Chao spoke echoed in his head as Liu Wei dropped everything and started to sprint out the door.

    "Captain?" yelled Du Ya Ting as he looked around for a reason why his team captain would be willing to leave all of the supplies behind. He was absolutely insistent before that they get and keep everything.

    "The General''s team is surrounded by zombies in the basement," came the hurried reply and the remaining four men also put down their supplies to rush to Liu Wei''s side. Except for Jin Si Cong. That man was frantically pulling things out of his backpack, searching for something.

    Finding whatever it was that he was looking for, he quickly followed his teammates as they chose to slide down the banisters of the esctors instead of going down each step. Making it down six flights of stairs in record time, the five men came to a sudden stop as they opened the doors to the basement, flooding the area with a dim light.

    The chaos that was relieved was enough to make even the strongest of men want to turn tail and run.

    "I need more light!" shouted Wang Chao from somewhere in the middle of the mass of zombies. There had to be at least 200 of them circled around the man. The ones on the outside simply pacing back and forth, waiting for their turn in the center. Jin Si Cong quickly knelt down and pulled out eight campingmps that he had managed to take from one of the high-end camping stores that they raided. Pulling them open, he threw them in different ces around the horde, giving Wang Chao what he so desperately needed.

    As soon as the light appeared, they turned to look at the source and the five new humans that had so nicely offered themselves up for a meal. Pulling out his sword, Liu Wei waited until the zombies came to him. As much as he would like to say that he ran into a horde of zombies, at the end of the day, that was just a really stupid idea.

    The first zombie glided up to him like a shark through the water, the creepy grin on its face never changing. Liu Wei braced himself, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike when all of a sudden, there was a soft gasp beside him. Not willing to take his eyes off his first opponent, he clenched his fingers harder around the hilt of his sword.

    He would make it through here alive and drag Wang Chao''s sorry ass home so that he could exin to Li Dai Lu why they didn''t have the supplies she asked for.

    The zombie put on a burst of speed and just like a ball yer up to bat, Liu Wei swung his sword taking off its head in one lucky stroke. Calling on a ball of me to take care of the rest of the body, Liu Wei was stunned. The fire that they so desperately relied on was Li Dai Lu''s. Without her, there was no way to burn the zombies to ashes.

    ''Use fighting,'' came a briefmand inside of his head. Well, at least that meant that Wang Chao was still alive, even if they couldn''t see him. Looking around at his group to gauge how they were doing, he paused in confusion. "Where is Chu Chang Pu?" he asked, looking at the other men.

    The remaining three men behind him quickly looked around. He was nowhere to be found. Shrugging his shoulders, Liu Wei put away his sword and quickly took out the leather gloves that his uncle had gifted him many years before. Carefully putting them on and taking the time to center himself, he gave his right first knuckle a little kiss and whispered a prayer.

    When the second zombie approached him, much in the same way as the first, Liu Wei quickly dodged out of the way of the attack and ced his right hand on the zombie''s neck. As soon as his touchnded, the zombie fell to the floor, permanently dead. Although Liu Wei didn''t like the idea of getting that close to a zombie, everyone else had a cool gift that they could kill from far away, he was at least thankful that he could snuff out their me with a simple touch.

    He quickly took out the 10 zombies that had decided that he and his team were on the lunch menu, and then started slowly stomping his foot like he had seen Li Dai Lu do in order to get their attention. A few more turned their attention from whatever was going on in the center of the swarm to the four men standing just on the outside.

    Jin Zi Cong, Du Ya Ting, and Han Xi Yang were desperately trying to fight them off when Du Ya Ting felt something gripping him around his ankle. Looking down, he stared directly into the pinprick eyes of a palevender zombie, its three rows of teeth gleaming in the light. Before he could utter a single word, the zombie pulled him by his ankle, causing his feet to give out from under him.

    Dropping his sword, he used his forearms to cushion his fall, preventing his face from hitting the ground first. Face down on the ground, he didn''t even have time to gather his thoughts before being dragged away by the zombie so fast his mind could only hope to keep up. His fingernails ripped off as they tried to find a hold on the smooth marble floor of the shopping center, leaving behind 10 lines of blood on the pristine white surface.

    He blinked only a single time and he could no longer see his teammates or the basement of the shopping center.

 Chapter 153 153

    ?

    The zombie horde seemed to be unending, and no matter how much strength Wang Chao and Liu Wei gained by extinguishing each me, they were starting to be overwhelmed by sheer numbers. Clearing a path to the best of his ability, Liu Wei led Han Xi Yang and Jin Si Cong into the eye of the storm.

    "Nice of you toe," said Wang Chao, taking out another six zombies. Six seemed to be his maximum at the moment, but it was a mere stone''s drop in the ocean when it came to dealing with the zombies around him.

    "Well, you know, the party can''t start until I arrive," quipped Liu Wei as he dodged the ws of one zombie and gently touched its extended hand. In less than a second, the zombie fell to the floor only to be trampled by the next one in search of a meal.

    "Reminds me of City N in Country X," said Feng Dong Yang as he managed to decapitate the zombie in front of him, a giant smile on his face. Wang Chao let out a bolt of lightning, turning the body to ash.

    "Was that the one where the Captain slept with the Prime Minister''s wife?" asked Guo Bi Ming as he shed his sword through the throat of a blue zombie. Once again, lightning incinerated the head and body of the zombie before it could regenerate enough toe back to life.

    "No, that was ¨C" Feng Dong Yang pauses for a second as he ducked under the put stretched ws of the zombie in front of him only toe up with a left-handed uppercut causing his opponent''s mouth to close shut with an audible snap. "The capital of Country Q," he continued.

    "Ah, yes!" said Han Xi Yang nodding his head sagely. "But for some reason, I don''t remember so many tangoes at the same time. Those were more like termitesing out of a hill."

    "Still, we made it out just fine," pointed out Feng Dong Yang decapitating his opponent.

    Wang Chao and Liu Wei simply looked at each other and smiled. Not a single man expected to make it out of this basement alive, but by the very nature of their calling, they would go downughing and joking.

    ''There has to be a way to take out more at once,'' growled Wang Chao to Liu Wei as the two stood side by side, just as they had for countless battles before. ''But I can''t take out the me unless I can physically see them.''

    ''Li Dai Lu made this look easy,'' said Liu Wei, missing his Sweetheart for more than one reason. But he also knew that there was no way that she would be able toe and save them.

    ''That she did,'' Wang Chao agreed.

    ''And now I know why she said that we were sinking in quicksand, standing still while the world was changing around us.''

    ''You can tell her that she was right when we get out of this.''

    ''And throw you under the bus for making me abandon all of the supplies we collected.''

    Wang Chao never responded as the ws of the zombie in front of him managed to get through his defenses and were able to rip long ribbons of fabric from his winter parka. Yet another thing that Li Dai Lu was right about. All the extrayers added some protection, but they were also causing him to overheat in the middle of the battle.

    He felt his temper rise the more and more helpless their situation seemed. He always knew that he might die on the front lines protecting his country, but not in this way, not because of some gically altered human with too many teeth. ''Then why do you hold yourself back?'' asked a voice inside of his head that he had never heard before. It sounded like a deeper, raspier version of his own, but with a strange enting out faintly.

    ''I am not,'' he growled in protest as he took out another six zombies.

    ''Yes you are,'' came the insistent voice. ''You are so much more than you know. Now, do what you were put on this to do and kill them all!'' The voice ended in a roar, almost like a call for battle.

    Deep inside Wang Chao, he could feel the presence of¡­ something¡­ rising out of the depth of his very being as an answer to that call to arms.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    ''If you want to fight so badly, then fight. If you want to feast on the flesh of your brethren, then feast!'' The voiceing out of the darkness growled like a beast, but his words echoed in Wang Chao''s mind.

    "If you want to fight so badly, then fight. If you want to feast on the flesh of your brethren, then feast!" repeated Wang Chao out loud. And as soon as he spoke thest word, chaos erupted all around them.

    -----

    ''You aregging behind,'' came a low voice from inside of Liu Wei. It sounded like the wind as it blew across the open nes. ''Two have already imed your Goddess, and now you will die because of these weak zombies? You aregging behind.'' The voice caused Liu Wei to pause for a second, only to have to quickly duck out of the way as a zombie swiped at his neck, attempting to take his head off.

    ''What do I need to do?'' he asked in his head as he grabbed the hand on the back swing and the zombie crumpled to the floor.

    ''Find out who you truly are,'' came the voice.

    ''That''s not overly helpful,'' snapped Liu Wei as he pulled off a zombie that had managed to jump onto Feng Dong Yang''s back.

    There was only silence at his remark as if the voice had drifted away on the same wind that blew it in. Liu Wei concentrated on the horde in front of them, he didn''t have time to try and figure out the riddle that someone whispered in his ear, even if that someone sounded a lot like himself.

    -----

    Jiang Ming Taoy there,pletely at the mercy of the monster dragging him away from his team and to wherever it was that it decided to take him. His hands continued to shelter his face from the uneven surface while the padding of his parka kept the rest of his body protected to a certain degree.

    They entered into some type of building, Jiang Ming Tao could hear the sound of a heavy door opening and instead of the snow-covered ground, he was now being dragged across wooden floors. He stared at the lines in the wood, his brain no longer processing what was going on.

    Gripping the human by the ankle, the zombie continued to drag him until it reached the entrance of a stairwell. Going down one step at a time, the zombie never took into ount the fact that the human''s body was bouncing off each riser one by one.

    When Jiang Ming Tao''s body came to the final step, the zombie simply flung him into the middle of the room by his ankle, not caring about the snap that echoed or the thud from where his body hit the floor. Groaning from the impact, it took him a second to realize that he was not the only one moaning in pain. He slowly raised his head to look at his surrounding, and his eyes widened in surprise. "Chu Chang Pu, Du Ya Ting, Cao Mu Chen, what are you doing here?" he asked in a harsh whisper, no longer able to control his fear.

    Just as the words left his mouth, he heard a steel metal door from the top of the stairs m into the wall behind it with a loud bang causing all of the men on the floor to flinch in fear.

    Sprawled out on the floor with some of his teammates around him, Jiang Ming Tao looked up and saw a light purple zombieing downstairs, its eyespletely focused on the men in front of it. "Traitors," the zombie hissed as it stepped off the bottom step and glided over to them.

    "Traitors," it hissed again, this time grabbing Jiang Ming Tao by the hair and pulling him up so that they were face to face. "Do you remember me?" it asked, its round head tilted to the side at such an angle that it looked like it was about to fall off its pencil-thin neck.

    "It''s okay," the zombie reassured him. Letting go of Jiang Ming Tao''s hair, the zombie simply stood up as the man''s upper body bounced off the concrete floor of the basement once again. "We will have a long time together for you to remember." The longer the zombie spoke, the easier the words came out until, by the end, it was talking almost normally with only a slight hissing out.

    Looking down at the four men at its feet the zombie opened its mouth and let out a roar, the likes of which none of the humans had ever heard. That roar was echoed throughout the building by an unknown number of zombies on the upper floors, causing its very foundations to shake.

    No longer interested in toying with the humans, the zombie turned and went back up the stairs, mming the door shut behind him. Left alone in the darkness, Jiang Ming Tao rxed his tense muscles. "Does anyone know what that was about?" he asked as he rested his cheek against the cold floor. Silence was his only reply.

 Chapter 154 154

    ?

    "If you want to fight, fight. If you want to feast on the flesh of your brethren, then feast!" as soon as the words were ripped out of Wang Chao,plete chaos ensued. No longer interested in the humans in front of them, the zombies started to turn on each other like mindless beasts, ripping each other apart and feasting on the flesh of their fellow zombies.

    Wang Chao and the others were stunned when they saw what had happened. Not knowing what was going on, but realizing that it had created enough of a distraction for them to escape, the remaining six men sprinted to the top of the stairs. Closing the steel door behind them, Wang Chao put his hand on the handle, twisting the metal enough to ensure that the door could no longer be opened.

    Pulling on the handle with all of his strength, Feng Dong Yang nodded to Wang Chao confirming that the seal was sold.

    Realizing that they were safe for the moment, Wang Chao, Liu Wei, and the surviving members of their two teams sunk down to the floor and rested their backs against the wall. The roars and screams from the horrors in the basement passed through the walls just enough that they could make them out faintly. "What happened?" asked Liu Wei as he gasped for breath, his eyes closed and his head resting against the wall.

    "No idea," said Wang Chao, not lying. He didn''t know what happened or how a single sentence could create such pandemonium. "But it''s not safe. We will need to get what we can and get out of here. I don''t know how long those zombies will be trapped."

    Feng Dong Yang groaned as he stood up. "See, just like Country X. No problems," he said grinning at Jin Si Cong, Gup Bi Ming, and Han Xi Yang.

    "Except we seem to have lost a few," said Han Xi Yang soberly.

    Feng Dong Yang nodded his head. "We did. And we will meet them on the other side when it is our turn to follow them. But for now, the mission has not ended. We will mourn when we get back home."

    The other members of his team follow his actions and all stood up, using the wall for support the entire time. "Are we splitting up again?" asked Liu Wei as he looked at Wang Chao. Thetter shook his head. "No, not after that. Let''s start on your floor and work our way down. We still have 7 hours until we need to be back. Hopefully, that will be enough time. There is no way that I aming back here ever again."

    "What are we going to do with all the zombies in the basement?" asked Guo Bi Ming as he went to stand beside Wang Chao.

    "Leave them." Wang Chao responded before it hit him that that was Li Dai Lu''s answer a long time ago and it had enraged his men at the very idea of running away without killing the enemy. He looked at Liu Wei who realized the same thing. "They are not a threat at this very second, we get what we came for and leave."

    "And what about the next group of people toe here and discover them?" Guo Bi Ming insisted, looking at the man in front of him, not understanding what was going on in his head. He was in the military to save people, not to let them walk into danger like that.

    "Let them die," said Liu Wei as he started to walk towards the esctors. The other four men''s eyes widened when they heard that statement like they couldn''t believe that two high-ranking officers of Country K military were willing to just let civilians die.

    "But¡ª" started Jin Si Cong as he looked back and forth between the men.

    "If we go back down there, do you think we would win?" asked Wang Chao as he dusted off his pants and cracked his neck. Pulling out a pack of cigarettes that he had hidden away in his pants pocket, he lit one. Taking in a deep breath of the tobo, he closed his eyes, enjoying the feeling of it hitting him. It was the first time in years that he needed to have a smoke, but thatst fight was a close one.

    There was nothing but silence around him as the other four men couldn''t argue. There was no way for them toe out alive the second time around. They were damn lucky the first time and it was a miracle that the zombies turned on themselves and they were able to escape.

    "Only fight them if there is no other option, otherwise, fight to escape. We need to be stronger if we want to stand a chance against them," called down Liu Wei as he had already made it to the fifth floor. The rest of the men picked up their pace, ignoring their screaming muscles to gather whatever supplies they could. After all, they might be the only thing that stood between them and certain death.

    -----

    "Where are they?" I asked, pacing back and forth in the lobby of the apartment building that we had taken over. I stared into the darkness, willing my boys toe home faster. I told them to be home almost an hour ago, and yet, nothing.

    "They will be here soon," said Liu Yu Zeng as he leaned back on one of the couches that decorated the area. There were several couches and chairs done in a light gray color with bright green nts decorating side tables. All in all, it was a stunning area and I was sure that I would enjoy it in the future¡­ once the guys got home.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "You said that an hour ago!" I grumbled. I knew that he was just as stressed as I was, the corners of his eyes tightening as the smile on his face got wider. But that was my Joker, never willing to outright show how he was feeling but always with a smile on his face.

    "And I meant it an hour ago. They will be fine," he said standing up anding over to me. Wrapping his arms around my front, he gently guided me against him, allowing me to use him as a pir of support.

    "Then why are they sote?" I ask as I rested my head against his chest, feeling his slow, steady heartbeat.

    "Because they are idiots that don''t keep track of time," he promised me,ying a gentle kiss on the top of my head. "I promise you, Sweetness, they wille back to you. There is no way that they won''t."

    "And if they meet up with a giant horde of zombies?"

    "You said that they would probably not."

    "That doesn''t mean that I am always right. I should have gone with them," I groaned closing my eyes. It was stuck between needing them to understand what was actually out there and wrapping them up in bubble wrap to keep them safe.

    "Look, they''re here," said Liu Yu Zeng pointing his finger. I opened my eyes just in time to see the three vehicles I had sent them out in drive past the ss windows and into the entrance for the underground parking.

    I breathed a sigh of relief, my knees almost giving out. Liu Yu Zeng tightened his left arm around me, keeping me upright. "If I was the one out there, would you still be this worried?" he asked softly in my ear.

    I shook my head and smiled up at him. "No."

    At his gasp, I gently chuckled. "Ever since your me appeared inside of me, I can track you down, feel your emotions and I think strengthen you if needed. I don''t need to worry about you. Besides, if you think that any of you are going out after this, you have another thinging."

    Liu Yu Zeng let out a chuckle and gave me a soft kiss to my temple. "I am so happy that you have a piece of me inside of you. At least now you know that I will never leave you." Before I could respond, the door to the underground parking opened revealing Wang Chao and Liu Wei. With my entire focus on their faces, I didn''t notice how disheveled they looked. Launching myself across the room at Wang Chao, I leaped into his arms, causing him to have to take a couple of steps back.

    "Careful, little girl," he growled as he leaned down just enough to brush a kiss on my forehead before handing me off to Liu Wei. As soon as I felt his arms around me, I felt like I could finally breathe. Both men were back in my territory, nothing else mattered.

    After giving me a kiss of his own, Liu Wei gently put me down on the ground. Peaking over his shoulder, I saw Jin Si Cong, Han Xi Yang, Gup Bi Ming, and Feng Dong Yang standing right behind them, a look ofplete exhaustion on their faces. I looked around more for the other four, but I couldn''t see them.

    "Where are the rest?" I asked, looking up into Liu Wei''s eyes and seeing the same tired expression in his.

    "There was a bit of a hup," admitted Liu Wei as he rubbed his hands up and down my arms as if to make sure that I was real.

    "And by hup, he means that the mission went FUBAR," said Feng Dong Yang as he walked over and copsed onto one of the gray chairs, and unzipped his jacket.

    And that was when I took a good look at the man in front of me.

 Chapter 155 155

    ?

    "What the ever-loving fuck happened to you?!?" I demanded, taking the time to finally look over my boys from head to toe and seeing where their winter jackets were ripped to shreds, the white polka dotted with sshes of blue and purple blood.

    "We may or may not have run into a small horde of zombies," admitted Liu Wei as he gently escorted me to one of the many couches in the lobby. Pushing me down into the seat, he quickly took his own spot beside me. I guess we were having our debriefing here.

    "May or may not? By the looks of you, I would say that you definitely did run into a horde! But where?!?"

    "In the basement of the mall," admitted Wang Chao. A look of confusion crossed my face. "Not possible, the zombies never bothered with shopping malls unless they were specifically hunting someone or something."

    "Could they have been hunting us then?" asked Feng Dong Yang. "I can''t help but notice that it was only our team members to be taken."

    I narrowed my eyes, thinking about why zombies would be interested in my group. After all, there was a lot easier prey in the homes around here. Biting my thumbnail, I ran through all of the possible scenarios in my head. "The guys that got kicked out of here, what''s his name? Li Yi Ming. Li Yi Ming and his men, are you sure they are dead?" I asked, turning to Liu Wei. When the other man nodded his head, I went back to gnawing on my thumb. I didn''t doubt the man, if he said that they were dead, then they were dead¡­ maybe¡­

    "What did you do with the bodies?" I asked, tilting my head. The only people with a big enough grudge against Feng Dong Yang and his team would be his old Captain. It took a lot of hatred and energy to have a grudge survive being turned into a zombie, but it was entirely possible for it to happen. However, if he was dead dead, not just zombie dead, then there had to be something that I was missing.

    "I got Chen Zi Han to burn themter that night after you had gone to sleep," said Liu Wei, this time pulling me onto hisp.

    "So they are dead dead," I rified, my poor thumbnail absolutely abused as my teeth continued to work their way back and forth across the surface.

    "I would like to say that dead is dead, but apparently that is not the case anymore," admitted Wang Chao as he stood up and walked over to me. Pulling my thumb out of my mouth, he reced it with a lollypop. I groaned as the ck licorice vor danced across my tongue. Yes, I willpletely admit that I was one of those freaks that liked ck licorice. Unfortunately for me, it was next to impossible to find them any more, but I guess Wang Chao was a miracle worker like that.

    As the vor and sugar entered my system, I rxed further into the arms of my man. "But Liu Wei is the best at his craft," Wang Chao continued as he saw the magic effect that the lollypop had on me. "It''s not them."

    "Okay, so tell me what happened," I said, cuddling deeper into Liu Wei as I licked my sucker. "Don''t leave out any details."

    -----

    "Any idea what is going on?" asked Guo Bi Ming once the boys finished telling me what had happened. I was more than a little stressed knowing how close to death they came, but I refused to let myself dwell on it. Brushes with death would soon be an everyday urrence, and at least this way, the boys got a taste of what was toe.

    "Yeah," I said, surprised that they hadn''t figured it out. "It is simr to that Wu Bai Hee chick did with Liu Wei''s and Liu Yu Zeng''s grandfather."

    "You mean, maniption?" asked Wang Chao sitting up and staring at me.

    "More likemanding," I said, trying to find the right words. "Maniption is more subtle and it takes a longer time to take effect. Like whispering in someone''s ear. What you did was tomand the zombies, not giving them any way to interpret your words. ''If you want to fight, fight, if you want to eat the flesh of your brethren, eat the flesh.'' You told the zombies exactly what you wanted them to do and they obeyed you."<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "So it is part of my spirit powers?" Wang Chao asked, looking for confirmation.

    "Yes. I told you, most people only bother using one aspect of their power, you have the strength and ability to use more," I shrugged. They were able to get out of the situation thanks to his powers, so I was not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. I just wondered if the zombies would multiply as a result, seeing as they were literally ripping each other apart ording to the boys.

    I had never heard of zombies turning on each other like that in my past life, after all, humans were their prey of choice and there was more than enough around to keep them full and satisfied. Not to mention they wouldn''t be as tasty without the fear seasoning added to the meat.

    "We need to train," said Liu Wei as he gently turned my chin to look at him. "We can''t stand still and wait for them to hunt us down. So how do we go about doing it?"

    I looked at the man that felt like a crucial part of me in a different body. Closing my eyes, I said the words that I really didn''t want to say. "The only way to truly train is to hunt them down and kill them. The situation in the basement allowed Wang Chao to unlock a section of his power that he never used before simply because he was so desperate to live. So the only way to get stronger is to put yourself in life or death situations and fight like it is yourst breath."

    I didn''t want the boys to have to learn this way, that was why I was slowly introducing them to their powers and how to kill zombies. But Liu Wei was right, we were simply standing here out of fear, but that had to change. "Liu Yu Zeng and Chen Zi Han will go out tomorrow with a team of men to gather more supplies. Take it as a training opportunity," I said as I stood up. The words that I just spoke left a lump in my throat. I walked over to the stairwell and opened the doors.

    "You guys figure it out and I will send Chen Zi Han down," I said, trying to swallow my tears. They would get stronger or die trying. I put one foot in front of the other and walked up the 13 flights of stairs and into our penthouse.

    Opening the door, I walked over to where Chen Zi Han stood in the kitchen, washing the carrots and potatoes that would be used for our dinner tonight. Wrapping my arms around him and resting my forehead against his back, I took in a deep breath. "The guys need you downstairs," I said with my eyes closed, not bothering to let the man go.

    Turning around in my arms, he gently tilted my head up with a finger under my chin. Searching my face for a clue of some kind or another, he slowly lowered his lips to mine, tasting me ever so leisurely, like he had all the time in the world to savor me. "I will be back in a bit," he said as he stood up. "Don''t worry about dinner. I will finish it when I get back." With onest kiss, he extracted himself from my arms and left the penthouse.

    Staring at the closed door I closed my eyes and allowed myself a moment of weakness where no one would be able to see me. I could feel a tear sliding down my cheek as I wondered who would survive theing year. The very thought of one of my men dying at the hands of a zombie left me weak.

    At the same time, I understood that I was the one that was holding them back by letting my fears for their safety overtake everything. They needed to be stronger in order to make sure that they would alwayse home to me at the end of the day.

    Taking a deep breath and letting it out, I wiped the tear from my face and straightened my back. I had a lot of work to do in order to make this ce a fortress like the ranch was. I narrowed my eyes at the very thought of my ranch. I was hoping that the men left behind were enjoying the spoils of mybor. Stupid men stupidly bringing me across the whole stupid country the night before a fucking apocalypse.

    Shaking my head, I went over to Chen Zi Han''s old room and sat down at the desk inside. We had decided to turn each room that was not being used into something more useful. Poor Chen Zi Han''s space was designated as the office while Liu Wei''s room (the second biggest) got turned into a working pantry. Even Liu Yu Zeng was not spared and his space became a storage area for all of the other supplies. I would eventually have to convert an apartment on another floor into the supply room, but I was not in the emotional state right now to be able to have the supplies out of my eyesight.

    Taking out my colored markers and paper, I started to concentrate and n out what my next steps would be. If the men were going to risk their lives to be stronger, I would turn this building into an imprable fortress so that they coulde home to a safe ce.

    ''How to Survive the Apocalypse version 2.0'', I wrote onto a nk piece of paper in a bright purple marker. Step One¡­

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    I put the cap on my pen with a satisfying snap and vanished it into my space. Picking up the paper in front of me, I reread everything that I just wrote down:

    How to Survive the Apocalypse: Version 2.0

    #1. Let them all die. You can''t save everyone so don''t even bother.

    #2. Build a good fence. Good fences make good neighbors, especially when your neighbors are zombies.

    #3. Buildmunication towers. It is always important to be able to call home. Mom is a worrywart.

    #4. Take over the surrounding area. Don''t need anyone living rent-free.

    #5. Gather everyst supply in the city. If there are any questions or concerns refer to step one.

    #6. Install and maintain sr panels because ''lights, lights baby''.

    #7. Have a designated area for supplies. Have one (1) person in charge. Remind them that only death awaits them if they fuck up. Seriously, I''ll sic Liu Wei on them.

    #8. Start designated teams.

    #9. Did I mention supplies? We definitely need more supplies.

    #10. Wipe out everyst zombie in City J.

    #11. Rename City J to Elysian City.

    Satisfied with my list, I then took out a blue marker to start making notes under each one. The more details I coulde up with now, the easier it would be tomorrow when I made everyone submit to my will¡­ I mean, when I asked everyone to help out. Yeah¡­ that sounded better.

    Completely lost in my thoughts, I was startled when a knock sounded at my door. ring at the offending line now on my paper, I sighed and crumpled the whole thing up, and started again from the top. When the second set of knocks came and another blue line in ces that it should not be, I remember why I had to rewrite this page of notes in the first ce.

    "Yeah?" I yelled at the door as I crumpled up the second page of paper. Oh well, at least I wasn''t as far as I was with the first one.

    "Dinner is ready," yelled Chen Zi Han, not opening the door. Looking around the room, I was d that he hadn''t stepped inside his room. Cringing at the mess, I once againpletely forgot about the man at the door. Rushing around to pick up all the crumpled balls of discarded paper, I snapped when I heard another set of knocks at the door.

    "What do you want?!" I yelled as some paper balls fell out of my overfilled arms and back onto the ground. "Dinner is ready," said Chen Zi Han again, this time with a hint of a smile in his voice. "Right! Dinner!" I squealed as I dropped all of the paper back onto the floor, no longer bothering to clean it up. I mean, I was absolutely phenomenal in the kitchen if I do say so myself, but it was also amazing to have a man be willing to cook for you. The fact that he is almost as good of a cook as I was, was just a bonus.

    And yes, I said almost. I was still in charge of my kitchen. He had parental rights to it every so often when I was not in the mood to cook. Unfortunately, I was not in the mood more and more, but it happens, no point in beating myself up over it.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Rushing to the door I flung it open. "What''s for dinner?" I asked, my eyes wide. Seeing his smiling face, a part of me absolutely melted. I knew that everything was fine when he smiled at me like that.

    "Steaks, potatoes, carrots, and a Caesar sd. Chocte cake for dessert if you want to share," he said as he took my hand in his and brought me to the dining room table where the rest of the boys were. Sitting down at the head of the table, I started spooning sour cream onto my baked potato. That reminded me, I would have to make some more sour cream. Well, add that to the list of things to do, I guess.

    "You boys figured everything out?" I asked as I cut into my steak. I would joke that it was still mooing (I liked my steak rare) but in this day and age, with all my luck, it really would start mooing.

    "Yes," said Wang Chao from where he was seated on my right. "Liu Wei and Liu Yu Zeng will take two teams out tomorrow to gather supplies and hunt down zombies. Chen Zi Han and I will stay here to help you with that list."

    "List?" I asked in confusion,pletely forgetting that he had a front-row seat to all of my thoughts and probably knew my new steps better than I did. "Right," I said rolling my eyes as I took another bite of my steak. I closed my eyes and just sighed as the juices coated my tongue. There was the perfect amount of salt and pepper on it to make my mouth water. I let out a low moan as I took another bite.

    Looking up, I saw four pairs of eyes just staring at me. "What?" I asked, my eyes wide. Did I drool? Did I spill something on my shirt? Why were they staring at me like that?!? "Unless you want us to make you sound like that again and again, I would kindly ask you to not make that sound right now," said Liu Wei as he turned his attention back to his steak, meticulously cutting it into small pieces.

    It took me a second to understand what he was trying to say and my face turned bright red. "Right," I agreed and turned my attention back to my own te of food, trying not to moan again at the taste.

    -----

    It was another early morning as Liu Wei and Liu Yu Zeng wanted to get a head start to the day. Once again meeting everyone in the lobby, I stood in Chen Zi Han''s embrace as the Liu brothers went over everything that they wanted to aplish that day.

    They were taking Feng Dong Yang with them to see if the zombies really were hunting down his old team. The poor man was going out a bait but he still had the biggest smile on his face. Whatever floats your boat, I guess. The only thing that was stopping me frompletely freaking out was the fact that Liu Yu Zeng''s white me was flickering slow and steady, just like a heartbeat. I gently brushed my fingers along the outside of the me, watching as it began to flicker wildly.

    Completely engulfed in Liu Yu Zeng''s me, I was taken off guard when the man himself stormed towards me and roughly grabbed me by the back of the neck. mming his lips onto mine he tookplete possession of my being, not caring that Chen Zi Han was still a solid pir behind me. Moaning into his mouth, not caring about the audience around us, I was left wanting more when he pulled his lips off of my mouth.

    "Next time you want to y with my me, Sweetness, remember the consequences," he growled. Moving his hand so it was no longer at the back of my neck, he entwined his fingers into my loose hair and pulled back hard. With no choice but to tilt my head back, I started up at him, my eyes zed over still trying to process what just happened.

    "Consequences?" I asked, a look of confusion passing over my face. Weren''t consequences supposed to be a bad thing? How was any of that a bad thing? My toes had yet to uncurl from that kiss. I would like to say that I didn''t know what came over me and why I did what I did next, but I knew exactly what I was doing.

    Staring deep into his smoky grey eyes, so much like his brothers but also uniquely his, I smirked as I gently stroked the white me up and down. His eye almost rolled back into his head before he tightened his grip on my hair even more, pulling it down so far I had to arch my back just to get a hint of relief from the pressure. Chen ZI Han took a small step back, giving me a bit of room, but refused to let go of my waist.

    This time it was Liu Yu Zeng that let out a soft groan before the captured my lips, so softly and gently that it was aplete juxtaposition to his grip on my hair. Ever so slowly he continued his administrations on my lips like he was tasting the most sulent of feasts. Trailing down to my jaw and then my neck, I heard him moan again inside of my head. ''You don''t y fair, Sweetness,'' he groaned as he started to gently suck on a sensitive part of my neck. ''There is no way I can do to you what I want with all these people looking on. It is enough that the other three get to see what is mine, to have anyone else know about your sweetness, it is enough to send me into a murderous rage.''

    I shivered as his words floated over me, causing a special tightening in my belly. I don''t know if I should be concerned about the idea that he was willing to kill his own men to keep me to himself, or if I should be turned on. Because I was definitely turned on.

    ''Just be safe ande home to me. I don''t care who has to die to make it happen, but you and your brother need to live,'' I whispered into his mind as he brought his forehead down to mine. ''Always,'' he said, the softness in his voice carrying a steel promise. ''No one and nothing will keep us away. Now give my brother his kiss so we can hurry up and leave. I can practically feel the bastard''s eyes burning holes into my back.''

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    Liu Yu Zeng took a step back just as Chen Zi Han took a step forward. The two worked in perfect sync to make sure that I was being supported at all times. And considering how weak in the knees Liu Yu Zeng had made me, I was extremely grateful for Chen Zi Han at my back. Seeing that I was fine, Liu Yu Zeng went back to where his men were standing.

    It had been decided that it should be the syndicate members to go out today to gather supplies. We didn''t want to show favoritism to the military members of Liu Wei and Wang Chao''s team and secondly, because they had less experience with zombies as a whole. Knowing that Liu Yu Zeng had a much broader, long-range ability than either Liu Wei or Wang Chao, I felt that it was okay to do it this way. After all, Liu Yu Zeng could just take out all of the zombies if things got out of hand.

    In my head once again, it took me a second to realize that Liu Wei was standing in front of me, quiet as a shadow. Looking up into his eyes, I saw them slightly soften. "You know, growing up, my brother and I used topete over every little thing," he said as he pulled me out of Chen Zi Han''s arms without even looking at the other man. "And aren''t you the most important little thing in our lives right now?" the man in front of me practically purred. "It''s my turn to make you moan so loud that the men behind them have to adjust themselves in their pants. But if even one of them has an inappropriate thought about you, I will rip their hearts out and hand it over to you, still beating."

    Okay, so apparently I had a huge thing for slightly unhinged men that would offer me bloody body parts, because¡­ yeah¡­. That was hot. I let out a loud moan, the man whose arms I was in not even needing to kiss me before I became dripping wet. All he had to do was whisper in my ear and I was ready to melt. Starting at my ear, he licked and nipped his way up the pulse of my neck to my upturned jawline andstly my lips. Still swollen from the assault that they took from Liu Yu Zeng, I couldn''t help but groan, lost in that delicate bnce of pleasure and pain. My first kiss from that man was everything that I had dreamed about and more. He was thest one of my men to kiss me on the lips and it was well worth the wait.

    Liu Wei made his way back down to my neck and I could have sworn that he was about to bite me when Chen Zi Han pulled him away from me. Startled, I looked back and forth between the two men, worried about what had just happened. I watched as Chen Zi Han whispered something in Liu Wei''s ear and then came a stiff nod from the other man.

    Returning back to me, Liu Wei ced another gentle kiss on my lips. "Come back to me," I begged him, trying not to remember what happened thest time that I let him out of my sight. "Always," he promised and joined his brother. The two men looked back at me and nodded their heads before they went into the underground parking lot and out into the big wide world.

    -----

    The team of 10 gathered around the three vehicles that had been topped up for thistest mission. They were all men that had proven themselves to Liu Yu Zeng through their blood, sweat, and tears, and their loyalty to the man was unquestionable and unshaken. They had turned their back on the Red Dragon Syndicate to follow Liu Yu Zeng to the ends of the world, signing their own death warrant if they should ever wind up in Red Dragon territory again.

    "We are hitting up homes," said Liu Yu Zeng taking out a cigarette and lighting it. Feeling the smooth taste of tobo and mint, he let out a long sigh. "Take everything and anything that you can," he continued as he took another drag. "Concentrate on food first, then clothes, toiletries, knives, anything that could be even remotely useful. Liu Yu Xuan and I will each be taking a team. Ren Rou Xuan, you, He Hai Tao, and the Long brothers will be on my team. The rest will be on Liu Yu Xuan''s. If youe across a zombie, cut off its head. Anything else and you are just creating more. Any questions?"

    The entire cavern echoed with "No, Sir," as the eight men straightened up and puffed out their chests. Over 200 men followed Liu Yu Zeng to City J, and they were the first eight to be brought out to train. That alone was a huge privilege. They would not disappoint him and his faith in them.

    "Good," he said, throwing the cigarette butt to the ground and stomping out the ember with his booted toe. "Liang Yu Fei, you will be in the white SUV. He Hai Tao, Chai Ju Feng, and the Long brothers, you will take the ck SUV. Ren Rou Xuan and Cheung Guang Ting, you will be taking the Shaman ATV. Remember, that is the main vehicle for all of our supplies. If anything happens to them, you can offer your head in return."<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Yes, Sir," came the reply, and Liu Yu Zeng grunted in acknowledgment. "Get a move on," he said as he waved his hand in the air as he made his way to the white SUV. Gone was the joker with the perpetual smile that Li Dai Lu knew and in his ce was the cold-blooded syndicate boss. As the mantle of his position fell onto his shoulders, Liu Yu Zeng gently cracked his neck. As much as he loved being able to rx around his woman, to show her a different side of him, this was who he truly was inside.

    Getting into the back seat, he lowered the window and allowed his power to flow out of his right hand. Watching it as it flowed through and around his fingers like a bunch of snakes. He didn''t turn his head as he heard the other doors open, he knew who it was going to be. "Apparently you and I have to have a discussion," said Liu Wei as he got into the vehicle beside his brother. Feng Dong Yang took the front passenger seat and Liang Yu Fei got behind the wheel.

    Liu Yu Zeng simply raised an eyebrow at his brother in question. "Chen Zi Han seems to think that he can control what can and cannot happen between us and Li Dai Lu. More specifically, between me and Li Dai Lu. He said that you would exin it to me." Liu Wei was chomping at the bit, pissed off that someone had the audacity to stand between him and his Princess. He was willing to share with the others, but under no circumstances was he willing to ept someone butting into his rtionship.

    "I am sure that you could have been more vague if you tried harder," said Liu Yu Zeng, not at all impressed with his brother beating around the bush. "Just spit it out."

    Liu Wei sat there silently, not wanting to talk about what he wanted to do to the girl when she was so soft and pliant in his arms. Still, Chen Zi Han was insistent that he talked to his brother. "I wanted to bite her," he admitted, not caring about the two men in the front that were pretending to be invisible. Feng Dong Yang because he was ufortable and Liang Yu Fei because knowing things he shouldn''t was a great way to end up dead. Liu Yu Zeng snapped his head around to re at his brother. "Did you?" he demanded, almost pulling his brother closer to him to growl in his face. "Did you bite her?"

    Liu Wei looked at his brother, a sh of concern on his face. "No. Chen Zi Han stopped me before I could," he admitted. Liu Yu Zeng breathed out a sigh of relief. "Good," he said, patting the other man''s parka back in ce and settling in his seat once again. "Good."

    "Want to tell me why?" asked Liu Wei, not sure what was going on. But by the reactions from bother Chen Zi Han and Liu Yu Zeng, they seemed to know something that he and Wang Chao did not. And Liu Wei hated that idea.

    "Not really," said Liu Yu Zeng staring out the window. He and Chen Zi Han agreed that they would not be sharing that experience until the other men did. But from what they could understand was that biting her, willing to pledge themselves to her for all of eternity, would lead to that dream. It was the only thing that they could work out that they both did. The fact that it would render both them and Li Dai Lu unconscious within a matter of minutes was another matter entirely. He didn''t care if Liu Wei bit her, he just couldn''t have the other man knocked out while they were on a mission. Thank god Chen Zi Han stopped him before anything happened.

    "The only thing I can say is wait until you are in bed." The smirk on his face didn''t give anything away, but Liu Wei was able to read between the lines when it came to his brother. "Understood." Was all he said as he too, looked out the window. The darkness was cut through only by the stars in the sky as Liu Wei''s thoughts continued to race... and not on the mission in front of him.

    asionally missing content, please report errors in time.

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    Liu Yu Zeng and his teams only drove about 45 minutes away from the apartment building that they were now considering to be their home base. This subdivision was for the wealthier poption of City J and, after much discussion, it was decided it would be most productive to try there first. Not only should they have more supplies, but because the houses were bigger and further apart, it meant that there should be fewer zombies.

    Getting out of the SUV, Liu Yu Zeng mmed the door shut and looked at the scene in front of him. They had deliberately parked in front of the only entrance and exit to themunity so as to block anyone and everything in. Liu Yu Zzeng also wanted to make sure that there was no way someone else could block them in if something went wrong. There were footsteps in the snow, letting them know that there were people around, but besides that, it was aplete mystery as to what they were walking into.

    "Human," said Feng Dong Yang as he walked back to Liu Wei after going to take a look at the footprints. "Unless of course zombies have taken to wearing boots? Do they wear boots?" he continued, clearly no longer as sure that the prints were human. But the most important part was that none of the footsteps had left themunity and, unlike theirs, this ce had not been plowed since the huge blizzard a few weeks ago.

    "Alright, no point sitting here with our thumbs up our asses," said Liu Yu Zeng as he pulled out another cigarette. He refused to smoke around Li Dai Lu, but while he was out, he could more than makeup for what he had beencking for the past month or so. "Team A, we are going to take the left side of the street, Team B, you got the right. Get what you need. Kill who you need and get back here fast."

    Putting out the smoke in the ankle-high snow, Liu Yu Zeng cracked his neck and started to walk over to the left side. ''See if you cany a trap of some kind on the cars,'' came the soft voice inside of his head. ''And stop smoking so much. I refuse to lose you to lung cancer.'' Liu Yu Zeng chuckled at Li Dai Lu''s words. Maybe having her inside of him all the time was not the best thing in the world. ''You take that back,'' she snapped and he could practically see her sticking out her tongue.

    ''Having you with me always is the greatest thing to ever happen to me,'' he reassured her as he walked back over to where they had left the vehicles. ''Any suggestions on how I cany the traps?'' he asked as he looked around the SUVs.

    She did have a good point. If there was anyone watching them from one of the many homes, they might try to take one of the working vehicles and get away from here. It was what he would have done if the situation was reversed. ''See if you can leave part of your power on the handles. Not so much that it will drain you, but enough to kill whoever tries to steal from us.''

    ''Great idea and all,'' he replied in his mind as he stared at the driver''s side handle. ''But how do I actually do that?''

    ''Put your hand on the handle and picture a very small part of your mist anchoring to it. It doesn''t have to be a lot, even the smallest hint of poison will have the desired effects.'' Copying what she had said, he gently put two gloved fingers onto the white SUV handle and pictured a small, ck snake coiling itself around it.

    When he managed to do it to the first one, he continued on all four door handles and even added a small snake to the trunk handle so no one would be able to get in through there. He didn''t feel the least bit drained, so he continued to do it to the remaining SUV and ATV, ensuring that everything would be secured enough that they didn''t have to leave a guard behind to protect their stuff.

    ''Thanks, Sweetness,'' he said once he finished thest ones.

    ''You are getting my supplies, of course I am not going to let you lose them to someone else,'' she said with a smirk in her voice. ''I have to protect those things after all. But you might want to warn Liu Wei and the others so there are no idents.''

    Liu Yu Zeng simply chuckled at her statement but was willing to admit that it had not really urred to him to warn the others. "Don''t touch anything until I get back. You won''t like the consequences," he said looking at the men that had been watching him. As soon as he got their nods of understanding, he then started to walk away for the second time.

    ''Liu Yu Zeng?'' came the voice again in his head. ''Yeah?'' he asked, not sure what she was going to tell him to do next. ''Be safe ande home to me.''<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    He ducked his head and allowed the smile to break out on his face. ''Always am, always do,'' he promised her. Once he managed to get his emotions back under control, he lifted up his head and looked at the nine men in front of him, including his big brother. "I''m sorry, was I supposed to send out a gold-lined invitations? Get a move on!" His men jumped at his words and divided themselves up into their teams and started to rush to the assigned houses.

    Liu Wei simply stared at his brother. He knew that something was going on, he had the same look on his face as Wang Chao did when he was talking to someone in his head, but Liu Yu Zeng was not a spirit user so that had to be impossible. Deep in thought, Liu Wei started to walk behind the men of Team B, putting on his leather gloves as he went.

    Realizing that no matter how hard he thought about it, he just didn''t have the information to make an informed guess, he shook the thoughts out of his head and walked up to the first door. Looking at the four men on his team and seeing that each one of them had a knife or a sword, he nodded in approval. Raising his hand, he knocked on the door.

    -----

    After the boys had left for their mission, I quickly went back upstairs with Chen Zi Han to get ready for my day. Honestly, I was not looking forward to what needed to be done, but I was hoping that with Wang Chao and Chen Zi Han here, there wouldn''t be too much disagreement.

    Rushing into Chen Zi Han''s room, I grabbed my clipboard and color-coded file folders from the desk before closing the door behind me. Wang Chao walked out of our bedroom dressed as he would for a board meeting. Confused, I looked at him. "You do know that that is not the most appropriate attire, right?" I asked him. I mean, he was smoking hot with the ck dress pants, ck dress shoes, and a white dress shirt that had the top three buttons undone, but his outfit would not help him in a fight. But that didn''t stop my eyes from zeroing in on his chest and I couldn''t seem to look away.

    Men had lingerie; women had business suits. Who was I to argue?

    Laughing softly at where my thoughts had gone, Wang Chao walked up to me and slowly adjusted his cufflinks. "I never found lingerie all that sexy, but I guess that seeing you in it would definitely change my mind on the matter. Besides, we are spending the day at home. Might as well befortable."

    I looked at the man, not sure which statement I should address first. But that didn''t stop my brain from going to the first part of his sentence. Lingerie. Heck, I didn''t even know if I had any lingerie in my space. It was definitely not in the top 100 supplies to have on hand list. Mildly freaking out, I began to think about what I needed to do next. I mean, it was not like I could send one of the boys out to go get those types of things. But, it was not like they would disappear quickly off the store shelves either.

    Wang Chao gently tilted my head back to be able to look at me. "Don''t you worry about that. And I will be more than happy to wear my suits any time you want me to. Now, the men are waiting for us downstairs. Shall we go?" he asked, giving me a kiss on the forehead.

    I hummed in agreement and forced my mind out of the gutter and back into what needed to happen today instead. I had to make sure that this ce was safe enough to withstand theing tide and lingerie was not going to help with that.

    ----

    "Alright," I said as I walked into the lobby area and surveyed the people waiting for me. There was no way that this ce could hold almost 300 peoplefortably, but the men had packed themselves in withoutint. "This is going to be our home, and that means that we are going to have to get our asses in gear to make sure that this is the most secure ce in the entire country. To do that, I am going to be splitting everyone up into new teams. You have aint, take it to them," I said pointing to Wang Chao and Chen Zi Han who were both standing to my right and left sides.

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    "First thing is I am going to get 100 people to start working on the fence," I said as I looked around the room. There were a lot of people here and this should make things easier. ''Should'' being the operative word because it also had the ability to gopletely sideways. Too many cooks in the kitchen and all that.

    "This means going out scavenging for materials and actually creating the fence. You will have two months in the freezing cold to get this done, but it is crucial that you don''t ck off. Those of you with earth or metal powers will be crucial, but you cannot rely solely on your abilities to get it done. I will post up a list for those that are on fence duty. The teams will be sent out tomorrow to gather the necessary supplies to build it, and construction will begin in two days. The heads of this project will be Liu Hong Tao and Liu Ming Jie. They built a fantastic fence at the ranch and I want you to do it again. But this time, at least 10 feet tall," I continued with a smile, remembering how hard they fought me the first time around about the height.

    "And since I won''t be spending any money, you don''t have to worry about how much I am paying for it all," I finished with a smirk in the direction of the two men. They just chuckled and nodded their heads.

    "Now, in addition to the fence, we are going to need to build several guard houses, both up high and on the ground. This list here," I said waving another piece of paper up in the air before handing it to Chen Zi Han to put up. "There are going to be eight stations, four up over the top of the fence on each corner and then another four on the ground between the others. The ones up top will be used as lookouts and sniper nests while the ones on the bottom will be for entrances and exits."

    I looked around the room, trying to get a read on the people, but there were too many of them for me to really try. "Feel free toe and talk to any of us if you want to signup for the guard towers. Remember, they are our first line of defense so only volunteer if you are serious. On the other hand, those that are here hoping for a free ride, feel free to exit the building within the next few hours. I won''t be putting up with it."

    I sighed, knowing that the next part was going to be even worse. After all, I was dealing with military and or Syndicate members that prefer to be more hands-on than administrative. "I am going to need a team of at least 50 people to take care of the logistical side of this ce. That includes dealing with any outsiders, keeping records of all our supplies, and keeping up with the day-to-day running of thepound."

    I looked around the room and more than a few people dipped their heads, not willing to look me in the eye in case I voluntold them that they were going to be the logistical side. "I will not order anyone to do this because as far as I am concerned, taking care of the logistics is just as important, if not more so, than guarding the perimeter. It won''t matter what is going on outside if we are starving to death on the inside."

    "I have a few ideas on my side of who would do a good job," said Chen Zi Han looking down at me. "Unfortunately, two of them are out with Liu Yu Zeng so I can''t speak to them right now." I nodded my head in understanding.

    I knew that not many people would be willing to do the technical matters that I needed help with. After all, I don''t know anyone that joined the military because they liked doing paperwork. And, it might be a stereotype, but I didn''t see too many members of a criminal organization joining because they liked ounting.

    Most people think that it was simple to set up a safety zone. Like it just magically appeared out of the darkness like a beacon of hope, but the reality waspletely different. It could take years to create a well-running mini-city, and that was if you could trust everyone that was running the differentponents of it. And trust was in very short supply at the end of days.

    What was the hardest to exin was that even the stupidest role was absolutely crucial. I remember the downfall of one safe zone happened because the guard in charge of guarding the water supply didn''t take his job seriously. He decided to not show up for work one day, because who thinks that guarding a giant pool of water was important, and the rest of the civilian poptionpletely drained out all the water, leaving nothing behind. In less than two weeks, that safe zone fell.

    Now, I am sure that you are thinking, "Why don''t the water power users simply fill up the tanks again?" but that was not the way it works in real life. The simple answer was that they could not supply that much water, the long answer was much more technical.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    The average water user can put out approximately 1 gallon (4 liters) of water every day. On the other side, the average Olympic pool can only hold about 660,000 gallons (2.5 million liters) of water. So you would need enough water users to not only fill up that size of a pool but also maintain it. Because as much as 660,000 gallons of water seemed like a lot, that was only enough to supply a little over 1,800 people for a single year with the absolute minimum amount of water. And most safety zones will have anywhere between 10,000 and 100,000 people depending on their location.

    So, if you take 660,000 gallons and divide that by let''s say 50,000 people, you get 13.2. As in that pool of water would bepletely gone in 13 days. And unless you have 660,000 water users, you can''t get that water back in time.

    I was lucky, we only had a little over 300 people, like 310. That means that I only need about 127,750 gallons of water per year for this building. And that math only worked if we didn''t take in any more people. Plus it was a matter of how to store that much water without it going bad. Because, yes, water can and does go bad if it is sitting around for too long.

    But that is all besides the point. The point I was trying to make was that there were no ''unimportant'' jobs in a safe zone, especially when you were just starting out. Ah fuck, I just realized that I don''t even have an Olympic size swimming pool to fill up anyways, or storage containers... maybe I should look into getting rain barrels. Crap, I would have to add that to the list too.

    ''Can''t we just use the tap water? After all, there are no viruses in the water,'' asked Wang Chao after I had been silent for a while. I scoffed at that question. ''No,'' I said, rubbing my forehead trying to ease the headache. ''There might not be a zombie virus in the water, but that is the least of your worries. For the most part, all city water is recycled. That means, when you flush the toilet, it goes through a whole process before ites out of your tap to drink. Without electricity, none of the sanitation nts will work which means that there is no clean water to drink.''

    I saw Wang Chao''s eyes widen at that thought. I shrugged a shoulder. Not many people really thought about where their water came from until it was an emergency and they had none. Everyone was currently using the water that I had stockpiled before the EMP hit, but my supplies were running low too. I was to the point that I was using the tap water from my space to keep up with the demands.

    Looking back down at my list I put a checkmark next to what I had already discussed and added a note to the supply list that we needed water containers, bleach, and any other purifiers that they could get their hands on. My mind was going on what we would need in order to turn dirty water into something drinkable when I heard a throat clear in front of me.

    Looking up, I saw Chen Zi Han. "Anything else for now?" he asked, knowing that I was not in any position to keep going with this meeting until I could figure out what more we needed. I shook my head and gave him the lists to post. Luckily my men knew the names of everyst person in this building, otherwise, I was not sure how I was going to start dividing people.

    As Chen Zi Han and Wang Chao started to talk to the men in front of them, my mind started to drift off to the math for water, and food, and how I was going to be able to grow enough food here to support everyone, the people that would have to help and everything thing else.

    The white me inside of me flickered just enough to cause me to pay attention to it. Staring, I saw Liu Yu Zeng beginning to walk away from the SUVs and into the subdivision. ''See if you can put a trap of some kind on the car,'' I said to him, hoping that he could hear me. There was no way I wanted to lose our vehicles to someone with sticky fingers. When I felt more than heard his response, I left the lobby area so I could pay attention to Liu Yu Zeng.

    After all, that man was getting my supplies and I was going to need a lot more than I originally thought.

 Chapter 160 160

    ?

    I was back in Chen Zi Han''s room, the ce that I was now affectionately calling my cave, trying to figure out the numbers of everything that I needed. At the very minimum, I was hoping to gather enough supplies tost us all for a year, but ideally, it should be enough for the next 5 to 10 years. And let''s face it, that was a lot of stuff.

    But it was not the sheer quantities that was giving me the headache, but the math. For example; ideally, a single person needs six tubes of toothpaste per year and four toothbrushes. That means for the 310 people currently living here, I would need them to gather 1,860 tubes of toothpaste and 1,240 toothbrushes¡­ for a single year. And don''t forget, no one would be producing these things either in the future so it''s not like we can go out and get more when we run out.

    As of right now, there are only two women among the 310 people here, which means that between the two of us, we would use approximately 572 feminine hygiene products in a year. And that was just for the two of us. Each box contained about 36 items so we would need at least 15 boxes. Not to mention I was not expecting the men to remain single for the rest of their lives, which meant that I needed to take into ount any spouses or partners that might being through my gate.

    Like I said, the math was the worst part.

    I stretched my neck and closed my eyes as I leaned back into my chair. Taking in a deep breath, I continued to try and work out all the small details. Shampoos (4,015 bottles), conditioners (4,015 bottles),undry soap (2,790 containers) ¡­ the list just kept going on and on the more that I thought about it.

    It was so much easier when I just had to think about what to get for myself on the ranch.

    Groaning, I took out an entire chocte cake and put it on the desk beside me. Realizing that it was myst premade chocte cake, I wanted to cry.

    Back to the math... The average person uses 150 pounds of flour in a year¡­ times that by 310 and I need 46,500 pounds of flour for everyone in thepound. Ugh¡­ was it toote to turn tail and go back to the ranch? I mean, I could deal with the crippling fear of driving in the snow if it meant that I didn''t need to figure out the amount of sugar a person needs per year.

    I really, really hated math!

    Banging my forehead on the desk, I didn''t hear anyonee in until a hand slipped between my skin and the desk, preventing me from hitting the solid surface. Sitting up, I looked down at Chen Zi Han from where he was crouched beside my chair. "Why don''t you get Wang Chao to do all the math? From what I heard, he is good at that stuff and is used to trying to figure out the resources needed for the members of his teams."

    Wang Chao! Why the hell didn''t I think about that before?!? "Wang Chao!!!" I yelled at the top of my lungs, my wide, crazy eyes staring at the door like it would make him appear all that much faster. He came running into the room, looking around for the threat. Huh, guess he wasn''t reading my mind then.

    Getting up from my chair, I pointed to it. "Sit!" I said, not really caring if my manners were not the greatest. I was about to be able to leave the 8th level of hell that was reserved for those that failed math and I didn''t care about anything else. When he sat down and stared I me, I realized that I might have be a bit unhinged. Raising his eyebrow, he looked up at me. "A bit?" he questioned before I pointed to all of the papers scattered across the desk. Ignoring hisment I said, "This is your job now, have fun!" Quickly picking up my chocte cake, I was about to bolt out of the room.

    "Any color preference?" asked the greatest man in the world. A tiny piece of my heart melted that he was willing to go through the hassle of changing the colors depending on the category and numbers. "None," I breathed. "As long as I am not doing it or have to look at it, you don''t need to worry about colors. And I am never going to look at that list again." I shuddered when I thought about it.

    Don''t get me wrong. I love supplies. I need supplies in my life and if I could go out every day to get them, I would be a very happy camper. Supplies were my thing. Numbers were not. "Give the list of what is needed to the person that is going to be in charge of the supplies," I said, not knowing who this fictional person would be. All I knew was that I was not going to be me.

    Wang Chao nodded his head. Now that I knew he wasn''t going to drag me back to the desk kicking and screaming, I took out a fork and broke off a bite-sized piece of cake. Putting it in my mouth, I moaned at the choctey, rich, goodness of it. I walked out of the cave and was about to make my way over to the couch in the family room and turn on the television when movement in the living room took me off guard.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    There should only be three of us in here, and I knew I was not the one in the living room. I felt Chen Zi Han behind me and I lifted my head back all the way to look at him. "Guo Bi Ming and Jin Si Cong are here and want to talk to you," he said gently, wiping off a small cake crumb from the corner of my mouth. Sticking his thumb into his mouth, he smiled down at me. "You are right, it is delicious," he purred softly as he started pushing me toward the living room.

    ----

    "We can use the towers that are currently around the city," said Guo Bi Ming from where he sat across from me. He and Jin Si Cong wanted to discuss the situation with themunication towers. "And depending on what working electronics we can get our hands on, there shouldn''t be a problem having some of them up and running by the end of the month."

    Considering that today should be December 15th, I was very happy with that idea. "What do you need for that to happen?" I asked, not at all familiar with what it took to build what I wanted. All that I knew was that those bases that had the ability tomunicate were some of the strongest ones in the country.

    "So, besides the tower itself, there are a lot ofponents that we need to get it up and working like how it was before the EMP went off," started Guo Bi Ming, taking a deep breath. That alone made me realize that this was not going to be a short list. Maybe I should have Wang Chao in here to write everything down.

    "I got it, Princess," said Chen Zi Han, pulling out a clipboard, paper, and pen from God knows where.

    Looking back and forth between me and Chen Zi Han, Gup Bi Ming got started. "First we are going to need both heating and air conditioning installed so that theponents don''t freeze in the winter or overheat in the summer. Then we will need the antennas, a source of power, telephone lines, wiring, radio equipment, antenna support, lightning protection, and fire protection in case the whole thing catches fire."

    As the man was listing off what he wanted and needed as if he was listing off a grocery list pre-apocalypse, I could only stare at him. When he stopped for a breath, I lifted my hand. "What is the bare minimum that you would need?" I asked. I got almost everything electronic that I could before the end of the world, but even I didn''t know if I would have what he needed. I was pretty sure that theputer stores I went shopping in did not sell telephone lines.

    "Power source, and radio equipment," he said. "At the bare minimum."

    "Ok," I said nodding. "I assume the sr panels and batteries would be okay for the power source?"

    Guo Bi Ming nodded his head. "I just don''t know about the radio equipment." With a wave of my hand, I took out all of the stuff that I ''borrowed'' from theputer stores around City A. There were piles of boxes upon boxes all over the room to the point that we couldn''t even move. Oops.

    There was a pregnant pause as Guo Bi Ming and Jin Si Cong looked around the penthouse and then back at me. I grinned shyly. "Would that be enough?" I asked, honestly not sure if I even got them what they would need. When I was ''borrowing'' from their warehouses I didn''t really bother to open up any of the boxes, thus the countless piles of them.

    "Should be," said Guo Bi Ming. "But it will take us more than a few days to go through everything and make sure." I nodded my head in understanding. But better him than me.

    "We will also need white, red, and blue working lights for the top of the towers. The ones that are there right now are destroyed."

 Chapter 161 161

    ?

    I looked at Guo Bi Ming nkly when he said that we needed the signal lights changed out because the old ones weren''t working after the EMP.

    "Why do we need those?" I asked, not sure why we needed them when we didn''t even have a working tower yet. Getting red, blue, and white lights for the top of the cell tower seemed like a weird request. But, then again, it was not like I was working with numbers right now, so bring on the weird requests.

    And I would like to point out that there is a huge difference between needing to count from 1-100 in my head in stressful times and figuring the amount of x that is used in a year per person and then multiplying that by the number of people on base. It is almost as big of a difference between kindergarten and high school math. But I digress, back to shing lights and towers.

    "We need the lights at the top of the tower to let any aircrafts around know that it is there in the darkness," replied Guo Bi Ming as he looked between me and Chen Zi Han who was writing the list of things Guo Bi Ming needed. I mean, I was happy that I was not dealing with Jiang Ming Tao anymore and his negative Nancy attitude. But still¡­

    I simply blinked at the man standing in front of me. I didn''t know what type of look I had on my face, but I was pretty sure confusion was going to be a big part of it.

    "Aircrafts...As in airnes... As in the things that fly in the sky and go really long distances in a short amount of time? Those airnes?" I asked, wanting to make sure that I had heard him correctly.

    "Yes," he answered. "Legally we are required to have the lights on and in working order during the evening and overnight hours," he continued as he looked back and forth between me and Chen Zi Han like the other man would nod and take his side.

    "Legally?" I parroted. Pretty sure I was going crazy. He had to be pulling my leg, right?!?! I mean, when Wang Chao told me that Jiang Ming Tao was dead but he had a backup, I was happy. When he said that the new guy was a genius that had a degree from some university inmunications technology, I was over the moon. But now, sitting here, I really had to question his genius status.

    Still staring at the man, neither one of us talking, I didn''t even know how to describe what I was feeling.

    "Yes," he said again in such a tone that it seemed that he was questioning my intelligence.

    "What airnes are you talking about?" I asked, looking him in the eyes.

    "The ones in the sky," he said snarkily just before his eyes went wide. "Oh."

    "Yeah," I said nodding my head sagely. There was that brain kicking in. "I think we should put off worrying about the lights until we actually get airnes back."

    He simply grunted in response before he turned around and walked to where Jin Si Cong was standing. I looked over at the quiet man and raised an eyebrow. "No requests from you?" I asked and he shook his head.

    Before I could open my mouth to say something else, a voice called to me inside of my head. ''Sweetness, we have a problem.''

    ------

    Ren Ruo Xuan was waiting for Liu Yu Zeng when he came out of the fifth house. His arms wereden with heavy boxes of canned goods, but he showed no signs of fatigue. He knew how much all this stuff meant to Li Dai Lu and if he could ease her burden in even the smallest way, then he was more than happy to do that.

    "Boss," said Ren Ruo Xuan, a worried look passing over his face. Liu Yu Zeng stopped at Chen Zi Han''s second-inmand and waited for whatever he had to say next. "We have a problem," said the man, standing straight but refusing to meet Liu Yu Zeng''s gaze.

    "I have already said, if there are people in the house that don''t want to leave, just kill them," said Liu Yu Zeng, not really considering that others would have an issue with killing people. Was that why he said they had a problem?

    It couldn''t be. Ren Ruo Xuan had been working with their organization for years, and his meticulous nature yed a very crucial part when it came to getting information from people. There was no reason why killing would be a problem now.

    "No, Sir," he said, shaking his head.

    "Zombies?"

    "No, Sir."

    "Then what the fuck is the problem?!" growled Liu Yu Zeng, not in the mood to y 20 questions. If it wasn''t humans or zombies then it wasn''t a problem as far as he was concerned. Hell, even humans and zombies didn''t really count as a problem for long.

    "We have too many supplies," said Ren Ruo Xuan slowly, like he was worried that Liu Yu Zeng was going to shoot the messenger.

    "No such thing," replied Liu Yu Zeng shaking his head. There would never be such a thing as too many supplies.

    "Then maybe you shoulde and see for yourself?" asked Ren Ruo Xuan. Liu Yu Zeng just stared at the other man. He was heading to the entrance himself to drop off these boxes. There was no way he wouldn''t be able to see for himself.

    -----<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    There were too many supplies. Liu Yu Zeng put down his boxes of food and walked over to where his brother was standing, his arms crossed, looking at the growing piles of boxes, bags, and even some furniture that was just sitting outside of the SUVs.

    "We didn''t have this problem with Li Dai Lu," said Liu Wei as he reached up to readjust his sses. Liu Yu Zeng could only grunt as the remaining eight men continued to empty the houses one at a time, bringing their goods to the entrance like ants returning to the ant hill with food.

    "Is the Shaman filled up?" asked Liu Yu Zeng as he tilted his head towards the tank-like ATV. That thing could easily seat 10 men inside and still have room for a party. There was no way that it would be filled up that early.

    "Yup," confirmed Liu Wei with a nod.

    "And the SUVs?"

    "Yup," came the confirmation.

    "Guess we really do have too many supplies," grumbled Liu Yu Zeng as he watched the piles grow bigger and bigger, not stopping his men from their mission. He told them he wanted all of the supplies and that was what he was going to get.

    "Wish we have some way to contact Li Dai Lu and asked her what she wants done. I mean, we could always make a few trips, but that runs the risk of someoneing along and stealing our stuff," grumbled Liu Wei as he looked around the area to see if there was anything that they could use to transport everything with.

    "Let me see what I can do," said Liu Yu Zeng, pping his older brother on the shoulder before walking away.

    He had his own way of contacting Sweetness and hopefully, she would be able toe up with a way to get everything back.

    ''Sweetness, we have a problem,'' he said, hoping that the link between them was open and that she was not busy with something else.

    ''Are you ok?!? Is it a horde?!?!'' Hearing the sheer panic in her voice made Liu Yu Zeng content. He could feel her fear and worry for him.

    ''No,'' he assured her. ''Nothing like that.''

    ''Is it humans? Because you know you can just kill them, right?'' Liu Yu Zeng had to smile when her answers were so clearly along the same lines as his.

    ''Nope,'' he said trying to restrain hisughter.

    ''Then what is the problem?'' she demanded and he could almost picture her stomping her feet in frustration.

    ''Too many supplies,'' he said as he turned his attention back over to the growing piles. His men continued to collect things even after it had been determined that they had no more room for them.

    ''Bite your tongue, there is no such thing,'' she said with a gasp, like the very thought of having too much stuff was simply inconceivable. Liu Yu Zeng couldn''t stop himself from bursting outughing at her indignant tone.

    ''There is when you have piles of food and supplies sitting in the snow because all of the vehicles are filled to the brim,'' he said, rubbing his lips to try and suppress his smile.

    ''Really?'' she asked hesitantly, but he could feel her glee through their link.

    ''Yes,'' he confirmed. ''Did you want me to send out the vehicles in batches?''

    ''No, we run the risk of someone trying to take them,'' she grumbled. ''You guys are what, 45 minutes away from the base? In that subdivision that we talked about?''

    Liu Yu Zeng hummed in agreement before he quickly cut himself off. ''You will not being out here in the snow. It is fine, I will find a way to get all the supplies back to you.''

    He both felt and heard her chuckle. ''I will be fine,'' she assured him. ''Just make sure that you weren''t joking about the amount of supplies waiting for me to arrive.''

    Liu Yu Zeng waited for a moment to make sure that she didn''t have anything else to say and then turned around and went back to his brother. "She''ll be here in about an hour," he said as he stared at his men gathering supplies. "But she also said that we needed to make it worth her while toe all the way out here. We''ll have to pick up the pace andpletely clean out all of these houses."

    Liu Wei turned to look at his brother. "And how exactly were you able to get a hold of her?" he asked as he readjusted his leather gloves and raise an eyebrow.

    "That would be telling," answered Liu Yu Zeng with a smile on his face before he too turned around and got back to work.

 Chapter 162 162

    ?

    Liu Wei ground his teeth as a tic developed on his right cheek. He knew that his brother was keeping secrets from him, and he didn''t like it.

    If he was being more precise, it was not that he cared about his brother having secrets, it was that his brother had secrets about their woman and he was keeping him in the dark. If this rtionship was to ever work, that shit could not be happening.

    The tic became more pronounced the more that he thought about it and Liu Wei took a calming breath, trying to get his temper under control. He had volunteered to guard the supplies on the off chance that someone would try and take what was not theirs.

    Not like it was theirs anymore that it was someone else''s, but finders keepers, and all that.

    Liu Wei took a deep breath and rubbed the bridge of his nose, his headache growing more and more. ''You aregging behind,'' came a growling voice from deep inside of him. Looking into the darkness from where the voice came, Liu Wei could only see two glowing orbs of silver light staring back at him. ''She was always ours, ours first. But you are letting them take her away!'' There was a howl of agony deep inside of him at the idea that Li Dai Lu would belong to someone else, that she would not want him.

    ''Then what do I need to do?'' he asked the voice. Thest time the two of them spoke the bastard was cryptic as fuck, hopefully, it wouldn''t happen again. There was a pregnant silence and Liu Wei felt like he was being judged by the monster with silver eyes. ''Pin her down and im her,'' came the voice, a note of seduction and temptation echoing in every word that he spoke.

    ''I refuse,'' snapped Liu Wei. As much as he wouldn''t mind pining her down and iming her, he would not do it without her consent. She ruled him, mind, body, and soul and he would rather cut off his own head than force her to do something that she didn''t want.

    ''Pussy,'' scoffed the voice inplete disgust. ''And that is why you will lose her to the others. Alone¡­ always alone.'' The crushing sadnesspletely engulfed Liu Wei to the point where he unconsciously grabbed his parka over top of his heart and squeezed.

    "Liu Wei, you okay?" asked Liu Yu Zeng as he approached his brother with another three boxes of supplies in his arms. A concerned look shed over his face as he saw the pain and anguish in the other man. Startled, Liu Wei straightened his back and adjusted his sses. Smoothing out the wrinkles on his parka, he turned to look at his brother.

    "Just fine," he said, ayer of ice and colding down creating a wall between the two men.

    "You don''t seem it," replied Liu Yu Zeng eyeing Liu Wei warily.

    "But I am. Now please get back to work. Li Dai Lu will want all the supplies in one area by the time she gets here." Pulling up his sleeve, he checked the time on his watch. Li Dai Lu had a bunch of them stored in her space before the EMP hit, not to mention the personal ones that his men had stored with her. Each team leader had one for the entire team so that they could keep track of the time.

    Of course, her men each had one of their own.

    Her men¡­ was Liu Wei really one of her men? If he was, why was hegging behind? He saw her first. He met her first, he knew everything about her¡­ first. Straightening his back, he looked down at his brother and let out a sound so low and ferocious that it didn''t seem to be possible to havee out of a human. "I don''t know what you and Chen Zi Han are keeping from me, frankly, I want to kill you two for it. But I will find out, make no mistake. She is mine, first and foremost mine. If it wasn''t for me, none of you fuckers would even know about her."

    Liu Wei was never closer to attacking his brother than he was at that point. He could feel the rage and the darkness start rising inside of him, practically gleeful at the idea of ripping someone, anyone to shreds. His poor brother was just the person he was focused on at that moment. "Do you understand me?"

    He felt something trying to stretch out of him, but he fought back the impulse. He would not hurt his brother simply because Li Dai Lu would be upset, and he would do nothing to upset her. <novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Liu Yu Zeng refused to answer his brother. He was no longer a child, and what happened between him and her in that dream was too precious, too¡­ life-changing. He would not tell his brother because not only did he not want to rub it in that he had a piece of Li Dai Lu inside of himself right now, but the whole experience itself was private. Even he and Chen Zi Han didn''t discuss what happened, only that it did.

    Laying down the boxes in his arms, he stepped closer to Liu Wei and looked at him. "She might have been yours first, but now she belongs to all of us, don''t make her choose, it won''t go well for any of us."

    Liu Wei reared back at the very idea of making Li Dai Lu choose between them. "Never," he said before spinning around and going into one of the houses that were on his side of the street to clear out. He would find out what was going on before his darker impulses started to take over.

    Walking into the house, he nodded at Chung Guang Ting. "What are we going to do?" asked the second man as Liu Wei pushed open the kitchen door.

    "About what?" asked Liu Wei confused. He knew that he had other things on his mind, but there was nothing so important happening that it required a question like that.

    "The four men in the basement," came the reply. His answer caused Liu Wei''s eyebrows to rise in surprise. "You''re not here for them? I thought I had asked Feng Dong Yang to talk to you about it." Liu Wei racked his mind, remembering a brief glimpse of Feng Dong Yang standing on the outside of the confrontation between him and his brother before he turned around and stormed off here. Maybe he didn''t think that he needed to tell him anymore.

    "What is going on with them? Why are they still alive?" asked Liu Wei. The standing order was to kill them all, so why were these men in the basement? "I can only assume that they are tied up?"

    Cheung Guang Ting nodded his head. "They are tied up, some of them might even be waking up by now," he assured the other man. "But you will need to go down into the basement to see for yourself why they are still alive," he continued before turning around to start packing up the kitchen. He didn''t bother with anything that was electronic, assuming that they would be useless, but there were still pans, woks, and muffin pans that could be used back home.

    Liu Wei raised his eyebrow at Cheung Guang Ting''s response. It was bordering on being disrespectful, but not close enough to demand instant correction. "Where is the basement?" he asked, looking at the man who would no longer meet his eyes. The other man tilted his head to a white door off in a different section of the kitchen. Liu Wei had noticed it simply because of the five locks but had assumed that it might have been a pantry or something.

    Slowly and meticulously, Liu Wei took over his parka andid it down on the chair beside him. Taking off the white snow pants and ck winter boots that Li Dai Lu had insisted that they all wear, he adjusted the ck vest he had on over top of his white dress shirt and ck tie. He put back on thebat winter boots since they were the only shoes that he had on hand and curled up his lip when his dress pants didn''t hang correctly over top of them. Combing his hair back with his fingers after the toque messed up his hair, he then adjusted his leather gloves before walking over to the basement door.

    With great precision, he unlocked one deadbolt at a time and then turned the final lock right above the handle. He opened the door and immediately noticed the wooden stairs and rickety handrail to the right. He stared into the darkness for a few minutes, taking mental note of the wearing on the stairs. It was clear that they saw a lot more traffic than any other basement in this multimillionaire gatedmunity. Not hearing anything, he stepped onto the first step.

    There was not a single sound. No creaking because of his weight on the wood, not a single squeak. Hell, even the door didn''t squeak open. The only exnation he could think of was that the door and stairs were well-maintained to ensure ack of noise. But who would care that much about something so¡­ benign?

    ''Eleven steps down, twelve to the basement floor, and thirteen to the gallows,'' thought Liu Wei to himself as he counted each and every step that he took. Seeing a light switch to his left at the bottom of the stairs he turned it on and looked around.

    It was a good thing that Li Dai Lu wasing. He would leave this to her discretion. Turning back off the light, he mounted the stairs and as he walked through the door, he turned around and locked it all over again.

 Chapter 163 163

    ?

    "Come to Mama!" I yelled as I got off the ATV that I was driving. Chen Zi Han, Wang Chao, and a few others followed closely behind me. Between the fact that they were the standard ATVs (nice and safe) and the streets were somewhat plowed, I didn''t do too badly.

    Honestly, I was quite impressed with myself. But as soon as I saw that giant pile of boxes in the snow, and understood that they were all mine, I couldn''t contain my joy. I am sure that my love/ dependence on supplies before the end of the world would have been a symptom of some type of mental trauma or another, but I think living through a zombie apocalypse and the copse of humanity counted as enough of a mental trauma. In other words, I would happily collect all the supplies I could and anyone else could kiss my ass.

    I heard Liu Yu Zeng''s chuckle as he walked towards where I was. "No belly flops into the supplies. You will end up hurting yourself," he admonished me with a half smile on his face. How he even knew that was what I wanted to do, I had no idea. I only got feelings from him. And the conversations of course, but that was more like picking up a telephone and not like what I experienced with Wang Chao.

    Pouting, I flicked my wrist and made the countless boxes, bins, and bags disappear into my space. I would have to wait and see who Chen Zi Han was thinking about for the logistical side of things before I took them out for someone to organize. Or maybe I would do it myself¡­ just for the Hell of it. Couldn''t be too trusting of people nowadays.

    Once the 10 piles were put away, I ran over and hugged Liu Yu Zeng. "Where''s Liu Wei?" I asked looking around. There were still men bringing more and more boxes out of home and, as much as I tried, I couldn''t suppress my delight over everything. Wang Chao was almost done with the number and then we could see how we were doing.

    I saw Liu Weiing out of a house maybe six doors away from where I was currently standing. I took off running before flinging myself into his arms. "There you are!" I said happily, no coffee needed. "What are you doing wearing so little?!? Where are your snow pants?" I asked, sounding like my foster mothers in the middle of winter back in Canada.

    "Inside," he said as he tilted his head back to indicate the house that he had juste out of. He wrapped his arms around me and leaned his cheek against the top of my head. "I missed you," he whispered to me, his voice taken away by the wind. He was close enough to me that I was able to hear him and I melted.

    "Missed you too," I admitted. I didn''t like it when the five of us were apart. It made me feel like there was an impending sense of doom surrounding me whenever that happened. Now that I had Chen Zi Han and Liu Yu Zeng''s me, it was a bit easier to deal with, but for the most part, I hated the feeling.

    "But we have a problem," he said, a weary sigh passing his lips.

    "But I got all the supplies," I assured him, looking up and smiling at him. He dipped his head to give me a soft kiss on the lips, taking his time as we enjoyed the taste of each other.

    "That''s not what I am talking about," he answered once our lips had parted. Landing a soft kiss on my forehead, he grabbed my hand as the other three men approached us.

    "What''s going on?" I asked concerned. The man in front of me, MY man, practically radiated irritation, a murderous aura enveloping him.

    "It would probably be better if youe and see for yourself," he admitted as he turned around and brought the five of us, to the house he was just in. I guess Wang Chao had dismissed the ten guys that we brought with us to help the other teams with emptying the houses.

    Liu Wei led me into a beautiful mansion that had to have cost a pretty penny. Walking in through the front door, we were greeted with a grand staircase, the wooden step and curved handrail gleamed with the love and care that it had been shown. The white marble floor was still sparkling, not a spec of dust to be seen anywhere in the foyer.

    That fact alone was enough to send warning bells screaming in my head.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    After the EMP, when humans spent their time like rats scurrying around, keeping their homes washed and dust free was the least of their concerns. Hell, this house was cleaner than my ranch house even before the world went to pot.

    There were a lot of people that seemed to think that an unkept house with dust and spider webs was a creepy house, a home to serial killers, but I was not one of them. This, this was the house that screamed serial killer to me. No one but a killer could be this meticulously clean.

    Liu Wei continued to lead us down the hallway and I saw all sorts of paintings, tables, and vases that screamed wealth, without a speck of dust. At the other end of the house, Liu Wei opened a door, revealing what could only be described as a chef''s kitchen. The marble floors continued into this room and the white cupboards, white granite countertops, and top-of-the-line appliances made me drool. This room would have been bigger than my whole apartment in my first life. I closed my eyes, wondering how I could make all this mine. The appliances would have to be reced, and I didn''t know if I wanted the ring white in my space kitchen or my ranch simply because it would be a pain to keep it that white.

    Sighing at the fact that I couldn''t take this kitchen home with me, I looked at Liu Wei, not seeing any problem with anything so far. I mean, besides the serial killer vibe. But I could deal with it.

    He walked over to a pantry door that had five locks on top of the door handle. I mean, I wasn''t all that impressed, I had 10 locks on the pantries in my ranch and eight on the ones in our penthouse. I even added extra locks to Liu Yu Zeng''s bedroom door simply because I had some of our supplies in it.

    Opening one lock after another, I was surprised to see basement stairs inside of the typical pantry shelves that I was expecting. "You expect me to go down here?" I asked, raising my eyebrows at the man that had clearly lost his fricking mind. There was no way in Hell that I was going down there. Besides the clear serial killer vibes that the whole house had been giving me thus far, I really got the creeps going into any basement. The ranch was the only exception, and that was because I sent Liu Wei down first to explore it. You could never be too careful when it came to basements.

    Liu Wei let out a low chuckle as if he was expecting that question. Opening the door all the way, he waited for Chen Zi Han to slip past me, taking out a switchde in his leather-covered hand, and go down first. Looking deep inside, I stared at his ck me spinning around my own, looking for even the slightest hint of distress. When I didn''t find any, I let out a soft sigh of relief.

    "Safe," he yelled up the stairs after turning on the lights at the bottom. I noticed that he didn''t say ''clear'' like he normally did when there was no one in the room or building that he had just searched. Thinking about what the difference could mean, Liu Yu Zeng looked at his brother in a weird way before following Chen Zi Han into the basement.

    Waiting for Liu Yu Zeng to get to the bottom, because let''s face it, those stairs looked like they could break at any time, I cautiously went down one step at a time, paying close attention to where I was putting my feet. I didn''t grab the handrailing in case it wasn''t as sturdy as it seemed, so I was extremely slow. But it''s not like I was in a rush anyways.

    Grumbling under my breath that there better be incredible supplies down here if Liu Wei was forcing me to be here, I looked at the top of the stairs when I was halfway down. Staring at Wang Chao and Liu Wei, my eyes going back and forth between the two of them, I was not happy. "One of you better stay up there to make sure that some random person does NOT lock us down here," I snapped at the two of them as they looked like they were going to try ande down after me.

    "I think you have seen one too many scary movies, little girl," chuckled Wang Chao as he looked back at me with a soft look on his face. It was funny that he thought I was joking. The two of them were lucky that I was even trusting them with this task.

    "Movies, sure," I said sarcastically. It had only happened to me once on a supply run, but it was¡­ stressful¡­ until I managed to get myself out of the situation. Not the scariest thing to happen to me, but well within the top 3. "If you twoe down here, you will be sleeping on your own for a month," I threatened them as if it was a punishment for them and not more so for myself. I knew I was the one that couldn''t sleep without the four of them anymore.

    There was a pause and then Wang Chao nodded his head. "We''ll stay here and protect you from on top," he said, clearly reading my mind.

    Sighing, I turned my attention back to the basement and whatever ''problems'' it held.

 Chapter 164 164

    ?

    You know, ''problem'' is a very mundane word that I think we overused for anything that stumps us. For a 4-year-old, ''problem'' could be not being able to twist open his water bottle. For elementary students, a ''problem'' might be trying to add 687 and 390, while in university, a ''problem'' could be what you wanted to do for the rest of your life.

    And I am not taking anything away from those problems. They are very real and can seem overwhelming at the time. But when Liu Wei said that we had a ''problem'' I was not expecting this.

    I stepped between Liu Yu Zeng and Chen Zi Han and was secretly grateful that they were the ones down here with me. Don''t get me wrong, I trust Liu Wei and Wang Chao just as much, otherwise, I wouldn''t have them keeping watch at the top of the stairs, but I found them not as¡­ grey¡­ as my syndicate men. And right now, I really needed grey.

    I looked around the open area that had to be more than 1,000 square feet in dimension. To the far right were overlyrge cages that could easily fit a veryrge dog like an Irish Wolf Hound or Hell, even a bear. And in each one of the 50-some-odd cages was a rotten mattress on the ground, a dirty nket filled with so many holes that it looked more like strings than an actual nket, and a rubber container.

    The girls that stared out at me from those cages, their hair hung over their faces so that I couldn''t make out their features, but not so much that I couldn''t see their eyes, were dirty and emaciated. But then again, I guess not eating for almost two months would do that to you. Their grim-covered hands gripped the bars from where they kneeled, the cage too short to allow them to stand.

    "Are¡­ are you here to save us?" asked a hesitant voice from one of the cages in the shadow. This girl looked better than the others in the basement and I could only guess that she was a new acquisition.

    Ignoring the four men tied to some metal chairs in front of me, I walked around them toward the girl. Crouching down in front of her, I reached between the bars and gently stroked her greasy, knotty hair. I gave her my gentlest smile as I looked deep into her eyes.

    "Oh, pumpkin," I crooned to her in my most soothing voice. "There is no way that we are here to save you," I chuckled as I let go of her hair and stood up. Looking at the dirt on my hand, I returned to the guys, not willing to rub the offending appendage on my white snow pants. Chen Zi Han gently pulled my right hand closer to him and took out a wet wipe out of his pocket and started to clean my hand, being precise in his ministrations.

    I smiled at him when he threw the polluted wipe onto the floor, not saying a single word since his ''safe'' a few minutes ago. Taking back my hand, I turned my attention back to the four men in front of me and studied them. I kind of wish that whoever had beaten them had taken more care with their faces, but I guess that some sacrifices had to be made. I wonder what their expressions were when they woke uppletely helpless.

    I burst outughing thinking about what a bitch Karma was. "Gentlemen," I said as I crouched down in front of the man closest to me. Chen Zi Han, not appreciating how close I was to a source of danger, came to stand just behind my right-hand side. The man in front of me struggled against their bindings without sess. Impress with the efficiency of whoever did this to them, I looked over at Liu Yu Zeng. "Your men are really good," Iplimented him. He looked over at me with a nk look on his face. I knew that was his working look, so I didn''t take offense at all to hisck of normal reply.

    "Gentlemen," I said again as the man stopped struggling. "I have a problem," I said with a smile on my face. There was that word again. "I think that we can all agree that you are not some of the most upstanding citizens that call Country K home. I mean, my boys have their fingers in a lot of pies but I don''t think that even they peddled in flesh," I continued tilting my head to the girls still lined up in their cages.

    "But my problem is this: I have been told that I can be too nice, too kind, too caring. Now, at the time, I didn''t really pay any attention to the criticism, thinking that being nice, kind and caring was a good thing, but when those people then killed me, well¡­ I am thinking that I have to reconsider a few things." I stood up and reached up to Chen Zi Han''s face. Looking deep into his eyes, I studied them, looking for disgust or anything that remotely showed that he was¡­ repulsed¡­ by what I was going to do next.

    But I had to do this for me. When I saw nothing but love and eptance in his gaze I brought him down for a kiss. As my lips tangled with his, I brought my right hand down his arm and to where he held the switchde in his hand. Gently taking it out of his grasp, I pulled away from the kiss, once again searching for something in his eyes.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    They shone with my reflection, and I smiled. Looking over my shoulder to my joker, I saw him nod in eptance. This is why I needed the grey. Because I was about to do something that I had never dreamed that I would ever do in my first two lives.

    "My problem is¡­ I need you to pop my cherry, so to speak," I said as I went back to the man tied in front of me. "I have been on the receiving end of torture, I had months to experience every aspect of it, in all its forms, but not once have I ever found myself able to torture someone else. Oh sure, I thought about it. I used to dream about what I would do to those Reavers once I got out, I pictured cutting them open like they did me, only to have me put back together without a single scar. I would rail against the injustices of the world. And you know what I did when I finally managed to escape the cage that was not much better than the ones that hold those girls?" I could feel that I had theplete attention of all the men and girls in the room as I spoke, but I didn''t stop.

    Those months trapped were the hardest that I had ever been through, and I never got over it. The nightmares followed me into this life and I refused to give those fucking Reavers another moment of my pain and torment.

    I would admit that being betrayed by everyone that I had saved and sacrificed for was a big regret, but that was not the open wound inside of me. Not by a long shot.

    No, the open wound inside of me was that when I managed to escape, I didn''t try to take a single one of them down with me, not even when they killed the Healer right in front of me as I stood still, frozen. I could still see the leader of that tribe of Reavers smile as he sliced the throat of the only person that kept his fighters in mint condition.

    But instead of killing him, instead of releasing my pink me, I turned tail and ran, hisughter echoing in the darkness.

    Forcing myself out of my head and back to the present. I knew what I had to do. It was simr to buying out the entire bakery of sweets, forcing myself to be selfish for a change. This next step, this big step would help me in the future. Because I would hunt down those Reavers, and when I did, I would extract all of my revenge on them.

    And hopefully, I could stop seeing her face when I closed my eyes. ''Shut the door,'' I called up to Wang Chao, knowing that he was inside of my head, seeing my memories with me. I didn''t want the sound to travel out of the basement. I didn''t want them to see what I could be.

    Because I would be that person.

    When I heard the door gently close, I took in a deep breath and smiled. "I need to learn how to inflict the most amount of pain on a human being and how to prolong that feeling for a long time. And you are just the gentlemen to help me."

    Seeing their eyes widen in panic, I had a brief feeling of it myself. Despite my bravo, despite my determination, I had no idea where to start. I was still that girl that watched a man slit the throat of the only woman that was like a true mother to me and did nothing. I wanted to put my knife against his cheek and slice a piece of flesh off of it. I wanted to break his knees and watched him scream, I wanted to be able to do all of that, but the very thought make me want to puke.

    What should I do?!?

 Chapter 165 165

    (Warning¡­ this might start getting bloody, probably for a few chapters. Our girl is taking the next step in her life.)

    I whimpered, I frigging, goddammit, whimpered in distress and the man sitting in front of me heard it. A smile appeared on his destroyed face reminding me of the cartoon version of Quasimodo that I had once watched. Except, you know, Quasi had a heart of gold and should have gotten the girl in the end.

    But I digress, this fucker heard my whimper and now knew that I was having second, third, and even fourth thoughts about this. It was a well-kept secret that I always wanted to be a killer. I would let the darkness whisper to me in the dead of night about what I wanted to do to the people that upset me, that hurt me.

    I loved dark romances where the female mc thought nothing about stringing up someone and executing them slowly, either for a perceived wrong or legitimate wrong.

    I wanted to be her.

    But I wasn''t. I wasn''t her when I was tortured, assaulted, or debased. I wasn''t her when I had the chance for revenge and didn''t take it.

    And by my very whimper, I just proved that I wasn''t her now.

    But oh, I so desperately wanted to be her. I wanted to give that part of me its freedom. I could use it when it came to zombies, and let''s face it, I had no issues with killing people that annoyed me.

    But murder and torture were two very different things.

    I closed my eyes, not wanting to see the man''s smug smile like he thought that he and his friends will be getting out of here alive. They wouldn''t be. I have no problem putting a bullet in their brain, but they didn''t deserve a fast, clean death like that.

    And I had to be free.

    Lost deep in my thoughts, I never noticed Chen Zi Haning up behind me and gripping my right hand, the same hand that was still holding his knife. His touch was so familiar, so¡­ everything, that I wasn''t even startled at the contact.

    Instead, it was Liu Yu Zeng''s voiceing up on my other side that jerked me out of my thoughts. "There are many different types of people in a syndicate like the Red Dragons," he said as he came to a stop shoulder to shoulder with Chen Zi Han. "Not everyone is capable of murder or isfortable with torture, and that is fine," he continued as I started to tremble in Chen Zi Han''s arms.

    Was this his way of telling me that he didn''t want me to take this step? Did he think that I was too weak or soft to take my revenge into my own hands? I dreamed of doing everything to the Reavers that they had done to me, but even I understood that it would take baby steps to work up to that level of depravity.

    "There is a famous book that my grandfather forced me to read over and over again until I had it memorized by the paragraph and page numbers. But there is a single line in chapter 64 that states ''the journey of a thousand miles begins beneath one''s feet,''. Now, many have taken this line to mean that in order to start a journey, you have to be willing to take the first step forward, but in actuality, that was not what the author was saying. What he was trying to express was that simply by standing still, by wanting to take on the journey, you have already begun."

    Liu Yu Zeng didn''t spare me a single nce as he spoke to me, just continued to look at the smirking man. "For example, we can change this saying to include ''the journey of a thousand cuts, begins with a single intention''." As soon as he spoke hisst word, Chen Zi Han raised our right hand and quickly sliced into the cheek of the man in front of us.

    He no longer had the same smirk on his face as he did before, instead his gaze made threats that he had no way of following through on.

    With a backhanded stroke, Chen Zi Han guided me through our second strike. I watched as a thin line of blood blossomed on his cheek; teardrop shapes of red liquid exiting the line that couldn''t be bigger than a paper cut. Fuck the knife had to be sharp to be able to do that.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    I was lost, captivated by the sight of blood on his cheeks from a cut that I myself made. Well, I had help, but I was iming all the credit for it.

    I felt the darkness unfurling, wanting more blood, pushing me to lick it off the knife in my hand, but I refused to give in. I wanted to do this as me, to prove to myself that I was strong enough to take this on. And I was not going to let anyone or anything take that from me. Not even my own darkness.

    I closed my eyes and thought about Liu Yu Zeng''s words¡­ that the beginning of a long journey was, in fact, the intention of taking it, not necessarily the first step. I had the desire to change, I had the drive, and so, the first step was done. Now, with the help of my two men, I managed to take steps two and three.

    Tapping Chen Zi Han''s left thigh, he let go of my hand and took a step back, and just watched me. Taking a deep breath in, I went up to the man that was ring at me and just stared at him. I wanted to gouge out his eyes for the way that he looked at me; like he was superior, even though he was the one tied down in a chair. He was beaten, bloodied and yet, the fire in his eyes still burned bright with hatred.

    I broke eye contact with the man and looked down at the knife in my hand, turning it over and over again, mesmerized at its gleaming reflection. But the knife didn''t feel like me; like it belonged in my hand. Turning around, I handed the knife back to Chen Zi Han, ignoring the questioning look in his eyes.

    My right hand now empty, I turned back around to my first victim, the one that I would always remember. I gently called on my pink me, and let it dance on my hand, absorbing itself into my fingers. I could barely make out the pink glow, but that didn''t matter. The only thing that mattered was getting the results that I wanted.

    It might take some experimenting, but there were also four of them and a whole lot of free time on my hands. I raised my hand to his left eye, the one that wasn''t swollen shut with a giant goose egg forming on his brow line, and gently glided my finger from his eyebrow all the way down to his cheek.

    For a second, it didn''t look like anything happened. And then he started screaming.

    A pink line started at his eyebrow and followed my finger line exactly, sealing his eyelid shut. The pink line took a second before it glowed bright red and turned brown, looking like a scar that he had had for years instead of only seconds.

    I might not feel overlyfortable with a knife, but that was not the case with my fine. "You fucking bitch!" he screamed and I could only assume that the pain had intensified in some way, but it didn''t bother me in the least.

    Next, I drew my blue me and drew a line down the side of his neck and watched as this time, the blue line followed my finger exactly, as if I was drawing on paper. It was much faster than the pink me at inflicting the type of damage I wanted, but I should use my pink fire more so that it does not be too weak. After all, it was the one that followed me through two lifetimes.

    I didn''t bother with my purple me. I had seen what it was capable of doing to zombies and I didn''t need myb rat dying too fast before I could figure out this whole torture thing.

    I took a step back and looked at the man in front of me for a few minutes. I wanted to take a second to figure out how I was feeling about this whole thing, you know, being new to torturing and all that.

    Cataloging my emotions, I realized that I was more detached than normal. Like I couldn''t really read my emotions because they were all pushed over to the side. The only one that I could tell easily was the feeling of disgust as if I knew I had to do it, but I was almost¡­ resentful¡­ that he was putting me in this situation.

    Which is funny, because he really didn''t ask for this at all.

    However, it really felt more like a job, something that was required because of what he did, and I was the one that was supposed to punish him. But that didn''t make sense¡­ I was the one that wanted to try torturing someone and these four justnded in myp. He wasn''t sent to me; he wasn''t anything to me. So why did it feel like a part of me was forced into it? Like it had the same appeal as cleaning a toilet after a party. Gross, disgusting, and vomit-inducing¡­ but necessary.

 Chapter 166 166

    ?

    Getting more and more confused the longer I tried to analyze my feelings, I eventually gave up and went back to what I was doing before. Seeing the effects of the mes on his skin, I started to wonder what my ice would do to him.

    My poor, neglected ice power that I more often than not forgot that I had. I would have to make a conscious effort to use it more often so it wouldn''t disappear into the background, never to be seen again.

    Calling the ice, I pictured the man''s shoes freezing to the ground with solid chunks of ice raising up to about mid-calf preventing him from being able to move his feet and legs. The ice, slowly at first, obeyed mymands and I saw the moment that the imprisoned man understood what was going on.

    He started by trying to lean forward to see his feet and the ice so cold that it burned just like my mes. Then, when that didn''t work because of how he was tied to the chair, I watched as he tried to pick up one leg at a time. When that didn''t work either, he looked at me in horror. "What type of monster are you?" he asked. I heard Chen Zi Han growling behind me and I put a hand out to stop him.

    "Monster?" I asked, making a show of looking around the room, my eyesnding on the cages with the girls in them. "I don''t think that I am the monster in the room," I said before I stopped myself. I wasn''t nning on saving the girls in the cages. Maybe, at most, I would unlock them, but I wasn''t going to bring them back home with me and look after them. Did that make me the monster too?

    I tilted my head to the side and smiled at the man as his lips started to take on a tint of blue. His face was getting paler and paler as I allowed my ice to continue up his legs to his torso and finally his arms. Chuckling at the expression on his face, I couldn''t help myself. "But maybe you are right. Maybe I am the biggest monster in this room of monsters. And that, my friend, makes you screwed."

    He took a deep gulp of air into his lungs as the ice made its way up his chin and over his mouth. Thest thing I saw was the look of panic from his one remaining eye as my powerspletely consumed him. I flicked him in the forehead and watched as the man''s bodypletely shattered into a hundred ice-covered pieces.

    I wasn''t satisfied with the results, but at the same time, I wasn''t dissatisfied. I had made him scared, taken away his power as the big bad wolf, and showed him that a Little Red Riding Hood could y the monster just as easily as the hunter could. So in that way, I mentally tortured him.

    ''Needs more blood,'' came an ice-cold voice from deep inside of me. Great, might as well add one more personality to the mess that was already in my head. ''Blood is messy,'' I pointed out. ''And I''m not dressed for messy.'' Not to mention blood was an absolute bitch to get out.

    ''More blood,'' the voice repeated, as cold as the winter winds blowing through the ins.

    I ignored the new voice and walked over to the next man. "Hi," I said to him as I crouched down so that I was at eye level with him. Now it was his turn to whimper. "I don''t¡­ don''t know anything," he stuttered, refusing to look into my eyes.

    "Well, that shouldn''t be a problem," I replied with a smile. "Because there is nothing that I want to know." All of a sudden, he looked at me with hope in his eyes.

    "Does that mean you will let me go?" he half asked, half begged. The puppy dog expression on his face made me want to pinch his cheeks, but I held back, not actually wanting to touch this man. "No," I said simply. Why should I let him go? I needed a body to get stronger and I was not going to use any of the men around me for that purpose. Besides, couldn''t this be considered as a type of fate that he fell into myp at this time?

    "Now, on a scale of 1-10, what is the pain level that you are currently experiencing?" I asked, tilting my head and studying him. He seemed to have the least amount of bruises and cuts on his body so he shouldn''t be in too much pain.

    "8!" he yelled. I hadn''t even had the chance to do anything to him yet and he was already yelling an 8? This man had no pain tolerance at all.

    "Well, that is disappointing," I grumbled. "I needed a baseline in order to figure out what was more painful, but how can I do that if you are already iming that you are already in that much pain? Do you have some serious injury that I can''t see? Is it just that you don''t have the ability to handle any type of pain?"<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    He whimpered again, not sure what to do or say, but I wasn''t in the mood to deal with him anymore. Setting him on fire with the pink me, I took out my cell phone to time how long it took him to burn to death. I had once heard that burning to death was one of the most painful ways to die and I wanted to know for sure if that was right.

    "10!!!! 10!!!!" came the screams, as his feet started to be kissed by my me. I ignored the screams and went over to the third guy.

    "I am sure that you already have some idea what is going to happen to you. May I ask if you choose death by fire or by ice?" I asked the man. He, like the second one, didn''t seem to have that many injuries on him, but I was starting to tire out fast. My pink me seemed to take out the most amount of power in me.

    "Ground Force Army Special Forces Lt. Yu Xue Yang of Team D," said the man as he sat there, staring into my eyes.

    "Well fuck," I grumbled, not at all happy with this plot twist. "Wang Chao!" I yelled, not bothering to break the staring contest between the two of us. "Can I borrow you for a sec?"

    I didn''t hear himing down the stairs, but in less than two minutes he was beside me. "Yes?" he asked, not bothering to look at the man in front of him. I waved my hand to get him to repeat himself, but as soon as he looked over at Wang Chao, his eyes widened in disbelief. "General," he breathed. The expression on his face was that he was looking at his savior.

    Fuck my life. Not another one.

    "Who are you?" demanded Wang Chao looking at the man. But I interrupted their conversation before it could even start. "Who''s upstairs?" I asked, my eyes narrowing in suspicion.

    "Liu Wei," he assured me over top of the screams of the second man that was burning to death beside us. I nodded my head, content that Liu Wei was still guarding our exit. I would have to make a note not to burn anyone else to death in a confined space like this basement. The smell was not pleasant at all.

    I walked over to the fourth member of the crew that was just waking up. "Morning!" I said in a bright, cheerful voice. I was having to push myself, my powers weakening the longer this went on. I might have to turn to old-fashioned torture techniques if this was going to be the result of constantly using my power.

    The fourth man jerked his head up and looked at me. Licking his lips and he looked me up and down, I began to realize that he was probably not aware of what was going on around him. "Are you military or police?" I asked with a huff. When he shook his head, I took out my gun and shot him in the forehead right between the eyes.

    Starting to be too tired to care about continuing, I turned off my timer after only 5 minutes, not willing to deal with the screams and pleading that was going on with the second guy. Calling on my purple me, I flicked my wrist and let the stronger me burn him to death within seconds. The basement was finally silent, so I turned my back on the girls still locked up and started up the stairs, my feet dragging.

    None of the men stopped me, and even Liu Wei simply guided me to a couch in the living room and cuddled with me, leaving the men in the basement to their own fate. But then again, I guess that if there was someone else in this house, they would have been found by now.

    Resting my head in hisp, I closed my eyes as I felt him ying with my hair. "You won''t leave me behind, right?" he asked softly, vulnerably.

    I scoffed at that thought. "I will never leave you, so don''t even think about leaving me," I assured him before I sumbed to the need to sleep and recover. I felt his kiss and then there was blissful nothingness.

 Chapter 167 167

    ?

    Wang Chao looked at the man tied to the chair in front of him. He knew that the only reason why Li Dai Lu had kept him alive was for his benefit, but he still didn''t like that fact.

    "General. I''m¡ª"

    "I heard you the first time, Lt. Yu Xue Yang. What do you want?" asked Wang Chao, as Liu Yu Zeng and Chen Zi Han walked over to him to offer their support.

    "What do you mean? What do I want?" replied Yu Xue Yang in confusion.

    "Why did you offer up your military identity?" wondered Liu Yu Zeng out loud. "I thought that was supposed to be super hush-hush when you were out on missions."

    "I mean, the amount of¡­ questioning¡­ that we had to do for the police that tried to infiltrate us was astronomicalpared to you. You were hardly beaten at all," pointed out Chen Zi Han.

    "I heard the General''s voice," answered Yu Xue Yang as he looked between the three men. "I figured if he was here, he might be here for a rescue mission."

    "And why would I be here for a rescue mission?" asked Wang Chao. Yes, he was a general, but he had been ''retired'' for a while. It wouldn''t make sense that someone thought that he would be the one leading a rescue mission.

    "You''re not?" replied Yu Xue Yang, his shoulders slumping in defeat. "Then why are you here?"

    Liu Yu Zeng chuckled. "I think the better question is why are you here?"

    "Wrong ce, wrong time," said Yu Xue Yang disparagingly. Wang Chao tried to get a reading on the man but found his spirit ability blocked.

    Another spirit user.

    "You are just a fountain of answers, now are you?" scoffed Liu Yu Zeng as he rested his elbow on Wang Chao''s shoulder.

    Yu Xue Yang sighed. "Mymanding officer had heard rumors about girls disappearing from around here and sent me to check it out," he admitted, looking at Wang Chao. "I had been here for less than a month when the world seemed to have gone FUBAR and we were put on lockdown. I haven''t been out of this house since then."

    "I see," said Wang Chao nodding his head. He tilted his head to Chen Zi Han to untie the man. "Well, you are free to go," continued Wang Chao as he started to walk towards the stairs. The other man just sat there, frozen in disbelief.

    "Is that all?" he asked with some concern.

    "What do you mean?" replied Wang Chao as he turned around. "What more is there?"

    "I saw that girl killing three people with weird powers. Are you not concerned about what I might say?" Wang Chao spun around on his heels and turned back to the man that was rubbing his wrists with a slight smirk on his face.

    "And why would I be concerned?" smiled Wang Chao. If this would have been six months ago, yes, he would have done whatever he could for a fellow soldier, especially one that was on a mission. But this wasn''t six months ago. He had listened and learned when his little girl had spoken. The world was no longer the same and neither was he.

    "You aren''t worried that I would return to my team and let it slip that you allowed someone to kill people and then just walked away? Not even bothering to help another soldier?" This time, the smirk on Yu Xue Yang''s got bigger as he stood up and turned to look at the man before him. "I mean, that doesn''t look too good on you."

    Liu Yu Zeng burst outughing, almost doubling over in an attempt to catch his breath. Standing upright once more, he looked at Yu Xue Yang who was unknowingly trapped between the three men. "Do you want to know why you are alive while they are dead?" he asked, wiping imaginary tears out of his eyes. "Because you yed the military card. Sweetness knows that Wang Chao has a weakness for anyone in the military and so she let you live. As a favor to him. Now you seem almost desperate for a bullet to the brain. Or maybe a long, slow poisoning?" Raising his right hand, Liu Yu Zeng showed the ck tentacles of his poisonous mist weaving around his fingers.

    Yu Xue Yang looked shocked for a moment before turning to Wang Chao. "General?"<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Wang Chao only smiled. "Well, you were the one to threaten us first," he pointed out, both of his hands in his pocket. His spirit powers might be useless against another user, but that didn''t mean that Liu Yu Zeng''s poison would be.

    "You can''t let them kill me. I am out on a mission for Rear Admiral Zhou Gang Jia," said Yu Xue Yang, his eyes darting around the three men to figure out who is the greatest threat. "And what about the girls!" he added out of desperation.

    "What about the girls?" scoffed Wang Chao. He had noticed that Li Dai Lu hadn''t said anything about her ns for them, so he could only assume that she had none.

    "Aren''t you going to save them?" asked Yu Xue Yang stunned.

    "Not sure, that is up to her," replied Wang Chao.

    "She said no," pointed out Chen Zi Han. "She even told the girl that herself," he continued pointing to the girl in the farthest cage that Li Dai Lu had spoken to before.

    Yu Xue Yang was stunned. This was not going the way that he expected at all. "But enough distractions. I seem to remember a threat of some kind?" smiled Liu Yu Zeng as he took a step towards the outside man. The shadow behind him stretched out in the light, almost like it had a life of its own.

    Yu Xue Yang took a step back in fear, his eyes pleading with Wang Chao to intervene. "The Rear Admiral will be upset," he stuttered.

    "I think you have missed a few key points for that argument to work on me," sneered Wang Chao moving closer to the man, forcing him back until he was trapped in an even tighter circle. "The first of which is the irreconcble argument that we had just before we left the base. In fact, I am not sure if they are even still alive at this point." Yu Xue Yang''s face went pale as he heard those words.

    "What¡ªwhat do you mean?" he asked, looking around for an exit.

    Chen Zi Han justughed. "The only way out is up," he said, pointing to the stairs behind Wang Chao. "And even if you made it past us and up those stairs. There is still one more up at the top. Plus our men. Do you really think that you stand a chance?" This man had threatened his princess. Did he actually n to get out of here alive?

    "I''ll tell! I''ll tell everyone that she tortured and murdered prisoners!" yelled Yu Xue Yang, his head spinning around looking for an opening, a weakness of any kind.

    This time, it was Wang Chao''s turn tough. "And how are you going to get out of here to tell anyone?"

    "The girls, the girls will tell! You can''t kill them all! They are innocent!" said Yu Xue Yang trying to find a way out, but he waspletely trapped.

    "He might not, but that doesn''t mean that I can''t," rebuked Liu Yu Zeng. His shadow seemed to have grown tentacles of its own and the darkness was slowly reaching out towards the girls still trapped in the cages. Seeing that, the girls let out a piercing scream that echoed in the basement.

    There was the sound of the door opening at closing at the top of the stairs and then a fourth man appeared. Chen Zi Han turned towards the neer and raised his eyebrow in question. "Liu Yu Xuan has kindly requested that you shut the fuck up before you wake up the Queen and there is Hell to pay," said Ren Ruo Xuan and he took the fourth point between Liu Yu Zeng and Wang Chao.

    "She is sleeping?" asked Liu Yu Zeng, his shadow seemingly retracting as he managed to calm down significantly at the very mention of Li Dai Lu. Ren Ruo Xuan nodded his head. "Understood," continued Liu Yu Zeng as he turned his attention back to Wang Chao.

    "Should we get her set up in another house so she can have a good night''s sleep?" he asked,pletely ignoring Yu Xue Yang in favor of tending to Li Dai Lu''s needs. Wang Chao looked at the watch on his wrist. It was going to get dark soon, they might as well set up in a house before returning to their base tomorrow morning. It would be safer that way.

    Nodding his head in agreement, he turned to Ren Ruo Xuan. "Go tell Liu Wei the ns and have him get the men set up."

    Ren Ruo Xuan dipped his head and turned around toplete his task, not bothering to pay attention to anything else in the basement. It just wasn''t his business until his bosses told him it was.

 Chapter 168 168

    ?

    "What are we going to do with them?" asked Liu Yu Zeng, tilting his head in the direction of the cages with the girls in them.

    "Leave them," replied Wang Chao. Something was off about this whole thing, he just couldn''t figure out what it was.

    "How can you just leave them?" demanded Yu Xue Yang forgetting that he was not in the position to be making demands on anyone. In fact, the only reason why he was even untied from the chair was only because it was a 3 on 1 situation and Wang Chao was not concerned about being on the losing end.

    "It''s cold outside. They aren''t dressed for winter," exined Wang Chao as if that was the reason instead of the fact that he didn''t want to bother with them until Li Dai Lu let him know one way or another what she wanted done.

    "You could at least let them out of the cages," snapped Yu Xue Yang.

    "Why?" asked Liu Yu Zeng, a slight smirk on his face. "Where would they go?"

    "They can at least get a shower and a good night''s sleep."

    "If we let them out of the cages, then the standing order is to kill them. Are you trying to get them killed? Because there are a lot more humane ways of doing it than giving them false hope," the smile on Liu Yu Zeng''s never wavered for a second. However, it was his words that stunned Yu Xue Yang. "What do you mean?"

    "We are here for supplies, anyone found is to be considered a threat and is to be eliminated as such," answered Chen Zi Han, using his knife to clean dirt out from under his fingernails. He didn''t even bother to look up when he spoke.

    "And you consider them a threat?" scoffed Yu Xue Yang.

    "If not right this moment then potentially in the future," replied Chen Zi Han with a shrug of his shoulders. He was here to support Li Dai Lu, nothing more, nothing less. As far as he was concerned, the fate of everyone in City J was hers to decide.

    "You are crazy," eximed Yu Xue Yang turning to look at Wang Chao. "You know he is crazy right?!?"

    "No, he is just really good at following orders," said Wang Chao, contradicting the other man.

    "Whatever," sneered Yu Xue Yang as he tried to brush past Wang Chao and head to the stairs. He would let the Rear Admiral know what was going on and he could bring the General to heel. The sound of a safety utching stopped him dead in his tracks, his foot just hovering over the first step.

    "There appears to be an empty cage, just for you," smiled Liu Yu Zeng as he pointed his 9mm at Yu Xue Yang. Chen Zi Han walked up to the man that thought he was free to leave and, grabbing his shoulder and his arm, led him to his¡­room¡­ for the night.

    "You are supposed to be better than this," sneered Yu Xue Yang as he was dragged away from the stairs. "You are supposed to be a hero, a legend in both the Navy and the Ground Forces, and yet¡­ here you are... just another piece of scum."

    Wang Chao held up his hand and Chen Zi Han stopped. Walking over to the man that was struggling in the grasp of his friend, Wang Chao leaned down until he was face to face with the other man. "Why on Earth would you think that I was the hero of this story?" he asked, using an expression that he had heard many times in Li Dai Lu''s head.

    The other man stared at him, shocked. "But¡ªbut," he started, his mind pulling aplete nk on what to say next.

    "I am more than happy to watch the world burn," Wang Chao whispered softly in the ear of Yu Xue Yang. "And if that makes me the viin, then so be it."

    ----

    I felt my world tip and turn, but then I took in a deep breath and smelled him. "Liu Wei," I groaned, not knowing if I was talking out loud on in my head. "Hush, Sweetheart," he murmured in my ear, his chest vibrating against my cheek. "We are just going to move you to a different house and then get you all tucked in for bed. Are you doing alright?"

    I thought I might have answered, but my eyelids were too heavy to want to open and the darkness was calling for me to sleep more. "Alright, it is going to be cold for a few minutes, but then you''ll be inside and all warmed up again," said Liu Wei as a cold gust of air hitting my face caused me to shiver. All of a sudden, the blowing wind stopped and I was encircled in a gentle breeze of warm air, courtesy of the man holding me.

    ''Come, there is much to do,'' came a third voice inside my head. This one was soft and gentle, like a mother''s embrace. Every word she spoke was like a luby, dragging me deeper and deeper into sleep. Completely unable to resist, I rxed into Liu Wei''s arms and just let myself be taken, trusting him to always look after me.

    ----

    "You can''t trust them," hissed a voice in my ear causing me to sit up. Looking around, I had no idea where I was.

    "Wang Chao! Chen Zi Han! Liu Wei! Liu Yu Zeng!" I yelled, looking around for my men, but they were nowhere to be found. Panicked, I stood up, not taking into ount how tired and heavy my body was feeling.

    "I told you, you can''t trust them. They always leave. They never stay," hissed the voice that I had been hearing the longest. I frantically looked around, trying desperately to find where it wasing from, to find anything even remotely familiar.

    Everything was dark with only different shades of ck and grey breaking up thendscape. I saw a river of red off in the distance with a small boat of some kind tied up to a dock. But nothing was familiar, and my men weren''t here.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    I gripped my chest, gasping for air.

    "Don''t listen to her," came the soft, gentle voice.

    "Yeah, she is a bitch," added the cold voice, refusing to be left out.

    "What do you even want?" I asked, desperate for something, anything.

    "I want you to take a deep breath," said the gentle voice. I think I liked her the best. "If you look inside, you can see two of the men."

    Completely forgetting about the bond that I shared with Chen Zi Han and Liu Yu Zeng, I plunged into myself, looking for their mes. Seeing them burning just as brightly as before, I managed to calm down. I wasn''t alone. They might not be here, but I wasn''t alone.

    Forcing myself to breathe slowly and steadily, I cracked my neck. Feeling more like myself, I said, "Okay, so what do you want? Why am I here?"

    "You are here because this is where you belong," hissed the first voice.

    "You are here because you have forgotten," said the second voice, the ice in her tone causing a shiver to go up my spine.

    "You are here because the apocalypse is going toe much faster than you think, and you are not prepared," said the third voice.

    "I hate to break it to you, but the apocalypse is already here," I snapped, not at all impressed with their answers. I wish for once the voices in my head would just spell out what they wanted and not speak in riddles.

    The gentle voice simplyughed like a warm breeze brushing past me. "We all know that what is going on out there, while bad, is nothing like what is toe. It is going to get much worse before it gets better."

    "Is it going to get better?" I asked with a sarcastic chuckle. "Because I am pretty sure that it just keeps getting worse and worse."

    "That was then," said the cold voice.

    "This is now," continued the warm one.

    "Awe, does this make me the female main character? I am going to go out and save the world, protect the humans, and sing songs by the campfire?" I asked, my temper starting to rise.

    "There''s the bitch," hissed the first voice.

    "Why would you want to sing songs by the campfire?" asked the second.

    "No," said the third. "In no way have you ever been the hero."

    "Then what do you want?" I demanded. They kept going around in circles and my temper was getting the better of me.

    But I think it was more than that. I think I was crushed knowing that I wasn''t even the hero of my own story.

    "You will stop the apocalypse, fade off into the background and let the hero and heroine win the day and im all the credit," said the third voice like it was the most obvious thing to do.

    "And who is the hero?" I asked, a smirk on my face. I was standing here,pletely alone and talking to voices that only I could hear. I was about to snap and I didn''t think that it was going to be pretty.

    "That depends," said the third. The first two voices were surprisingly silent.

    "On what?"

    "On whose story this is."

 Chapter 169 169

    ?

    "What are you talking about? Whose story this is!? That is bullshit! This is my life, this is my story and I will live it how I want!" I snapped. I could see my mes exploding out of me in frustration. The colors aplete contrast to the darkness.

    "This is not your story," hissed the first voice. "And those are not your men."

    I tilted my head back and burst out intoughter. But it was not the lighthearted kind. No, this was theughter of someone that was pushed too far. The kind ofughter that had you locked up in a nice white room with a jacket that allows you to constantly hug yourself.

    "Did you think that you were the only one toe back to the beginning?" asked the third voice. Where once I relished her gentleness, now it only served as nails on a chalkboard.

    "Who?" I demanded, I needed to know who was the heroine more than I needed my next breath. And then once I found out, I would hunt her down and kill her.

    "It doesn''t matter," replied the third.

    "She is just scared that you will go off and kill them," chuckled the first voice. "But after that pathetic disy in the basement, I don''t think she should worry so much."

    "Then tell me, who are the heroes?"

    "You already know," said the second voice. I gasped, feeling the tears starting to pool in my eyes. Closing them, I took a deep breath.

    "They are mine."

    "They aren''t supposed to be," replied the third. "They were never supposed to meet you, in any of your lives. But your second one messed everything up. Two of them saw you."

    "If they aren''t meant to be mine, who cares if they saw me or not?" I snarled, refusing to let the tears fall, to give in to this overwhelming despair that I was feeling.

    There was silence, none of the three voices rushed to answer my question.

    "Why do you get all four?" demanded the first.

    "Because they are mine," I replied, not even needing to think about the answer. I could feel Chen Zi Han and Liu Yu Zeng inside of me, their mes rushing around my own faster, in an almost frantic manner.

    I had to leave, I had to get back to them. But how?

    "Find the heroines, stop the apocalypse, save humanity," said the third voice. Although her softness remained, there was now an edge to it. "You cannot keep what is not yours."

    "And that is where you are wrong. I licked them, they are clearly mine!"

    ---

    I sat bolt-upright and frantically looked around. I was starting to get tired of falling asleep in one ce and waking up in apletely different one, but since this one had Chen Zi Han and Liu Wei on either side of me, I would take it.

    Taking in a deep, calming breath, Iid back down between the two. But I had a problem¡­

    I really needed to use the washroom.

    Squirming my way down to the bottom of the bed, I sipped off like a big lump of jelly. Standing up, utterly proud of myself for not disturbing the two men, I opened the door and when in search of the elusive toilet.

    "And where do you think you are going, little girl?" came a voice at the end of the hallway. I closed my eyes as the warmth and smell of Wang Chao enveloped me from behind.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "To the washroom," I replied, although, for the life of me, I couldn''t remember why it was so important. I felt him chuckling behind me as I let myself sink into his embrace. "I''ll show you where it is," he said. "Then we should talk."

    I froze. After the dream that I just had, the dreaded "We should talk" was enough to cause my stomach to tighten into knots. "Don''t worry, it''s just about the girls in the basement," he assured me, because hey, he was fantastic like that. Nodding my head, I let him lead me to the bathroom where I took care of what I needed to before meeting him outside in the hallway.

    I stared at him where he stood leaning against the wall, his feet crossed in front of him and his arms folded across his chest. He was wearing a pair of ck dress pants with a ck dress shirt, its sleeves rolled up to his elbow. His ck hair was disheveled, a single stranding down over the top of his right eye.

    He reminded me of a panther, calm,nguid, but inplete control. Just one of the many reasons why I would not let anyone take him from me.

    "I am yours and you are mine, little girl. Or did you forget about that?" he asked, his head tilted to the side.

    "I guess that depends on who you ask," I said crankily. I mean, ording to the voices in my head, he was not mine and would go after some transmigrated/reincarnated bitch. It was his turn to let out a bark ofughter as he stood up and walked over to me.

    It might have only been a few steps, but I knew I was definitely his prey. His dominance and aggression practically flowed out of him in waves. He came to a stop in front of me and ced both hands on the wall behind me, trapping me between him and it.

    One of my favorite positions ever if I had to be honest.

    "I don''t know what voices you have been listening to, but the only one that matters is my own. So, listen carefully, little girl. You are mine. Every part of you from your head to your toes belongs to me. I will share with the other just to make life easier on you, but that is only to make sure that I don''t lose you."

    He leaned forward until his piercing gaze met my own and caused me to freeze. "I cannot, I will not, lose you," he growled, his gaze never leaving my own, willing me to feel what he was feeling. "This connection, this... thing, it is forever, in this life and the next and even the one after that." He startedying down gentle kisses along my jaw and down my neck.

    Tilting my head to the left, I exposed my neck, encouraging his kisses to continue. Out of nowhere, I felt his teeth mp down on my neck and I couldn''t suppress my moan. There was something about the boys biting me that, although I didn''t encourage it, I absolutely loved. It was right up there with random flowers. Things are more special when you don''t ask, they just gave.

    I could feel him rxing his grip and then proceeded to run his tongue up the side of my neck. "I licked it, it''s mine," he said as he pushed himself off of the wall and took a step back. "Don''t forget it this time."

    I hummed, my body vibrating like I was just shot with a bolt of electricity. "Now, nap time or should we discuss our next move?" he asked as he wrapped an arm around my side and pulled me away from the wall.

    Talk about a buzz kill. I narrowed my eyes at him. "And if I choose nap time?" I asked raising my eyebrow at him. I was no longer as tired as I was before, but with that dream, it didn''t feel like I actually got any sleep. Plus who really wants to talk about what our next step should be?

    I was not in any rush to try to save the world only to let some random person take credit for it. Besides, I had a few things that I wanted to do, and I would have to wait for the correct time to do it. Might as well sleep.

    Wang Chao chuckled and scooped me up into his arms. Taking me into a different bedroom, he gently set me down on the floor so he could pull back the covers. Inviting me in, Iid down and let him tuck me in. Giving me a kiss to my forehead simply because he knew how much I loved it, he walked around to the other side of the bed and crawled in after me, not worrying about his clothes.

    Pulling me into his arms, I rested my head against his chest and just listened to his heartbeat. My right hand started to make random patterns on his chest, my nails clicking against his buttons every so often.

    "Why do people have to be either good or bad?" I asked, staring at his shirt and refusing to look at him.

    "Because the world like simplicity. If you are good, you can''t be bad and if you are bad, you can''t be good," he responded as his right hand started to y in my hair. "But that is not how life is," he continued. "Good or bad, it is only a matter of perspective. After all, to a mouse, a cat is a viin, but that doesn''t make the cat evil."

    I hummed in agreement, trying to suppress my yawn. Completely unsessful, I could hear my jaw cracking with how much I opened my mouth. Wang Chao let out a gentleugh and kissed my head. "Go to sleep, we can discuss philosophy in the morning."

    I groaned, "Hated that course," I grumbled remembering my university days. ''If there is nothing between me and this book then me and this book must be one,'' bullshit.

    "Sleep, little girl, I will be here when you wake up," he promised me as I felt my eyelids get heavier and heavier. Onest sigh and I was gone.

 Chapter 170 170

    ?

    "Why did you leave me?" cried a woman that looked like Li Dai Lu. Wang Chao was startled at the anguish in her voice. Looking around, he saw that he was no longer cuddled with her in bed, but instead was standing in the middle of a perg that was perched on the edge of ake. There were mountains in the background, but the thing that startled him the most was thevender and blue sky with two moons hanging in it even though it was bright enough for the sun to be out.

    "Why did you leave me?" she cried again. It was a twisted knife to his gut, and as much as Wang Chao wanted to go over and pull her into his arms, he couldn''t. All he could do was stand there, strong and proud, refusing to bend to the weight of her tears.

    "I was called," he heard himself say, but it was not his voice. This one was deeper, more animal-like than human, but without a doubt, it was him.

    "But they hate you!" she screamed looking up into his eyes. "They call you and then hate you for answering! So why do it? Why can''t you just stay here? Why can''t you stay with me?"

    "Because whether they love me or they hate me, they still call me," he said, standing as still as a stone. Inside of his body though, Wang Chao raged. It waspletely uneptable that he no longer had control over his body and was saying this to the woman across from him. She should never have to beg him to stay, he needed to beg her not to leave.

    He would give up his life for this woman, his woman. Both his mind and his body wanted nothing more than to submit to her, and yet, he couldn''t, lost in the inherent need to answer when called.

    Wang Chao scoffed at the thoughts that were going through his head. Maybe at one point in time, he would have agreed with those thoughts, would have agreed to make the ultimate sacrifice for others, regardless of how they felt about him in return.

    But not anymore. Not after meeting her.

    She was his north star, his guiding light in the darkness and he would not sacrifice her happiness for anything in the world.

    Fighting for control, practically screaming at the person he was sharing a body with, Wang Chao forced himself to the surface, no longer willing or able to take a back seat. As soon as he could, he dropped to both knees, throwing aside the sword and shield that weighed down his hands and arms, a sacrilege for any warrior, but he no longer cared.

    Even on his knees, he easily reached her chest, hisrge framepletely engulfing her in his shadow. She looked down at him in fear, not trusting him.

    He opened his arms wide. "Come here, little girl," he growled. Cautiously, she took a few hesitant steps to close the distance between them. As soon as she was within arm''s reach, he wrapped his arms around her hips and pulled her tightly to him.

    Resting his cheek on her fast-beating heart, he closed his eyes, savoring the moment. Savoring the hard-fought victory.

    "You are mine," he said, not moving an inch as she tentatively started to run her fingers through his hair. "And I am yours," he continued, almost choking on his words. "My shield is there to offer you shelter from any storm. My sword will be your weapon against your enemy. My body will be your safe haven. My soul will only answer your call. I will be anything and everything that you need me to be because you are everything that I could ever possibly want or need in this lifetime or the next."

    Wang Chao swallowed; his mouth dry. Not once, in all the missions and in all the meetings had he ever been this nervous, but he felt that one wrong move, one wrong word, and she would slip through his fingers.

    Gripping her even tighter, he continued. "If I should die, I will find you in my next life. Our souls will always be entangled, no matter how many lifetimes it takes for me to meet you again. You are mine."

    "I am yours," came the softest of replies and Wang Chao felt like he could finally breathe again. "And you are mine."

    He chuckled at her deration. Coming to his feet, he leaned down, almost having to double over to reach her, and kissed her with all the feeling that he couldn''t say. "I am yours," he agreed just before he tookplete possession of her lips. "Forever and always." As soon as thest word was said, Wang Chao felt something pass between them through their kiss, but he couldn''t bring himself to care.

    That was, until darkness engulfed him again, tearing his Queen out of his arms.

    ----

    "Li Dai Lu," Wang Chao gasped as he sat up in bed, frantically looking around. Before he could register that she was still on the other side of the bed, her back to him, he felt a strong hand against his chest, trying to push him back into the bed.

    Following the line from the hand to the arm, Wang Chao saw Chen Zi Han with a single finger to his lips, telling him to be silent. He leaned in close to his ear, "Calm down, I will exin everything. Just don''t wake her up," he whispered.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    At Wang Chao''s nod, Chen Zi Han slowly removed his hand, allowing the other man to get up and out of bed. Following Chen Zi Han, Wang Chao''s head whirled with everything going through it. Waiting until they were downstairs and in the living room, Wang Chao spun and forced Chen Zi Han against the wall, his forearm digging into Chen Zi Han''s neck.

    "What do you know?" he growled, his teeth inches from the other man''s cheek, wanting to rip out chunks of flesh. He shouldn''t be away from her right now. Every fiber of his being called for him to go back upstairs and return to her side. But he needed answers.

    "You need to calm down," Chen Zi Han said, not bothering to struggle against Wang Chao''s choke hold. "She can feel your emotions now"

    Stunned, Wang Chao froze. Removing his arm from the other man''s neck, he straightened his shirt and went over to the couch to sit down. "What do you know?" he said again, this time regaining hisposure. If his emotions were going to affect Li Dai Lu, he would keep them under control.

    "I know that she never remembers," said Chen Zi Han going to sit down in a chair across from Wang Chao, a tired sigh escaping his lips. He was stressed when he woke up and found Li Dai Lu gone from the bed. He searched everywhere for her until he came across the bedroom with her and Wang Chao.

    Seeing the fresh bite mark on her neck, he understood what was going on and simply waited for whoever would wake up first.

    "Who''s red?" asked Liu Yu Zeng as he came out of the kitchen, eating from a can of leftover peaches.

    "Wang Chao," replied Chen Zi Han as Liu Yu Zeng went over to sit beside him.

    "Huh," grunted Liu Yu Zeng as he swallowed the piece of fruit in his mouth before poking around for a second one. "That means my brother isst. He''s not going to be happy about that."

    "Last? What are you talking about?" demanded Wang Chao looking back and forth at the two men in front of him. His entire life seemed to have changed from that one dream, how could they be so calm?

    "Perg?" offered Liu Yu Zeng raising an eyebrow.

    "Vowing for all eternity?" added Chen Zi Han as the two looked at Wang Chao.

    "You had the same dream?" growled Wang Chao, not sure how he felt about that.

    "Something like that," Liu Yu Zeng admitted. "If you look at your core, you should see a blue me with three others circling it."

    Wang Chao raised an eyebrow at the other man before doing as he directed. There, deep in the darkness, was the blue me with one white one and one red one circling around it. "I only see two."

    "That''s cause Chen Zi Han''s a bastard and his me is ck," said Liu Yu Zeng waving his fork like it was no big deal. "But the crash course is (1) we don''t talk about the dream. She doesn''t remember it and others don''t need to know. (2) she can and will feel any emotionsing from you and (3) we can all talk to each other inside of our heads."

    "I could always do that," reminded Wang Chao.

    "With limits," replied Chen Zi Han with a scoff. "You couldn''t call her when you were in trouble at the shopping mall."

    "And?"

    "And now, there are no limits," said Liu Yu Zeng with a smile on his face. "But Sweetness is awake and looking for us."

 Chapter 171 171

    ?

    ''And now, you are thest one,'' said the voice with the silver eyes. Liu Wei narrowed his eyes from where he stood in the shadows, watching the meeting between the other three men.

    Were they purposefully keeping him out? If so, why?

    Liu Wei could feel the rage inside of him growing. Stretching out his hand, he wanted to grasp the pretty mes that he saw and drag them kicking and screaming over to him. He cocked his head to the side, wondering why part of him was fighting the idea.

    ''Kill them, then she is yours,'' the voice said again, ever so seductive. A snarl appeared on Liu Wei''s face. She was his, and if they thought that they could take her from him, he would show them. ''Don''t you want her to be yours?''

    Liu Wei closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Pushing down his emotions, he cracked his neck and adjusted the leather gloves on his hands. Killing them would make Li Dai Lu upset. He would rather kill himself than upset her. So they could live.

    For now.

    He watched as the three men stood up and looked at each other for a second. Whatever had happened had changed something in them. He didn''t notice it on the other two, but he had spent too much time with Wang Chao not to notice something was different.

    ''They took her from you, that is what is different. Now they carry a part of her in them and she has a part of them in her.'' Liu Wei was stunned when he heard what the voice said. How could that have happened? Why didn''t they tell him?

    ''They don''t remember the stories, no one does. But you have options,'' came the voice, knowing that it had certain victory over Liu Wei.

    "Options?" the man asked out loud, his eyes following the other three men as they climbed the stairs, probably going to find Li Dai Lu.

    ''There is another one in this world for you, besides Li Dai Lu. You could have her. You wouldn''t have to share. Doesn''t that sound better?'' The voice was seductive and hypnotizing; as if pushing him to choose that answer.

    Liu Wei snapped out of whatever rage he was in as soon as he heard the voice. Chuckling under his breath, he stepped out of the shadows and followed the others.

    The voice was silent, not sure what his host was thinking. It moved deep in the darkness, a part of it crying out for something that belongedpletely to it. It knew what it was supposed to do, the calls it was supposed to answer, the expected ending. But that was not what it wanted. The very idea caused it to go into aplete rage.

    No one remembered the stories, but it did. And it would ept nothing less. Hopefully, the host was in agreement, otherwise¡­ it let out a low chuckle, too soft for the host to hear. Retreating into the darkness for now, it waited for its time to strike.

    It woulde. After all, it was written in the stars.

    ---

    I woke up from an amazing nap to see three men in the room staring down at me. I chuckled as my eyes looked over them, making sure that they were safe and unharmed. Wait, where was the fourth? Liu Wei, where was Liu Wei?!?

    "Liu Wei!" I screamed, remembering my dream right before my nap with Wang Chao. The voices said that the men didn''t belong to me. Could Liu Wei think that way? Was that why he wasn''t here? "Liu Wei!" I yelled again,pletely ignoring the guys trying to calm me down. I would calm down once Liu Wei got his ass in here.

    The door opened and there stood Liu Wei. I closed my eyes and allowed myself to settle down. "Where were you?" I growled out. Oops, didn''t mean to do that. Okay, take two.

    "Where were you?" I growled, this time lower and more threatening. Liu Wei onlyughed as he approached the bed. Chen Zi Han got up and Liu Wei took his space beside me.

    "I am here," he replied giving me a gentle kiss on the forehead. I melted feeling so much better with the four men in the room.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    ''They aren''t yours,'' hissed the voice inside of me. I rolled my eyes, not caring about it.

    "Don''t leave," I demanded, knowing that I was probably going overboard, but the voices in my head were ying havoc with my emotions.

    "Never," he promised me. "I will never leave you even if you get sick of me."

    "Like that will ever happen," I scoffed. There would never be a time that I didn''t want him around. Hell, I was either going to tie them up with a leash and cor and force them to stay by my side or kill anyone that either transmigrated or reincarnated. Honestly, it was a coin toss.

    "Not going to happen, little girl," grunted Wang Chao in displeasure. I smirked in response. "I don''t know, you would look cute in a cor and leash. Maybe I should find one with the spikes on it." I yed it off as a joke, but I was not willing to lose any of them, and if it meant locking them in with me, then that was what I was going to do.

    "I have no idea what is going on. But yeah, I could so see Wang Chao in a doggy cor,"ughed Liu Yu Zeng as he handed me a fork with a peach slice on it. Catching the juices with my tongue, I moaned. It was nothingpared to the fresh fruit that I had in my space, but given the fact that they were canned in a heavy syrup, I was going to enjoy the shot of sugar in my veins.

    "Alright, we are going to have to figure out what we are going to do with the people in the other house," said Chen Zi Han from where he was leaning against the wall. I raised my eyebrow, not realizing that that whole shit show had not been dealt with already. Wasn''t that supposed to be the guy''s call?

    "Fine," I grumble, not really wanting to leave this nest with the guys, but duty calls, people need to be killed¡­ ''And the world saved,'' came the third voice. I scoffed at that. I would do what I wanted to do, and nothing would stop me. Especially not the voices in my head.

    Besides, I was pretty sure that they have medications to make them go away.

    ----

    I was even less enthusiastic about being in the serial killer house the second time around, now that I had seen the basement, but the guys insisted that it waspletely safe to go downstairs.

    I was not convinced, but since I refused to let any of the guys out of my sight, Ren Rou Xuan was designated as the lookout. I eyed him up and down as he refused to meet my gaze. "He is good," said Chen Zi Han with a hand on the small of my back. "He is my second and the one that I think would be good taking over the logistical side of things back home."

    If anything that Chen Zi Han said surprised Ren Rou Xuan, the other man didn''t show it. "Do you know what you are supposed to do?" I asked him. He briefly looked down at me and nodded his head, not saying a word.

    "Words please," I added with a sigh. He raised an eyebrow but didn''t look at me again. "I am to stay here and keep the door open," he said in a monotone voice.

    "And what do you do if someone wants to close the door?" I asked. Okay, so maybe I should add trapped in a basement to the long list of things that sets me off.

    Surprised at my question, he looked at Chen Zi Han. Not getting whatever he needed from the other man, Ren Rou Xuan looked back at me. "You kill them," I said, wanting to get this whole thing over and done with just so I could go back home. "If someone approaches the door, tries to close the door, or even looks at the door one too many times, you kill them."

    "Even if it is one of ours?" he asked, his forehead wrinkling in confusion. I turned to look at Liu Yu Zeng. Technically these were all of his men after all.

    "Even if it is one of ours," confirmed Liu Yu Zeng, his facepletely expressionless. I brushed past against him, rubbing myself over him. He gripped my fingers tightly as they passed by him, hidden between our two bodies, before releasing me. I understood him enough not to take offense.

    In his world, anything and everything could be used against you and he didn''t want to give that leverage to anyone. Especially if it meant something happening to me. I didn''t need his public disys of affection to know how he felt about me. After all, all I had to do was look at his white me to know how he felt.

    "Let''s get this crap over with," I said standing at the top of the stairs. Mind you, I absolutely refused to be the first one down there. With a low chuckle, Chen Zi Han went first as I waited for his call that it was safe.

 Chapter 172 172

    ?

    "Safe!" yelled Chen Zi Han and I breathed a sigh of relief. It had taken him longer than I expected for him to yell that. Or maybe it was because I was antsy that he was out of my eyesight. Either way, I was already starting out in a cranky mood and I was pretty sure that no matter what happened next, it was not going to improve.

    I slowly walked down the stairs letting the other three men follow behind me. I had no idea what my n was going to be¡­but I knew that I had some hard lines that I refused to cross. Even if that meant pissing off the boys.

    Getting closer and closer to the cages, I noticed a new upant that wasn''t there yesterday. Turning to face Wang Chao, I raised my eyebrow in question. He shrugged his shoulder. "Wasn''t sure what you wanted done with him," he admitted with his hands in his pockets like he didn''t have a care in the world.

    "But he is military¡­" I started. I had assumed that simply because he was military, he got a get out of jail free card, but apparently, that wasn''t the case. "Doesn''t matter," he reassured me. Nodding my head, I stood there, staring at the cages. What to do¡­ what to do¡­

    I mean, I knew what I wanted to do, but somehow I couldn''t quite bring myself to kill them all. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I was about to open my mouth when a voice came out of one of the cages in the shadows.

    "I can help you," the voice creaked fromck of use. "I know what is going to happen."

    Well then.

    I weaved myself around the other cages, ignoring the smell and the flies buzzing around even in the middle of winter. Getting to my target, I crouched down and studied the girl in front of me. She didn''t seem to be much older than 18, but what did I know? She smelled just as bad as the rest of them, and like them, she was little more than skin and bones.

    But it was her eyes that captivated me. I knew what I should be seeing, the despair, the lifelessness that should have prated every fiber of her being by now, but that wasn''t what I saw. What I saw looking back at me was nothing short of an all-consuming rage. That lust for vengeance was aplete contradiction to the state of her body that it set off warning bells.

    ''You need to save her,'' came the soft, gentle voice from inside me.

    Fuck that, she would be the first to die. I smirked at her and saw the rage increase to the point where it wasing out of her very pores. "Yeah? You think you can help me?" I said, feeling a sense of coldnesse over me. Taking a finger, I drew it down the side of her cheek and pulled it back. Looking down at the dirt and grim on my finger, I cocked my head. Rubbing my thumb and index finger together, spreading the dirt even further, I turned my attention back to her.

    "I think I am missing the part where you can help me," I said as I raised my hand, not once breaking eye contact with her. Chen Zi Han came up behind me, once again with a wet wipe, and started to clean my hand.

    I don''t know if shepletely forgot about me, or what, but when she looked at Chen Zi Han, she paused. "Chen Zi Han," she whispered like he was her knight in shining armor. I let out a small chuckle and turned to look at the man standing behind me. "You know her?" I asked.

    ''Not yours,'' came the hissing voice, a smug note ringing through the two words.

    Chen Zi Han didn''t even bother to look at her. "Nope," he said as he concentrated on my hand, making sure that there wasn''t even a speck of dirt anywhere on it.

    "It''s me, Han Li Mei. Remember? I am Han Hao Gang''s little sister," she said as she gripped the bars in front of her. A single tear escaped her eye as she stared at Chen Zi Han. "Remember?"

    I felt for the bitch¡­ I really did. And maybe if I said it enough times, it would be true.

    Rolling my eyes, I allowed Chen Zi Han to help me stand up. "What is your information?" I asked for a third time. Between her and the voices in my head, I was developing a massive migraine. Pulling me into his arms, the two of us stood in front of her, waiting for her answer.

    "Who are you?" she said, grinding her teeth in rage. If she wanted to live, she would have to learn to control her emotions a bit better.

    "Li Dai Lu," I answered. I could practically see the wheels in her brain spinning to see if she knew my name or not. When she dropped her head, thinking that she was able to hide her smile from me by that action, I knew she didn''t have a clue who I was.

    "I know what is going to happen," she said, raising her chin up and ring at where Chen Zi Han had his arm wrapped around my waist.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "You said that; a few times," I said. I couldn''t decide between killing her fast or slow, but I knew that I couldn''t leave her alive. She was a snake ready to strike, and I was not going to go through that again.

    "A zombie apocalypse ising," she said, her voice bing stronger now that she thought she had leverage.

    "Sorry," I said with a shrug of my shoulders as I leaned back more into Chen Zi Han''s chest. "It''s already here."

    "No," she replied smugly. "This is just the beginning. What is toe is going to be so much worse."

    I raised my eyebrow. "You know that, but you don''t know enough to not end up locked in a cage like a dog?" I asked, a slight smirk on my face. I felt more than saw Wang Chao and the Liu brothersing up behind me, nking Chen Zi Han on all sides.

    "Liu Yu Zeng," she said as he stepped into her field of vision. She looked back and forth between the two men and then turned her attention back to me.

    "What did you say your name was?"

    I chuckled. "What else do you know?" I asked, not bothering to answer her question.

    "There are zombiesing that don''t look or act like any zombie you have ever known."

    "Funny, because I am pretty sure that I don''t know any zombies, but okay, sure. The problem is that they are already here so that information isn''t enough to keep you alive."

    "And the fact that both Chen Zi Han and Liu Yu Zeng know me? Isn''t that enough?" she asked as she raised her chin. Why was it that women assumed that as soon as they raised their chin that they won the argument? Don''t get me wrong, I do it all the time too, it was how I know what that gesture meant.

    But still. This was not the time to be pulling shit like this. I was hanging on by a thread, and she was not helping. Looking deep inside to my boy''s mes forfort, I was surprised to see a red me now in orbit. I gently touched it and saw Wang Chao pop into my head. Gasping, I turned to look at him, not knowing how his me came to be inside of me, but grateful nheless.

    He simply nodded to me, and I turned my attention back to the person in front of me. I had two options, the first was to bring her back and try to figure out her n, and the second was to kill her now.

    I was going to me all of the novels that I had read, because not once was there one that showed the good side of being kind andpassionate.

    "Sir," came a voice from the top of the stairs. Liu Yu Zeng turned around and looked at his man as he came closer to us. "We have almost finished gathering all of the supplies, but we have run out of room again."

    "He Hai Tao," gasped the girl in the cage. Well, didn''t she just know everyone?

    "Han Li Mei?" he asked, turning his head so fast that he practically managed to snap it off. She reached out through the bars, frantically waving her arm trying to reach him. "How did you get in here? Don''t worry, I''m going to get you out." He Hai Tao said as he fell to his knees and grabbed her hand. Looking around, he wasn''t able to find the keys to the cages so he turned to Liu Yu Zeng. "Sir, you have to help me get her out," he said, no longer sounding like the calm, cool syndicate member he was when he first came down here.

    "And why should I?" asked Liu Yu Zeng as he stared at the man on his knees in front of the dirty cage.

    "Because I promised her brother that I would always protect her," came the reply. But the way he was holding onto her hand said something entirely different.

    Fuck, should have killed her sooner.

 Chapter 173 173

    ?

    "And if I am disinclined to acquiesce to your request?" asked Liu Yu Zeng as he looked down at the man in front of him. I chuckled, remembering the few times that I had said that to him. Cracking my neck, I looked up at Chen Zi Han.

    "Not getting involved?" I asked as he continued to hold me in absolute silence. He looked down at me and shook his head. "Whether she lives or dies depends on you," he said shrugging his massive shoulders like we didn''t have a couple of star-crossed lovers kneeling in the dirt in front of us.

    "You can''t kill her," said He Hai Tao as he turned his attention to me. I can''t say that I have ever really met the man, except to know that he was with Liu Yu Zeng and Chen Zi Han. "Her brother died to save my life. I won''t let you kill her."

    I could feel Chen Zi Han stiffening behind me. He did not like how He Hai Tao addressed me. "He saved you," I pointed out. "Not me. Whatever agreement was reached between the two of you has nothing to do with me whatsoever."

    "I will not let you kill her," he snarled standing up. Given his height and how close to me he was, I was sure that he wanted to intimidate me. Unfortunately for him, he was nowhere near as terrifying as a zombie Alpha. Looking up at him from where I was pinned between him and Chen Zi Han, I smirked.

    "Let me guess¡­ over your dead body?" I said with a raised eyebrow. When he grunted, I rolled my eyes. "And who are you to tell me what is or is not going to happen?" I mean, Liu Yu Zeng had almost 200 men in the apartmentplex, surely he wouldn''t miss one¡­ right?

    ''She will live,'' growled a voice, no longer as sweet and kind as it once was. ''You will take her back and let her fulfill her destiny.''

    I froze when I heard that voice. Ignoring my pounding migraine, the ringing in my ears and all the voices in the chaos, I stared at the girl on her knees in the cage in front of me. I raised my chin and looked down at her. "Who are you?" I growled.

    All of a sudden there was silence. Even the sniffling of the scared girls in the cages stopped. Tapping Chen Zi Han''s hand to let me go, I sunk back down into a crouch.

    I stared at the girl, allowing some of the fury that I had tried to suppress to rise to the surface. Zombies had fled from me when they saw me like this, and yet, this girl did nothing, not even a flinch. "I already said, Han Li Mei," she answered with a tilt of her own head. If she had three sets of teeth she would make a good zombie.

    But Han Li Mei meant absolutely nothing to me. So why was she so important that one of the voices wanted to save her? Then it hit me. She was one of the four, one of the four that would end this apocalypse, take credit for what I would do, and take one of my men.

    A nket of red descended over my eyes and Ipletely nked out for a moment.

    ---

    Chen Zi Han had never felt such blinding furying out of the bond that he shared with Li Dai Lu. He didn''t understand what was going on, but one moment her me was calm, only a slight flicker of annoyance, and the next, her entire body was engulfed in a purple me so strong that the girl in the cage flung herself back with a scream of pain.

    Then there was pandemonium. He Hai Tao tried to reach around Li Dai Lu to get to the girl, only to end up singed by the mes pouring out from the princess. Everyone else froze, not knowing what to do. They all knew what those mes could do to an indestructible zombie, let alone a human.

    Chen Zi Han racked his brain to figure out what to do when he was pushed aside by Liu Wei. Not even hesitating, Liu Wei plunged into the purple mes and gathered the woman into his arms, whispering into her ear.

    ----

    ''Go to her!''manded the voice from the darkness, startling Liu Wei as he stared at Li Dai Lu being engulfed in mes. ''Now!''

    For the first time, Liu Wei didn''t have any problems obeying the voice. Pushing aside Chen Zi Han, Liu Wei pulled the distraught woman into his arms. Completely ignoring the purple mes, it took him a few seconds to realize that there was no unpleasant heat, no pain from burns, nothing.

    His queen looked up at him from where she was in his arms and the look of devastation on her face was enough to put him into a murderous rage. "You are all going to leave," she said, and the pain in her voice broke his heart.

    "No, we won''t," he promised her. He knew that he couldn''t technically speak for the other three men, but he knew that wild horses couldn''t pull him away from her.

    "You will, the voices said so," she said and it was the first time she had admitted to hearing voices in her head. Was it like what he was going through? Because she didn''t need to listen to them any more than he listened to his.

    Pulling her even closer, he leaned down to whisper in her ear, her mes creating a world just for the two of them. "I will never leave you. Even when you want me gone, I will still be there, in the darkness, watching you. I am yours. Remember? You licked me and everything," he said, trying to infuse some humor into his words, but he waspletely serious.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    He was obsessed with the small woman in his arms. She was so strong and delicate at the same time. The way she moved, the thoughts in her head, everything drew him closer to her like a spider to a fly. But he was more than willing to be a fly in her web. Otherwise, he would have to stay on the outside, only watching while she lived her life.

    And he refused to live like that.

    He could feel her calming down, the racing heart starting to slow to a regr pace. But he still held her and refused to let go until she asked him to. And he hoped she never would.

    "What if there was someone else meant for you? One that you wouldn''t have to share?" she asked in a small voice as she buried her face in his chest. He justughed at that idea. Someone else? Was she crazy? Didn''t she understand?

    "There is no one else," he said with pure conviction. She scoffed at that statement. "There is, she is kneeling right in front of us now."

    Liu Wei pulled her back just enough to be able to see her face. "What are you talking about?"

    "She is here to take one of my men," she started and he could hear a gasp from outside of the mes as they got higher a burned brighter,pletely connected with her emotions. "Four heroines for four heroes. Want to take a guess who the heroes are?" she asked as she looked up into his eyes.

    "Poor He Hai Tao, destined to be the second male lead. I wonder how he will feel about that?" once again she scoffed and buried her head in Liu Wei''s chest.

    "Then we kill her. We''ll kill them all until there is no one left," he said, a tone as cold as an ice burg entering into his voice. If she wanted them dead, then they would die. It was very simple.

    He felt more than saw her shaking her head. "I don''t know if I want that," she admitted. "I want you guys to choose me because of me, not because I killed off thepletion."

    "Ah, Sweetheart," he whispered in her ear as he kissed her forehead. "There is nopetition," he continued as he rested his cheek on top of her head. "But if you want to keep her alive, then we will."

    "I don''t think it is a matter of want," she admitted, her arms tightening around Liu Wei''s waist, "I want to kill her. But I should let you guys live the lives you were supposed to."

    Closing her eyes, she slumped into Liu Wei''s arms and allowed the purple mes to die off into nothingness. What was supposed to happen would happen, one way or another.

    ---

    I think that there is a point in everyone''s life that is so significant to them that even yearster they can still pinpoint that exact moment and confidently say that that was when their life changed.

    I thought that, for me, it was the first time I transmigrated into a zombie apocalypse and I discovered that I was so much stronger than I ever thought I could be. I remember wanting to be the heroine of my own story, only to find myself ripped apart by zombies.

    Then I was reborn into the same world and once again, I thought that I would be the heroine of my own story, kind of like Cindere if Cindere needed to kill zombies to save her prince charming. And then that dream came, and I realized that I was never going to be the heroine, and this wasn''t even my story.

    But I forgot something crucially important. I forgot that I was trying to change, trying to be a bad bitch....trying to live my life on my own terms. So, if I couldn''t be the heroine, then I would be more than happy to be the viin.

    As soon as the purple mes dropped, I took out a gun and shot the girl in the cage right in the head.

    This was my moment. This is where I defined myself.

    Cindere''s dead, long live the Queen.

 Chapter 174 174

    ?

    "You bitch!" yelled He Hai Tao after taking a second to process what I had done. Unfortunately for him, it was a second too long. A bullet hole bloomed in the center of his forehead, the exit wound obscuring the murderous rage in his eyes.

    "Now that we are done with that," said Chen Zi Han as he put his gun away in the holster attached to his belt behind his back. "What is the n for the rest of them?"

    "General! You can''t let her get away with this! She is evil! How could she just kill someone locked in a cage like that?" screamed Yu Xue Yang as he rattled the bars on his cage. When my men just stared at him, he sat back and scoffed. "Some hero."

    I walked up to him, the 9mm still in my hand, crouching down, I looked at him. "Do you think he is a hero?" I asked, apparently having issues with the word ''hero'' right now. Just add that after ''problem'' I guess. Yu Xue Yang scoffed again at my statement. "How could anyone standing next to you be a hero? He is a disgrace."

    *Bang* Standing up, I looked at the military hero that had once looked up to Wang Chao only to be disparaging him now. Feeling a wet, chunky something sliding down my cheek, I brushed it away without a second thought. Not caring that my fingers turned bloody.

    Moving to the next cage, I looked down at the girl in front of me. She was sitting down in the corner of her cage, right beside the bucket that could only be used for waste. Her knees were curled up to her chest and her dirty hair was acting like a curtain between her and the outside world.

    There was no way that she was going tost out in the real world. The only mercy that I could show her was to put a bullet in her brain. I tilted my head to the side. Should she live, or die?

    Did it really matter?

    "I will give you a choice," I found myself saying. My spine straight, shoulders back, and my chin high, I addressed the girls in the room. "The world has changed and now humans are the prey," I started, looking between the cages and the eyes that were focused on me. "Your first option is that I unlock these cages and you go free. Free to do whatever it is that your little heart desires. But I will not be taking care of you, so don''t even think about it. Your second option is death, here and now. It is survival of the fittest out there, so what are you going to choose?"

    I turned around and walked back to the only chair without a dead body slumped over it. Seeing my intent, Chen Zi Han ran ahead of me and pick up the chair. Bring it over in front of the cages, he set it down and wiped off the seat.

    Nodding to him, I sat down and crossed my legs, letting my arms drape over them. I still had the gun in my right hand, but I was not going to be losing that any time soon.

    "Death," said one girl that I never noticed before. She was lying on the old mattress, so dirty that she practically blended in with the brown and yellow stains. She didn''t move, didn''t even look at me. She had clearly been here for longer than the few months since the EMP. They must have been doing this operation for a long time if that was the case.

    "Final choice?" I asked, not changing my position.

    "Yes," she hissed, moving her head just enough that she was looking into my eyes when she gave me her answer. I could see the scars littering her face and knew that those were probably the least of them. Raising my gun, I aimed carefully, wanting a clean kill. "Then go in peace," I said to her and I caught the smallest glimpse of a smile on her lips right before I pulled the trigger. "May your next life bring you the happiness you deserve."

    *Bang* The other girls jumped when they heard the explosioning out of the gun, the echoes of thest bullet still ringing around the room.

    "Next?"

    "Freedom," came a voice from the other side of the room, almost right beside where Han Li Mei was bleeding out.

    I looked over to Wang Chao and with a flick of his wrist, he unlocked her cage. She crawled out of her cage and stood up on shaky legs. "Thank you," she said to me, but I just brushed aside her words.

    "Don''t thank me," I said shaking my head. "Whether you live or die will depend only on your own strength. Don''t be too trusting," I continued, giving her the best advice that I could. She stared at me and nodded her head. "Still, thank you." Turning away from the cages, she ran upstairs.

    "Let her go," yelled Liu Yu Zeng to anyone at the top of the stairs. There was a brief pause of silence and when there were no shots, I turned my gaze from the stairs and back to the cages.

    "Next?"<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Death," said the next girl. Like the first one to request it, she could hardly move, her ankles broken and healed at odd angles preventing her from ever being able to walk again. Even before the end of the world will all of its medical advancement, she would still live a hard life full of pain.

    "Go in peace," I said as she stared at me her eyes tracking my gun. A look of hope shed through her eyes that this would be the end. "May your next life bring you the happiness you deserve."

    *Bang*

    ----

    It took me hours to go through each and every woman down in the basement of the serial killer''s house, but I needed to do it. My men stood by my side as the girls chose death or freedom, never wavering. I wanted to ask them if they were okay with what I was doing; if they would still look at me the same way, but each time, I held my tongue.

    This was not the time or the ce to worry about it. I had chosen this path and I would see it through to the end.

    There was only onest girl left in the cages. She had been kneeling the whole time, never once taking her eyes off of me.

    "Your decision?" I asked as I raised my eyebrow in her direction.

    "You," she answered and it was so unexpected that it took my brain to process it. I chuckled low. "And why do you choose me?" I asked. I mean, it was a really interesting answer. Not a single girl other than her picked something other than death or freedom.

    "Because you will need me," she replied, her straight back never wavering. She intrigued me, there was something about her that¡­ didn''t hate her. I could say that she called to me, that there was something about her that I didn''t want to hurt, but that didn''t seem right either.

    "And why will I need you?" I asked, pretending like she did not set my world on an axis.

    "I am a good fighter, have a degree in office management and I am the only daughter of the Violet Serpent Syndicate," she said, her facepletely nk. I have to admit, I was fine up until she mentioned that she was the daughter of another syndicate leader. Thest time I ran into one of those she tried to take Liu Wei from me.

    An icy nket began to cover me as I thought about the consequences of having her around my guys. Could she be another female lead? Which one would she try to take?

    "And I am attracted to women," she said looking at me with a faint smile on her face like she knew where my thoughts were going. "Your men arepletely safe when ites to me." I chuckled and looked at Wang Chao. After her cage was opened, she gracefully got out and stood in front of me. "Is that going to be a problem?" she asked, somewhat hesitant. I raised an eyebrow. Where did the confident woman go?

    "Is it a problem that you like women or is it a problem that you aren''t interested in my men? Because either way, I''m good." I always found it weird that when a man waspletely possessive of his wife or girlfriend it was the best, most romantic thing possible. But when a woman was just as possessive, she was a horrible person.

    Do the guys want me to be best friends with a bunch of other guys? Probably not. Do I want them to be friends with a bunch of other girls? Definitely not.

    So having a girl around that was not interested in my guys was simply perfection. The fact that she could deal with all the logistics and numbers for running a base? Well, I''d marry her if I swung that way.

    "Wee to Elysian Fields, we are going to be throwing you into the deep end so I hope you can swim," I said as I turned around to walk up the stairs. I froze for a second before I turned around and looked at the girl following behind.

    "What is your name?" I asked, realizing that I was going to be putting her in charge of my supplies without knowing who she was.

    "Ruan Ruoxi," she said with a smile.

 Chapter 175 175

    ?

    Life has a way of sweeping the rug out from under your feet when you least expect it.

    I mean, I really couldn''tin, we had a whole three months of peace (ish) and quiet. Every day a different team went out to gather supplies and train as best as they could and all 311 of us became a really well-functioning machine.

    And I will be the first to admit that that was all because of one woman, Ruan Ruo Xi.

    She came in like a hurricane and had everyone in order in no time. The guys appointed Ren Ruo Xuan as her second inmand and between the two of them, well¡­ they were pretty fantastic together. Plus, they managed to get a whole two years'' worth of supplies for everyone! I mean, I was really happy!

    On a personal level, I managed to spend all of my time with the guys or in the kitchen and life was¡­ blissful. I don''t remember a time that I had been so rxed.

    My connection to Wang Chao, Chen Zi Han, and Liu Yu Zeng was going stronger by the day, their mes inside of me ensuring that. I couldn''t figure out why I didn''t have Liu Wei''s, but it was fine. I mean, he never left my side for the whole time so how could Iin?

    However, April came and with it, the weather warmed up enough to start melting the snow. You could feel the tension from the teams that wereing back with supplies. No longer were we the only ones out on the streets. Humans hade out of the woodwork and started to collect their own supplies, something that I thought would have happened long before then, but they were forced to go further and further into the outskirts of the city before they could find anything.

    We might have been the cause, but ask me if I cared.

    Once the prey started roaming around, the predators quickly followed.

    ----

    "We had over 150 people arrive at the gates today," said Ruan Ruo Xi as she looked down at the clipboard in her hands. Ren Rou Xuan was standing quietly behind her, supporting her how he always did in whatever way she needed. I would fully admit to shipping those two, but even I knew it was not to be.

    "And?" I asked, noticing the uneasy tone in her voice. "And some of them were the girls from the cages," she admitted looking up at me.

    "And you felt bad?"

    She bit her bottom lip as she thought about what she was going to say next. She and I were on the same page about the number of extra people we could take in, but I know that it was harder on her than it was on me to be turning people away. She might have been a princess of a syndicate, but she had a heart of gold.

    Nodding her head, she looked between me and the guys. "They felt that they should be able toe in¡­ some of them even made a scene," she continued, not willing to meet my gaze.

    "I warned them all that when they chose freedom, they would have to rely on themselves in the future," I reminded her, not at all caring about them making a scene. I was more worried about a bleeding heart taking them in. Ruan Rou Xi nodded her head and started to nibble on the tip of her pen.

    Narrowing my eyes, I stared at her. Nibbling her pen was her tell that I was not going to like what came next. "I want to let theme in," she said, taking a deep breath before looking at me.

    "No," I said as I leaned back against my chair. We had our daily meetings in our penthouse as it was the mostfortable, but still, Ruan Rou Xi and Ren Rou Xuan refused to sit down. Hearing my answer, she nodded her head but continued to chew on her pen to the point that I thought the ink would explode all over her mouth.

    "But¡ª"

    "No buts," I said looking at her.

    "We have enough supplies," she pointed out, hoping that that would convince me to be merciful. Unfortunately for everyone around, that was not going to happen.

    "How many supplies do we have?" I asked, raising my eyebrows.

    "Enough for two years," she said looking at her notes.

    "Okay, so what do we do when those supplies run out? Die?"

    "What do you mean?"

    "I mean, we are hopefully going to live longer than two years, so what are we going to do once those supplies run out?"<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Get more."

    "From where? We have already taken everything that was not bolted down in this city, where do we go next?"

    She paused and looked at me seriously. "We have enough for two years, maybe four if we really stretch it out. But for every one person that we take in, that is fewer supplies for those that are already here. So, who amongst us are you choosing to die so they can have the supplies?" I wanted her to understand that I wasn''t doing this because I was a bitch (which I was), but rather I was doing my best to protect our people. I would not let someone loyal to one of my men do without because someone with a sob story came and asked for sanctuary.

    "There is a Navy base not that far away, they can find what they are looking for there," I finished with a wave of my hand. I built my fortress, themunication towers were up and running and the men were well-trained. I couldn''t ask for more from them so I would thank them by doing everything in my power to make sure that they would survive what was toe.

    I saw Ruan Rou Xi clench the clipboard in her hand as she nodded her head. I really didn''t want to cause an argument, but at the same time, I needed her to understand. "You disagree?" I asked.

    "Do I dare?" she snipped, looking at me with a brief sh of anger.

    "Then what do you propose?" I asked with a tired sigh. Chen Zi Han, who stood behind me, ced one hand on my shoulder offering mefort and support.

    "That we let them in. It''s only a few of them," she said and for the life of me, I could not figure out why she was pushing this so hard. We had people try toe here for months and she had no problems turning them away, so why now?

    I studied her, watching how her fingers moved, her nervous ticks, trying to understand what was going on in her head.

    "Ren Rou Xuan," snapped Liu Wei from where he stood just beside Chen Zi Han.

    "She let in a total of 25 people today, including 12 girls from the cages," said the man staring forward. Ruan Rou Xi spun around with a gasp,pletely not expecting him to turn on her like that. But what she had failed to understand was that his loyalty would always be to Liu Yu Zeng. To him, he did nothing wrong.

    Me, on the other hand, was a bit crushed. She let people into my home that I didn''t know, that I didn''t approve of, and she didn''t even have the guts to tell me. She expected me to give in and I would be none the wiser.

    "Has she done this before?" Liu Yu Zeng asked Ren Rou Xuan, knowing what was going on in my head.

    "No," the other man answered. "This was the first."

    I turned to look at the woman in front of me, I couldn''t call her a friend, but she was one of my closest employees. "Then who have you decided needs to die?" I asked, my eyes never leaving hers,

    "What are you talking about?" she snapped, her princess personalitying to the front full force.

    "25 in, 25 out. The numbers need to remain the same at the end of the day. So please inform those that you have sentenced to die that they need to leave before nightfall so that the neers can have their stuff."

    There was only silence in the room as Ruan Rou Xi stared at me. "You can''t ask me to do that. Nightfall is in less than 30 minutes."

    "I am not asking you to do anything. This was your choice, and you need to ept the consequences of that decision. The numbers cannot change."

    "You know, you really are a stone-cold bitch, aren''t you?" she asked, lowering the clipboard to her side, her shoulders hunched.

    "I am. But I am also not the one that allowed them entry. If I really wanted to be a ''stone-cold bitch'' I would send you out with the 24 other people. As it stands, I am just asking you to decide who needs to go."

    "Are you really okay with this?" she asked, turning to look at Wang Chao and Liu Yu Zeng where they sat on the couches on either side of me. My men simply looked at her, not bothering to say anything.

    "She did warn you when you first came here that it was a sink or swim environment and that everything was done by numbers," pointed out Liu Wei. "So choose."

    "I refuse," she said, raising her chin and staring down at me. "And there is nothing you can do about it."

 Chapter 176 176

    ?

    "There is nothing you can do about it." Those words echoed in my mind as I stared at the woman in front of me.

    "Nothing I can do about it?" I asked, tilting my head to look at her. Seriously, what had gotten into her? This was not making any sense.

    "They are here and they are staying," she said practically stomping her foot. This was not her. She never acted like this. Yes, she could be a princess when she wanted to, but for the most part, she kept that under wraps and never confronted me like this.

    "Wang Chao," I said, not taking my eyes from the other woman in the room. "Why don''t you guys go down and see who has invited themselves into my home." Wang Chao and Liu Yu Zeng stood up and walked towards the door, Ren Rou Xuan following close behind.

    "Does this mean that they can stay?" asked Ruan Rou Xi looking at me with hope shining in her eyes. I scoffed in reply.

    "It means that Wang Chao has the final say in the matter," I deflected. "Now leave." I was¡­ a lot of things... pissed, angry, betrayed... so many emotions were bubbling inside of me that I couldn''t see straight.

    Standing up, I turned around and walked out of the living room, Chen Zi Han and Liu Wei following behind me.

    ----

    "You okay, Sweetheart?" asked Liu Wei as the three of us headed toward our bedroom. I had a pounding headache and just wanted to lie down.

    "Peachy keen," I said with just a tinge of sarcasm.

    "You think she is under the influence of a spirit user?" asked Chen Zi Han as he opened the door. The darkness of the room called to me and I flung myself down on the giant mattress.

    "Maybe? Probably? I mean, that was not her normal behavior at all. But that makes me worried that we need better defenses at the front gate."

    "Better defenses how?" asked Liu Wei as he pulled out aptop and put in a DVD. Chen Zi Han tucked me in under the nkets and the two menid down on either side of me to just veg.

    "Shoot first?" I suggested. I mean, it would make life easier. But it made my skin crawl that a potential power user managed to worm their way into my stronghold. What would happen if they managed to stay here under the radar? How much influence could they hold after just a few days? A few months? A few years? And what would they do with it?

    I shuddered thinking about it.

    The beginning of a superhero movie started ying and I settled myself down, forcing what just happened out of my head. It was a problem for another day. Right now, sleep was calling and I was more than happy to answer.

    ---

    Wang Chao strolled down the hallway and into the lobby of the apartmentplex that Li Dai Lu had taken over. He could barely control the rage he was feeling as he thought about the confrontation between her and Ruan Ruo Xi. It was not up to the other woman to challenge Li Dai Lu. This was her home, her fortress and if anyone had an issue with that, well, hiding bodies was a lot easier at the end of days than it was before the world went to pot.

    "Do you think it is a spirit user?" asked Liu Yu Zeng under his breath. Ren Rou Xuan and Ruan Rou Xi trailed behind them, not so close that they could hear their conversation, but not too far either.

    "Probably," admitted Wang Chao. Even he could see that Ruan Rou Xi was acting a lot different than she had been for the past few months, but something still bothered him. In all of his practices, in all of the power that he had umted over the past three months, not once could he coerce someone to do something thatpletely went against their free will.

    In other words, either this neer was much stronger than he was, or those thoughts that Ruan Ruo Xi spewed were what she really felt. He was hoping for the first one because it was a lot easier to kill someone than it was to try and rece Ruan Ruo Xi.

    Don''t get him wrong, he could do it, it would just be a pain in the ass.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Sitting inside the lobby were the 25 people that had managed to gain entrance to the Elysian Base. Something that no one else had managed to do since they took the building over in December.

    Wang Chao strolled to the front of the group, his presence alonemanded them to look at him and acknowledge him. "You have gotten farther than anyone else," he started, looking at each one of them, probing into their minds. "Congrattions on that." He quickly skimmed the surface, but couldn''t find what he was hoping for. There was no spirit user in this group.

    "Unfortunately, you will be turning around and leaving. I suggest that you try your luck at the Navy base, but frankly, it has nothing to do with us," Wang Chao continued, no longer caring about the people in front of him. But if there was no spirit user, then that meant that everything fell on Ruan Rou Xi''s shoulders.

    ''There are only 24 of them here,'' said Liu Yu Zeng, using the connection between the two men to speak. ''Someone has disappeared.''

    ''Fuck,'' snorted Wang Chao, rubbing his forehead. Waving his hand to the men with guns surrounding the refugees, he indicated for them to remove the outsiders from the building.

    "You can''t do this to us!" one of the men yelled. His arms were around a woman quietly weeping. He was so desperate to stay here. He needed his wife to be safe. There was no ce else to go.

    Wang Chao turned around and looked at the man. "Give me one good reason why I can''t," he said, a sneer on his lips. This was what Li Dai Lu had been warning them about for months. There would always be people wanting to take advantage of others without offering anything in return.

    "My wife is pregnant," said the man, as a look of defeat crossed his face. It was a gamble toe here, but he had heard rumors about this ce, that it was imprable, that it was the safest ce in the country right now. He had to get his wife here. There were no other options.

    "And what are you willing to do in return?" asked Wang Chao. His mind immediately went to what supplies would be needed just to have these people stay and he wondered if there was enough form and diapers. He chuckled to himself when he realized that he was pulling a Li Dai Lu.

    "Anything," said the man, straightening his back and staring at Wang Chao. "I can even leave if that is what you want, I just need my wife to be safe."

    Wang Chao stared at the other man. He understood his feelings, and the drive to make sure that the person who meant everything in the world to him was safe and cared for. Searching his mind, Wang Chao closed his eyes. Tilting his head, he called Hua Le Yang over. "Find them a ce for tonight. When she wakes up, Li Dai Lu will make the final call."

    Hua Le Yang saluted and then turned to the couple. When the husband realized what was going on, he started to cry in relief. Nodding his head in thanks, he lead his wife over to where the soldier stood. Even if it was only for tonight. At least they would be warm and safe. They could figure out tomorrow when tomorrow came.

    Seeing what just happened, the rest of the people in the lobby started to scream and shout about why they needed to stay, but by the end, they were all dragged out of the building and deposited on the other side of the gates. "Kill whoever tries toe across," said Liu Yu Zeng to the watch towers.

    When he received their confirmation, he nodded his head and returned to Wang Chao''s side.

    "Was that a good idea?" he asked, cocking his head in the direction that the couple had gone in. Wang Chao shrugged his shoulders. "The guy was a prison guard, he will be handy to have around even if it is an extra pair of eyes in the crow''s nest. Not to mention his wife is pregnant."

    Liu Yu Zeng hummed in understanding. Li Dai Lu had a soft spot for children, especially now that there were so few. There was no way that she would send them away. "But they are the least of our concerns," reminded Wang Chao and Liu Yu Zeng moaned in response.

    There was a rat hiding somewhere in the building, probably a spirit user. They would have to flush him or her out and fast, before they managed to tear down what they had worked so hard to build up.

    "Any ideas?" asked Liu Yu Zeng as Wang Chao put in an emergency call over the radio.

    "Yeah," he answered with a weary smile. "Kill anyone that we don''t recognize."

    Liu Yu Zeng nodded his head in approval. "Sounds good to me," he said as the two men waited for everyone to show up in the lobby. Hopefully, they could figure things out before Li Dai Lu found out or shit hit the fan

 Chapter 177 177

    ?

    When I woke up the next day, I was alone in the bed. Now, as much as that doesn''t seem like a big deal, that hasn''t happened once since the puppy pile started in December. My nerves screaming that something was wrong, I quickly got out of bed and went on a hunt for my men.

    Luckily for all of us, they were easy to find in the kitchen, drinking their morning cups of coffee. Wang Chao and Liu Wei were stilling at the table while Liu Yu Zeng was leaning against the counter and Chen Zi Han was digging through the fridge. I could make out the low mummer of their voices, the sound alone causing shivers up my spine.

    Smiling I walked into the kitchen. And then there was silence.

    Tension seemed to stream out of the guys like it was a visible river seeping out of their pores. I studied each face as I went to sit down in my spot. I noticed the small things, like the tightening around Wang Chao''s eyes, the dark circles on Chen Zi Han''s face, and the sheer exhaustion on Liu Wei''s. Liu Yu Zeng was the same as ever, but if I looked inside at his me, it was frantically spinning in circles.

    I stayed quiet as Chen Zi Han gently put down a cup of coffee in front of me. "Let me guess," I said, taking the first sip of the day. The warmth traveled through my very blood, offering me a littlefort. Cracking my neck back and forth, I tried to suppress a yawn. "We currently have an unidentified spirit user somewhere in the building, but you can''t find them."

    The men looked at me in shock, their eyes widening a touch. Taking another sip of my coffee, I tilted my head to the right, stretching out the left side of my neck. After counting to 10 I did the same to the other side and then took another sip of coffee.

    When the men neither confirmed nor denied my statement, I took it to mean that I was right. "And you brought everyone into amunal room to figure out who is the odd man out?" I asked around a yawn. This was definitely not my morning.

    "You made too big of a wave and sent the rat underground," I said with a sigh. This was not the first time it had ever happened to me, in fact, it would be an extremelymon urrence, especially in these early days before security got tighter. Life would be easier if we had a few other spirit users to guard the gates, but c''est vie.

    "Do you have a solution?" asked Wang Chao as he looked at me over the rim of his own coffee cup. I would have to find a good ce to nt some of the coffee bushes so it wasn''t so suspicious when I had an unlimited supply.

    "Meh," I said, fighting another yawn. "It happens a lot," I offered the guys with a sincere smile on my face. And it did, I wasn''t upset with the guys or even Ruan Ruo Xi for that matter. But I might turn a bit stabby once we found the uninvited guest. I mean, it was one of those days.

    "Wang Chao, you and Liu Yu Zeng start at the very bottom of the building. I''m talking about the boiler room bottom. Any ce that a person can go into, you walk around ''inspecting'' for any potential damages. Liu Wei, you and Chen Zi Han need to check out any unupied residences. It is unlikely that a stranger would be able to slip into a ce that already had people living in it without it being noticeable, so we will start with the most probable first."

    "I don''t want you alone," said Chen Zi Han as he narrowed his eyes on me. The man might not be a spirit user, but he was definitely able to read my mind most days.

    "I need to be," I said with a wave of my hand, depositing an apple and cherry crisp onto the table, 5 spoons already inside the steaming dessert. I knew that most of the boys would turn it down, but I never wanted to assume just in case.

    "You think that they are going toe for you?" asked Liu Yu Zeng as he picked up a spoon and bit into the gooey mixture.

    "Yes," I said simply, closing my eyes as the sweetness and tartness of the crisp danced over my tongue. Combined with the coffee, it was the perfect breakfast.

    "I don''t like it," said Liu Wei, taking a sip of his own drink.

    "I know," and I did. After the serial killer house, where I may or may not have snapped, the man had never once left my side.

    "Fine," growled Wang Chao as he pushed himself back from the table, the legs of his chair scraping across the floor. "Let''s get this over and done with,"

    "A word of advice?" I said, lifting up my fork to make a point. "If you do find them, knock them out or kill them as fast as you can. I don''t need any more infections."

    All four men grunted in unison making meugh. Finally getting my morning kisses, I watched with a smile on my face as the men left the penthouse.

    As soon as the door closed behind them, I dropped the smile and went to go sit down on my chair. Cuddling into my fluffy nket, I pulled out my tablet and brought up a few books to read while I waited for some news.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    ----

    It took a few hours and a few bookster before I heard a light scratching at the door. Putting down my book, I called out, "It''s open!"

    There was a pause before the door handle slowly turned. I wish that Wang Chao still had working biometric locks in ce, but those were fried and I never one thought to add them to the list of things to get before the EMP hit.

    Still curled up under my nket, I had the perfect view straight to the door. There was a light click as the tumblers engaged and the handle waspletely turned and a few more seconds before the door started to open. I mean, seriously, what is the point of trying to be all sneaky? I knew that they were there, they were clearly not the guys, so why all the cloak-and-dagger stuff? James Bond, they were not.

    Rolling my eyes, I grumbled about inconsiderate people. Cracking my neck, I waited for the person to fully open the door and step through. Friggin'' Christ!

    I rubbed my ears and continued to wait. 45¡­. 46¡­. 47¡­. 48¡­. 49¡­ The door opened fully and in walked the little rat with the biggest smirk on their face.

    There was something wrong with what I was seeing, I knew that for a fact, but at the same time, my brain refused to process exactly what was that seemed off.

    "Spirit user, I''m impressed," I said, my eyebrows going sky high when I saw the person. I remembered seeing them before, but I thought-- "That''s a big change since Ist saw you. I always wondered about that. You know, what happened to you."

    "Did you really think that I didn''t have a set of keys to the cages on me when that fucker threw me in there?" snarled the man as he stalked towards me. His gaze was intent, his eyes staring into me. "But here I am," he said. "Ready to be the king of a ready-made kingdom." I smiled wide at that remark.

    "This kingdom already has four kings and is no longer epting applications," I said, not bothering to move from myfy position.

    "That is where you are wrong, little girl. This kingdom doesn''t have any kings or any queens. This kingdom only has me." I could feel his powers sliding over my skin like slim, leaving a trail that I thought I would be able to see.

    "What happened to serving the people and all that crap?" I asked, trying to keep him out of my head. My brain was still trying to figure out what was wrong with this whole thing. He scoffed at my question. "Thising from the little girl that killed all those helpless people?" I shrugged my shoulder. Technically they asked for it. But to someone that had never experienced what they went through would not understand that sometimes, death was the biggest mercy.

    He was so close to me that he was able to put his hands on the armrests of my chair and leaned forward, his face centimeters from my own. "I am the only king of this ce," he said, staring into my eyes intently. His eyes glowed gold as he pushed his will onto me. "I think it is a fair trade, after all, you let that traitorous General throw me in a cage. That wasn''t very nice, was it?" His voice went from being harsh to being a low purr. I could feel the goosebumps breaking out over my body.

    My brain was screaming that what I saw with my eyes was wrong, that it couldn''t be. But why?

    "Not very nice at all," I agreed, my voice taking on a soft dreamy quality to it. I fought against him as much as I could, but he kept pumping more power into me. How was it that after only a few months, he could be this strong?

    My mind when hazy. My eyelids too heavy to keep open.

    "It''s all that traitor''s fault," he whispered into my ear and I could feel his breath teasing the small hairs on my neck.

    "All that traitor''s fault," I agree.

    "Good girl," he purred as he reached up to brush a strand of hair off of my face. "Such a good girl."

 Chapter 178 178

    ?

    "Your men considered the girls in those cages a threat. But that wasn''t the case. Oh no, the biggest threat was the one that you let escape," the man in front of me whispered into my ear as his hands continued to stroke me in such a way that I could feel the bile rising in my throat.

    I kept my mouth shut, not because I wanted to, but rather because I had no choice in the matter. My mind was still fighting what my eyes were seeing, but I couldn''t understand what was going on. All that I knew what that someone, not one of my men, was touching me. And I didn''t like it.

    I opened my mouth a few times to cough, unable to control it. As his fingers grazed over my breasts, I heard him start to pant. "You seemed to be inplete control back then. Not caring about anything, able to kill without a second thought. How did it feel to have their blood on your hands? Do their cries keep you up at night?"

    He continued to stare into my eyes as his voice and touch engulfed me. But still, my brain was whirling. Blood¡­ hands¡­ cries. I tried to gasp as I fought to refocus my eyes on the man in front of me. But he was a strong spirit user. Too strong to have only been doing this for a few months.

    "Twins," I said with a gasp, my lips trying to form their customary smirk. That was it¡­ twins.

    I heard his low chuckle as his fingers went from a light graze to gripping my left breast enough to leave a bruise. I hated this feeling, I hate to be powerless. I ripped myself apart for thinking that I could handle this. But I couldn''t, I was too weak¡­

    Weak¡­ the word spun around in my head like a song on repeat. I was weak. I was worthless without the men. I needed the General and his army to be strong when deep down inside I was still that little girl from Canada that tried too hard to please everyone so that I wouldn''t be abandoned.

    I was weak.

    ''Not yours,'' hissed the voice inside of me and I physically jerked in my chair causing the man in front of me to tighten his grip on me. ''They are not yours,'' it hissed again, this time I could picture the smug smile on its face.

    Fuck that.

    Fuck all that shit. I was not weak; I was not worth only what the boys thought I was worth. I was not nothing without them.

    I was the fucking Queen.

    The seductive voice inside of my head broke off suddenly as the man that was pinning me to my chair lurched back, a look of pure disbelief on his face as he cradled the hand that was assaulting me to his chest. "Twins, right?" I asked as I stood up from my chair, my nket falling into a pool by my feet. Stepping over it, I slowly approached the man.

    "Because I distinctly remember his brain being stted on my cheeks and hair. It was a bitch to try and wash out." He had the exact same face as Yu Xue Yang, but since I managed to kill him, this could only be a family member of some kind.

    When he heard me talking about the brain stter, the spirit user''s face morphed into an animalistic rage. Now it was his turn to advance on me and given his height, he practically had to bend over in two to be able to loom over me as he did. But I refused to cower. I was not weak. No matter what he tried to convince me.

    "Did you know that because we were twins, we were able to be in each other''s heads? I mean, the vine made it so much more¡­ real. But even before that, we could feel when the other one was injured, or was upset. After the vine, I could see what he saw, taste what he tastes, and feel what he felt. Do you know what it feels like to have a bullet pierced through your skull?"

    "I would assume that it would be pretty painless, seeing as it would destroy your receptors long before your nerves could carry the feeling of pain to the brain." It was why a bullet to the head was considered to be a mercy to many. Much less painful than bleeding out of a wound that you couldn''t close.

    I guess my answer was not appreciated when the man tried to grip my throat. "You don''t have your men to protect you right now," he growled as his fingers tightened, cutting off my air.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    I would haveughed if I could, but as it was, I could only smile. "You think that I need the boys to protect me?" I asked as I gasped for air. A broken chuckle was forced out of my throat. "Bless your heart," I said right before I called my pink me toe out.

    The man that thought I was an easy target yelped again and jumped back, trying to create as much of a distance between us as he could. But the poor guy didn''t realize that I was not the victim in this encounter.

    He was.

    I rotated my neck from side to side, massaging it. It would start to swell soon and I would not be surprised to if I was going to bruise. The boys wouldn''t like that.

    "The boys? They are alive because of me. Their men? Alive because of me. This is my castle, my fortress, and you barged in because why? You wanted revenge? How is that working out for you? I mean, I guess I am grateful that you didn''t prolong this, but still," I said as I advanced on him. He tripped over a throw pillow that wasying carelessly on the ground and fell down hard.

    His feet tried to find gripping, but all they did was push him back further and further away from me until his back was to the front door and I was crouched in front of him. "Now doesn''t this look familiar?" I hummed as I took out my 9mm from my space. I raised it to his forehead and just let it rest there. I didn''t give his brother any advanced warning before I killed him. Mostly because I didn''t even know that I was even going to kill him in the first ce.

    But this one? This one needed to suffer. I slowly brought back the hammer until it made a satisfying click. I could see him start to shake. "I seem to have a lot of issues, I will fully admit that," I said, starting a conversation with him as fear and terror seeped through his skin. "I seem to be finding new issues on an almost daily basis that I never even knew about. However, one of my biggest issues is people. More specifically people that think that they cane into my home and threaten me¡­ try to kill me."

    I was seething as I remembered waking up without my men because this¡­ thing¡­ was somewhere in my home and no one could find him. I was not as pissed off as I would have been if this situation had gone on for a long time. But I didn''t like my sanctuary invaded.

    I didn''t like someone that I thought could be a friend turned against me.

    I didn''t like people threatening me.

    I could feel his slimy mind try and infiltrate mine, just like before, but I was too caught up in my rage to really pay him any heed. That was the weak spot of spirit users¡­ especially the maniptors. They worked best when your thoughts were in order.

    But when there was nothing totch on to? Well, that made it harder for them to change your mind to whatever it was that they wanted.

    I watched as the man in front of me trembled. The big, strong man that thought that I was the weakest link in this ce, that thought I was worthless, was now inplete terror. "How does it feel?" I asked, my voice calm and curious despite my mind begging for his blood.

    He looked up into my eyes, his own trying to glow as he used his powers to get the upper hand again. "How does it feel to know that someone that you didn''t think twice about is the reason why you are going to die?" My gun arm didn''t shake, no matter how long I held it up to his head, I was steady.

    "Should I be worried that there is someone else in your head that is going toe and try to get revenge?" I raised an eyebrow as his eyes blew open. "Well, if you are in there, bring it on. Just understand that I am not strong because of my men. My men are strong because of me." With that, I pulled the trigger, not caring if the bullet passed through the door behind his head.

    "Fucking brain matter," I grumbled as I watched the body sliding to the side, blocking anyone from entering the penthouse. Grey mush and red bloodbined on the floor under the head as his eyes stared off into space.

    "Huh, didn''t even get his name," I huffed as I stood up and walked away from the body. Someone else could clean up the mess. I needed a shower.

 Chapter 179 179

    ?

    It took them hours, searching through every nook and cranny in the building to realize two things; this ce was a lot bigger than they originally thought and, second, they needed to have better security measures put in ce so that this never happened again.

    Chen Zi Han rushed up the stairs once he and Liu Wei had determined that there were no squatters in any of the unregistered apartments. Well, that wasn''t strictly urate. They had found the ce where the spirit user had been holed up in, but they weren''t there anymore.

    That meant that the rat had moved to another ce and it would be harder to find them.

    He was worried about Princess. He couldn''t feel anythinging from his connection one way or another, but every time he tried to talk to her, there was nothing. He knew that she had volunteered herself as bait, and that alone was enough to cause him stress. Add to the fact he couldn''t talk to her and he was ready and willing tomit murder.

    "She will be fine," said Liu Wei in a rxed tone. But even though he sounded rxed, his pace was no less than Chen Zi Han.

    "There is no doubt she will be fine," agreed Chen Zi Han as he vaulted around the corner and up another flight of stairs. It was agreed that, although they now had power, they were not going to use it on useless things, like elevators. But 13 flights of stairs were a lot when you were in a hurry. "But she shouldn''t have to be going through it by herself," he added as he burst through the fire door on the penthouse floor. He saw Wang Chao and Liu Yu Zeng on the other side, the worry in them mirrored their own.

    The two men shook their heads at Chen Zi Han''s silent question. They hadn''t found the rat either. It would be hard to sleep knowing that there was a hostile spirit user somewhere in the building. The two groups got to the door at the same time and Liu Yu Zeng turned the knob to open it.

    There was a thud and then the door wouldn''t open any farther. In fact, the door opened so little that they couldn''t even see a crack through the frame to give them some clue about what was going on on the other side.

    The men looked at each other for a second and then Liu Yu Zeng grabbed the handle and threw his shoulder into the door, forcing it open only the tiniest bit more. Still not enough to see what they were up against. Getting angry, Liu Yu Zeng let go of the handle and stepped back a few feet, the other men giving him room.

    Lifting up his right foot, Liu Yu Zeng kicked the door hard just beside the door handle. The heavy door shook, but didn''t do anything else. "Wait, is that a bullet hole?" ask Liu Wei as his brother backed up to try and kick in the door again.

    The men froze and looked down to where Liu Wei was pointing. There, about three feet from the ground, was a perfectly round hole. They turned their heads to the other side of the hall and saw where the bullet had been lodged into the wall behind them.

    Liu Wei crouched down and tried to see through the hole and into the penthouse itself. He could see through it, and it didn''t look like anything was wedged up against the door preventing it from opening, so why couldn''t they get in?

    Sticking his finger through the hole, he felt a sticky wetness. "Blood," he confirmed once he brought his finger back. Rubbing the liquid between his index finger and thumb, he felt the consistency. "Not fresh, but not old enough to gel," he analyzed. He was trying to keep a cool head. If something had happened to Sweetheart then one of the other guys would have let him know. But still, being trapped on the other side of the door from her was not where he wanted to be.

    Liu Yu Zeng waited for his brother to stand back up before he continued to ram his shoulder into the door. A boot wouldn''t help as the doorknob was not the problem and if he kicked anywhere else on the door (like the center) his foot would go through, but nothing else.

    After hitting it enough times that he was sure his shoulder would bruise, Liu Yu Zeng motioned for Chen Zi Han to take over. Between the efforts of the two of them, they might have been able to move the door an inch, but that was it.

    "I don''t know if I shouldmend you on the security of your door or bitch about it," grumbled Liu Yu Zeng as he went to go stand beside Wang Chao.

    "Seeing as we are on the wrong side of it, I would say bitch," remarked the other man, his eyes never leaving the door.

    Chen Zi Han was just gearing up to ram into the door again when the heard something sliding and then a soft thud.

    Chen Zi Han and Liu Yu Zeng reached for their guns and brought them up, ready for whatever greeted them. Slowly the door opened and Li Dai Lu''s face could be seen.

    Seeing that it was them, she fully opened the door and stepped aside.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Sorry about that," she said with a shrug as she continued to dry her wet hair. "There was a dead body in the way." She gestured over to the right side of the door where there were clear drag marks leading to a body folded in half. "The guy was heavy."

    Liu Wei walked over to Li Dai Lu and gently took the towel from her hair. Seeing the bruising on her neck, but deciding not to mention it that second, he brought her over to her chair and proceeded to continue to dry her hair.

    Since Liu Wei had Li Dai Lu well in hand, Chen Zi Han walked over to where the body was slumped in half and pulled him up by the hair so that they could see his face. Although there was a bullet hole in between the eyes, it was not so big as for his features to be obscured. "He looks familiar," he said as Wang Chao and Liu Yu Zeng walked over to join him. The two men crouched down to get a better look at his face.

    "Yeah, but where?" asked Liu Yu Zeng confused. "Is he one of yours?" he asked, turning to look at Wang Chao. Wang Chao scrunched his forehead as he tried to remember that face.

    "No," he said, "He is the one we locked in the cage of the serial killer house," he continued, referring to the house where they had found all the girls in the cages.

    "Didn''t Princess kill him?" asked Chen Zi Han confused.

    "Twins," called Li Dai Lu from where she sat across the living room.

    "And exactly what were you thinking, little girl?" asked Wang Chao, his voice going deep with his displeasure. He could see the bruising on her neck from all the way over here and he was not impressed.

    "To predict the behavior of ordinary people in advance, you only have to assume that they will always try to escape a disagreeable situation with the smallest possible expenditure of intelligence," she said as Liu Wei finished drying her hair.

    "Excuse me?" asked Liu Yu Zeng as he went over to sit beside her. "Want to try it again?"

    "It''s a quote from one of my favorite philosophers... if there is such a thing," she said with a shrug. "In essence, people are going to do the easiest, stupidest thing to get out of something."

    "Exin," said Wang Chao as he too, took his seat, his eyes never leaving her neck.

    "To anyone, I would be the weakest link out of the five of us," she said as she lifted her arms and let Chen Zi Han wrap her nket around her. "So, if he wanted revenge, he woulde looking for me."

    "And only show up when we weren''t around," continued Liu Yu Zeng as he looked back and forth between Chen Zi Han and Wang Chao. "Did you know she was going to do this?"

    "I had a suspicion, but nothing concrete," admitted Chen Zi Han as the three men turned their attention to Wang Chao.

    The other man looked at them with a ck stare. "She should have been fine," he said, turning his attention back to the fact that clearly she was not fine. Not with those fingerprints around her neck.

    Li Dai Lu simply shrugged her shoulders. "Anyways, the rat has been caught and killed. Now we can move on to the next issue at hand."

    "You mean your neck?" asked Liu Wei from where he stood beside her. He wanted nothing more than to rub the marks off of her neck, to make sure that no other man left an imprint on her, but he couldn''t. If he did, he would only hurt her more.

    "Like the zombie tide that is going to hit City Y in just over two weeks."

 Chapter 180 180

    ?

    "City Y?" asked Wang Chao as he leaned forward. "That is only an hour and a half from here."

    I nodded my head. "Well, it would be about half a day on foot, but you are right. It is close," I agreed, sitting back in my chair.

    "Are we going to be hit?" asked Liu Yu Zeng looking at me. Gone was the usual smile on his face and in its ce was nothing short of concern.

    "Yeah," I admitted, not knowing any other way to break the news to the boys. "We really are." I guess instead of the word ''tide'' making you think of a gentle ocean beach scene, I should have gone with ''tsunami''. That is probably more in line with what was going to happen.

    "How bad?" asked Liu Wei as he adjusted his sses.

    "Bad," I said, "We should be okay to deal with them, especially since they would have slowed down after devouring everything in their wake. But we would still be hit hard."

    Honestly, I wasn''t overly confident that we would all be alive when this was over and done with, but I was not going to tell the guys that part. It was their men that would be sacrificed simply because I would not ept anything else. Nothing and no one would touch my men even if it meant burning down the entire city.

    "So what do we do?" asked Wang Chao, leaning back against the couch cushion. I didn''t need to be a spirit user to know where his mind was at.

    "We step up getting supplies, reinforce what we can. Be willing to sacrifice what we can''t."

    Things were always easier to say than they were to actually do. I had already fortified everything that I could. I make sure that the men were being trained, but in the 11th hour, you always wished that you had done that little bit more.

    "We took in two people," said Wang Chao out of the blue. I turned to look at him, trusting him enough to let him speak his peace before making the final decision. "The husband was a prison guard, the wife is pregnant. But she was a doctor, or a nurse, something in the health field."

    I smiled at his words. "As long as she isn''t a dentist, she is more than wee. Get the husband set up with a team and then out gathering supplies. I will let Ruan Rou Xi know to expect them and give them the basic supplies tomorrow."

    "You have something against dentists?" smirked Liu Yu Zeng at the same time as Chen Zi Han said, "You still trust Ruan Rou Xi?"

    "I don''t have anything against dentists, they just aren''t as useful as someone that knows how to stitch you back together. And Ruan Rou Xi can be forgiven, after all, she was up against a spirit user, and not even I can stand against them easily. But it won''t be forgotten. Have Ren Rou Xuan keep an eye on her, just don''t let her know about it."

    "You really think it is smart?" asked Wang Chao. I know he could hear my thoughts on the matter loud and clear, but my hands were tied behind my back.

    "She does the job well," I said with a shrug of my shoulders, but inside I was feeling sick. This was the start of how I was betrayed in my firstpound. They didn''t understand that it was me that saved them and looked after them, they all thought it was Colin who made sure that they lived and had everything they needed. But these men were not that dumb.

    Hopefully.

    "Okay," said Wang Chao, dropping the subject. "Now, about those bruises."

    Okay, so I wasn''tpletely able to make him forget. Grumbling, I let them all know what happened and Liu Yu Zeng called up one of his men to dispose of the body. Chen Zi Han offered to clean up the blood, but I figured that wasn''t fair. I had technically made the mess.

    Grumbling, I wondered if I had enough control over my pink me to ensure that I only burnt the bodily fluids and not the floor underneath them. Not willing to take the chance in my own home, I took out a mop and bucket and got to work as the guys figured out what needed to be done in terms of the tide.

    ----

    A consensus was reached the next morning at the breakfast table over bacon, eggs, and pancakes and the decision was made to let things take their course.

    "And if they call on you toe save them?" I asked as I poured maple syrup onto my pancakes. The boys had no idea how hard I worked to get my hands on this liquid gold and if they thought I was sharing, they had another thinging.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    What I failed to notice as I was sopping up my syrup was the fact that three of my four boys went still at my words, sharing an intense look between them. "Even if they call, we will not answer," said Wang Chao, a note in his voice that I had never heard before. "You and this ce are our priority," added Chen Zi Han.

    "Let them die," said Liu Yu Zeng as he picked up a piece of crisp bacon and bit into it. "It''s not our problem."

    ''It needs to be your problem,'' said the gentle voice as she pushed her way to the forefront of my mind, trying to get her point across. As much as I used to like this voice, I much preferred the hissing one now.

    ''And why is that?'' I asked, not really caring about her answer. She wanted me to give my guys to some random girl, so she and her ideas could go fuck themselves. I had no more fucks to give.

    ''Because there are people there that need you to save them,'' insisted the voice, but I simply rolled my eyes. If they couldn''t save themselves, it was not my job to go save them. ''The men must answer the call.''

    I didn''t know if Wang Chao could hear the voice in my head, but as soon as it said that they needed to answer the call, he sat upright and stared at me. "There is no call more important than yours," he said, all but admitting that could hear the voice. I didn''t know how I felt about that.

    I nodded my head and went back to eating. I knew that the base in City Y would be sending people out in a week or so to gather help. I had heard about it in my past life. But there was also a reason why this province no longer had free humans living in it. I just needed to make sure that I could change that oue. Even if it was just for me and mine.

    "You know, we wouldn''t have had this trouble at the ranch," I pointed out, sticking my fork out in Wang Chao''s direction.

    "But you wouldn''t have known us if you stayed at the ranch," said Liu Yu Zeng with a stunning smile.

    Stupid men being right.

    "Fine," I agreed. Liu Yu Zeng and Chen Zi Han more than made up for not being at my ranch. I wrinkled my nose. If I had known then what I know now, I would have made this ce my base camp instead of stressing about having the perfect sanctuary set up half a country away.

    But knowing what was toe, I doubt I would have set up camp here a year ago. Oh well, hindsight being 20/20 and all that.

    "What''s on the docket today?" I asked looking at the men gathered around the table.

    "Same as always, Brain, we try to take over the world," joked Liu Yu Zeng. Apparently, he and I have been watching too many Saturday morning cartoons. But there was nothing wrong with Pinky and the Brain; unless you ounted for the theme song being stuck in your head for a day.

    "Fine, you take over the world, I am going to check in with Jin Si Cong and Guo Bi Ming on ourmunications and power situation," I said standing up and wiping my mouth on a napkin before leaving the boys alone to finish the rest of their breakfast. There was a lot to be done and not a lot of time left to do it.

    ----

    "Sir!" said a man dressed as a ground force soldier as he barged into the office of hismanding officer. "There appears to be a horde of zombiesing this way!" he continued as he approached the desk still at a fast run. Coming to a stop inches away, he saluted the man in front of him.

    "How many?" asked the young man sitting behind the desk. Putting down his pen from where he was signing provision documents, he gave the soldier in front of him his full attention.

    "Too many to count," admitted the soldier, still standing at attention. "They are practically falling over each other, there are so many of them."

    "Fuck," said the Commanding Officer of the City Y Sanctuary. "Get the fastest runner out to the surrounding areas. We will need all the help we can get."

    "Yes, Sir," said the soldier, spinning on his heels as he departed the room, remembering to close the door behind him. The Commanding Officer rubbed his eyes and let out a tired sigh. They were holding on by the skin of their teeth and he didn''t know anyone that was in a better position than they were.

    Standing up, he turned around and looked out of the window behind him. He couldn''t see the horde, but that didn''t mean that they weren''ting. Hopefully, they would be able to get reinforcements in time. Otherwise, it was certain death.

 Chapter 181 The End Of The World Is Coming... Again

    ?

    A knock sounded on the penthouse door.

    The boys and I were discussing what needed to be done that day because ording to what I could remember, the zombie tide would be hitting us in a little over one week.

    "Enter," called out Wang Chao when I didn''t bother to open my mouth. Chen Zi Han and Liu Wei went to their normal spots behind my chair since there would be an outsider in our house.

    The door opened and in walked Ren Rou Xuan with a stranger behind him. Seeing the unidentified man, I could feel the tension in my men rise. "This is 2nd Lieutenant Xun Qian Guo from the City Y Sanctuary Base," said Ren Rou Xuan making the introduction.

    With a wave of his hand, Wang Chao dismissed Ren Rou Xuan leaving only the neer at the door.

    "General," he said,ing to attention and saluting. The rest of us turned out attention to Wang Chao and smirked. With how we were sitting, you would not think that this 2nd Lieutenant would pay more attention to the man seated to the right than the person in the head seat. But what did I know?

    "Is there anyone in this province that doesn''t know you?" I asked, both incredulously and with some curiosity.

    "You know, if we were in City H it would be the same for us," said Liu Yu Zeng pointing between himself and Chen Zi Han. "Maybe we should n a trip?"

    "We are not taking a field trip to City H in the middle of a zombie uprising just so you can prove that you are just as popr as Wang Chao," I said as I raised my eyebrow.

    Conversations you never really expected to have Part 1.

    "More popr," replied Liu Yu Zeng, leaning back on his couch and crossing his arms. "And I guess we can wait until after the uprising for us to go."

    This time I couldn''t help but roll my eyes. Turning my attention back to the neer, I knew why he was here. Unfortunately for him, he never took his eyes off Wang Chao, like he was the most important person in the room.

    "What do you want?" I asked, my arms resting on the nket that Chen Zi Han had ced over myp as soon as I had sat down. The 2nd Lieutenant looked at me and then back to Wang Chao, not knowing who to talk to. "Speak to her," said Wang Chao, breaking the stalemate in the room.

    Turning to look at me, the messenger saluted. "Ma''am," he said, his eye still darting between me and Wang Chao. "Given the fact that this is now the end of the world, Major General Deng Jun Hie thinks that we, as humans, should band together in this time of need and work as one to protect mankind from certain death."

    "That''s cute," I said with a smile on my face. "You do know that the world ends like four more times, right? I mean, first was the EMP, then the zombies, then ack of supplies, then fighting for the supplies, and finally, death. I mean, this is definitely not a one-and-done type of thing."

    The man just stared at me like I had grown a second head. "She prefers things straight to the point," said Liu Wei as once again, there was silence in the room.

    "Major General Deng Jun Hie¡ª"

    "Is worried that there is a zombie horde bearing down on him right this minute and wants people to go die for him," I interrupted, not wanting to waste any more time. I mean, we all knew why he was here, there was no point in beating around the bush.

    ''You need to help them,'' said the calm voice from deep inside my head. I wanted to be stubborn and do the exact opposite of whatever it suggested, but I knew that it was not just me that needed to make this decision.

    "You can go and rest in the lobby, I will let you know what we have decided," I said with a wave of my hand and Liu Wei step around the chair to show the messenger to the door.

    Once it was just the five of us again, Chen Zi Han and Liu Wei took their seats. "Exactly one week," said Liu Yu Zeng, the smirk on his face was more sarcastic than it was humorous. I hummed in agreement. We knew that they wereing. They had no choice. The entire base would be wiped out in a matter of hours.

    But the big question was if we were going to go help or not. And if we did go, who could we trust enough to keep our base from being taken over?

    I leaned back in my chair and took out a steaming cup of hot chocte from my space and just stared at the marshmallows floating at the top. Taking a small sip, I closed my eyes. The boys didn''t rush me. This wasn''t like the first time, when they practically demanded that I leave the ranch, this time it needed to be my decision.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    And there was that nagging feeling that I needed to be there.

    Like I was on the edge of a cliff and I needed to take that step off into the unknown.

    The biggest issue was that I hated the unknown. And seeing as I have worked my ass off for a year and a half to stock up two different bases, I wasn''t all too willing to leave this one in case I couldn''te back to it.

    "We will be back," said Wang Chao as he looked at me. Leave it up to the mind reader to know my biggest hang-up.

    "You don''t know that," I replied as I took another sip of the hot chocte. "In fact, I am pretty sure that you even went as far as to say that before when it came to the ranch."

    "What is going through your head for those of us that aren''t a mind reader," asked Liu Yu Zeng as he stretched his arms over the back of the couch.

    "A lot of things," I answered honestly. "I don''t want to leave this ce. Not to mention all the supplies I have put into it, but we need a permanent base. I thought it was the ranch, but then that fell through. I wanted it to be this ce, but now we might be leaving. I can''t keep moving."

    "Alright," said Liu Wei with a nod of his head. "What else."

    "There is something at the base that is calling to me," I admitted. "But it feels like if I go there, then everything will be destroyed."

    "And if we go to destroy it?" asked Chen Zi Han, his elbows on his knees, his fingers sped together as he looked at me. Huh, didn''t think about that.

    ''You can''t kill her, you need her,'' came the icy voice. Well, at least it wasn''t the calm one, I guess. But now I was firmly in the kill her camp. Like seriously, if they wanted the heroines to live, they shouldn''t be putting me on their path.

    The only way they could take what was mine was to kill me. And I was getting harder and harder to kill every time I came back to life.

    "So, we are going to help them?" asked Wang Chao looking around the room for confirmation. I let out a half-hearted snarl before answering him. "Who are we leaving in charge?"

    "We will leave Ren Ruo Xuan and Hua Le Yang. One for logistics and one for military," suggested Liu Wei.

    "How many men will we be taking?" I asked, wondering how much they had nned in the past week.

    "We''ll take only about 100," answered Liu Yu Zeng. "50 of my men and 50 of Wang Chao''s."

    "It seems like you guys thought about this a lot," I grumbled, my anger starting to rise. ''They aren''t yours,'' came the hissing voice. ''Of course they want to follow the path that they were supposed to. After all, their destiny is only a few hours away.''

    "Were you guys nning on going no matter what I had said?" I asked,pletely ignoring the hissing voice. I would have to find a pharmacy and see if I could get my hands on the drugs to make them go away.

    "No," said Wang Chao his gazepletely locked on me. "We nned for either circumstance, just like you taught us." Okay, so the man knew what to say to keep me happy.

    "Fine," I said closing my eyes. I would love to say that in the worst care scenario, I could bring everyone into my space, but that wouldn''t work because as soon as we came out, we would be dealing with the exact same shit. "Tell Ren Rou Xuan to get the messenger and we''ll give him our answer."

    The end of the world wasing... again, and I felt fine.

 Chapter 182 What Will You Sacrifice?

    ?

    "We will help you, but we won''t be leaving for at least a day or two," I said as soon as the messenger entered our home. It would talk me at least a day to figure out supplies and all that crap. Hopefully we will be able to do some hunting of our own on our way to City Y.

    The messenger looked worried, but cautiously nodded his head. "You don''t agree?" I asked raising my eyebrow. He nced at Wang Chao as if he didn''t know if he should speak to me or not. "Let me make all of our lives easier, shall I?" I said, crossing my legs in front of me and resting my arms on the armrests. With two giants standing on guard behind me, I was sure that I would be able to get my point across.

    "Unless Wang Chao is speaking, you don''t need to worry about him. I understand that he was an important person in the military. But here, he is my General. Do you understand? If decisions need to be made, if orders are given, it will be done through me. If I am not present, it will then be handled by one of my men."

    I stared at the man in front of me and watched as he gulped. This time his eyes darted to Liu Wei. "Major?" he asked in a hesitant voice. Liu Wei didn''t answer him, didn''t even bother to blink.

    "Do you understand?" I asked. "Because if you don''t, we will be more than happy to stay here."

    "You will be dead if you stay here," said the 2nd Lieutenant as he stood up straight, this time looking at me. "The only way to stop this horde from attacking your base is to stop them at City Y."

    I chuckled at his naivety. Did he really think that that was the way the world still worked? I scratch your back, you scratch mine? That idea would quickly disperse when they saw what was actuallying for them. In fact, I wouldn''t be surprised if people snuck out the back door once they saw the zombies, trying to save their own lives.

    "Sure, you keep thinking that," I said with a wave of my hand. "We will be leaving in two days. Tell whoever you need to. But remember, this base is mine. The people in it? Mine. They will only listen to my orders so you might want to show me the very basics of respect before I decide that you are not worth the trouble."

    No longer caring, I stood up and walked over to the kitchen, letting the men figure things out on their own.

    ----

    "Do you understand where you went wrong?" asked Wang Chao from where he was sitting on the couch. With Li Dai Lu gone, Liu Wei and Chen Zi Han took their usual seats and the four of them stared at the messenger who had not left yet.

    "No, Sir," admitted Xun Qian Guo as he looked at the men in front of him. Two of them he didn''t know, but he recognized the bloodthirsty aura that they had, simr to those that had spent decades in war zones. Combined with the General and the Major, there should be no problem once they arrived at the Sanctuary.

    "You don''t seem to understand thendmine you just stepped on," said Liu Yu Zeng as he pulled out a cigarette but didn''t light it. "She is themander of this base. She can be considered a Full General if you will, someone that even the General must listen to. If you disrespect her like that again, you will find yourself on the menu faster than you can blink."

    Xun Qian Guo swallowed. "Yes, Sir," he said saluting. They didn''t have many women in their Sanctuary, and those that were were not high up in terms of power. They simply did not have to ability to stand toe to toe with the men. And that was fine. That was what they were there for. To protect those that couldn''t protect themselves.

    He just assumed that that was the same here at this ce too.

    "Never assume anything," said Wang Chao before nodding towards the door and dismissing the soldier.

    "So, we can expect you by the end of the week? It will take at least a day to travel. There are a lot of zombies between the two cities right now," said the messenger dragging his feet. Liu Wei cocked his head and looked at the man for the first time since he arrived at their base.

    "You want to travel with us," he said,ing to the correct conclusion. A light blush spread over the face of the soldier in front of them. He opened his mouth a few times, but no words came out.

    "I was lucky to get here the first time," he admitted after a few minutes. "And I thought that there was safety in numbers."

    Liu Yu Zeng leaned forward and looked at the man up and down. He could see the light rips in the heavy uniform material that was meant to protect the person. "Did you confront them or run?" he asked as he leaned back.

    "I ran," came the stuttered response, this time the blush was because of how ashamed he was for running. "I thought that my message was more important."

    The four men nodded their heads in approval. If he had tried to fight the zombies then they would have sent him out to fend for himself. Since he proved that he had some level of intelligence, then they would allow him to go back with them. "Ask Ren Rou Xuan for a ce to stay until we are ready to get going. Then send him up here."

    This time, the messenger saluted Wang Chao and the rest of the men before turning around and leaving the penthouse.

    "Princess is not going to be happy," remarked Chen Zi Han as soon as the door closed behind the outsider.

    "No, she is not," agreed Liu Yu Zeng as he let out a breath, the unlit cigarette twirling in his fingers as he rubbed it back and forth.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "She is scared," said Liu Wei. He knew that the others could feel what she was feeling, but he was the only one who knew why she was scared.

    "You need to step it up," grumbled Liu Yu Zeng looking at his older brother.

    "I would, if you told me how," snapped Liu Wei back, not happy that he was the only one without a direct link to his Queen.

    "That''s the problem, we can''t," came the reply as the two brothers squared off. "You will understand. I just don''t know what is taking you so long."

    "Why is she scared?" asked Wang Chao as he looked at his second inmand,pletely changing the subject. It was pointless to harp on something that had toe from him. If he was not willing to im their woman, then he could continue to sit on the sideline.

    "You don''t know?" asked Liu Wei partly sarcastic and partly surprised.

    "I can hear whispers, but nothing definite."

    "Then I can''t tell you," said Liu Wei, a feeling of happiness blowing through him. Now he shared something with her that was just for the two of them. "She will tell you when she wants you to know."

    Liu Wei and Wang Chao just stared at each other for a few minutes, neither one willing to take a step back. "Fine," said Wang Chao, willing to concede. "Then we will have to figure out what needs to happen in the next two days, who we are taking and who we are leaving. Let''s make this a bit easier on her, shall we?"

    The four men grunted in agreement before they stood up and got to work.

    ns needed to be made and people and supplies needed to be divided. But no matter how much they trusted their men when it came to obeying orders and their loyalty to the unit, it was a different story when it came to Li Dai Lu and the sanctuary that she had built.

    This was her home, just like the ranch. And they would kill whoever they needed to to make sure that she coulde back here and have it be the same. The rules would be reinforced and Step One taken into ount on all matters.

    There was a gentle knock on the door as the men were starting on their own tasks. Opening the door, Liu Wei looked at the man standing before him. "Is there something I can help you with?"

    "I want to go with you," came the gruff reply.

    "Why? Your unit is here," pointed out Liu Wei.

    "I heard the rumors," said the other man, not willing to meet Liu Wei''s gaze. "I need to go to City Y."

    "Again, I ask why?"

    "I am hoping that my brother and his family are there. If they are, I want to bring them back with me."

    "And if they aren''t? Are you willing to sacrifice yourself for the possibility of them being there?"

    "Then at least I know I tried."

    "Fine, you cane. I''ll let Li Dai Lu know."

    "Thank you," breathed the other man as if Liu Wei had just offered him the world on a silver tter.

    "You are a good man, Feng Dong Yang. Don''t make me regret it."

 Chapter 183 Places To Be, Things To Kill

    ?

    Two days passed in the blink of an eye. I had gathered the supplies for the 105 of us that were leaving the base, leaving the rest for the others. I would not take more than what was allocated for each individual because I knew that when the war came, they would need whatever they had on hand.

    But as much as I was willing to leave half of the sr panels and batteries, I would not leave them all. Despite the reassurance from the men that we would be back here in under two weeks, I just couldn''t bring myself to believe that. Something was telling me that I would not being back here, and I was going to bring what I wanted with me.

    That meant that the entire penthouse waspletely emptied by the time we stepped out of the door and locked it behind us.

    The kitchen appliances, pantry, chairs, couches, the mattresses, everything. If it was in the penthouse, it was now sitting in my space waiting for the next ce that we would call home. Was I doing okay? That would be a fuck no.

    I was barely holding on by a thread, and it was showing. But I would do it. I would follow my men anywhere and let''s face it, I could probably use an adventure of some kind or other. But there went my grand n to farm thend and eat unlimited sweets.

    But I was nothing if not good at surviving. So, I would kill the zombies, absorb their mes, find the women that were destined for my men and kill them, and maybe, just maybe, get around to restocking the cake inventory in my space.

    I mean, I was considering our next home to have a moat filled with alligators swimming around and aser beam that would cut any intruders in half. Or even an underground house where you couldn''t find the entrance. Heck, if there was a volcano around here, I might consider building our next house there. Somewhere that screamed ''Don''t Enter''. Maybe then people will stop asking my guys for help.

    And maybe then, they will finally stop answering their calls.

    But I guess they are the heroes of this world so that might not be possible.

    The guys were givingst-minute orders to the men that were going to remain here, but I wasn''t really paying attention. Still contemting the different aspects needed in my nextir¡­ I mean, house, I didn''t notice the new guying up to me.

    He cleared his throat and looked everywhere other than at me. "Yes, FNG?" I asked, not really caring if he liked my nickname for him or not. "What do you want?"

    "FNG?" he asked in confusion, finally looking down at me.

    "Fucking New Guy," I rified for him. Because let''s be honest, he was the outsider among us even if we were all traveling to his base.

    "Ok¡­" he said with a slow nod of his head. Well, I guess I should give him points for not arguing with me. "But you know, with 100 people, it is going to take at least two days to get there. And that is if we don''t run into any zombie stragglers."

    "First, there won''t be any stragglers, if you see only one zombie, that is because they are the scout. Second, it will take us maybe three hours, depending on traffic. Anything else?" I asked as I saw Wang Chao and Liu Yu Zeng start to wind up.

    "There is no way it would take us only three hours," muttered the New Guy under his breath.

    "Sure, let''s go with that," I said as I started through the fire doors that would lead us to all the SUVs, ATVs, and RVs that I had on hand. Because let''s face it, there was no way that I was leaving those here for them. I left them a fucking base that was up and running! They weren''t getting my vehicles.

    FNG followed closely behind me, muttering under his breath the whole time. Maybe I would bother to learn his name if hested long enough. But right now, I was considering him a redshirt and until he proved himself, he was FNG.

    By the time I had reached the bottom step, Wang Chao and the rest of the guys had caught up and the other 100 men were already waiting for us by the vehicles. Not looking at anyone, or even saying a word, I opened the door to my RV and went inside. When I realized that my driver was not there, I stormed back out and red at the men. "Where is Liu Hong Tao?" I asked.

    "He will be staying here," replied Liu Wei as he came up in front of me.

    "Okay¡­" I replied. It''s not like I was really upset over him noting, but who was going to be driving my RV?<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Feng Dong Yang will be your driver this time," continued Liu Wei looking at me to see how upset I would be over the change.

    "Perfect," I replied, "Can we get going?"

    "Are you that eager to leave?" asked Chen Zi Han as he made his way into my RV.

    "More like ripping off a band-aid. If I stay here much longer I don''t know if I have it in me to leave," I admitted before following him into my home on the road. Liu Wei grab my wrist before I could get too far in and pulled me back. "You okay?" I asked, my forehead scrunching in confusion.

    "We don''t have to do this," said Liu Wei as he looked deep into my eyes. "We can leave them to their own devices like we originally nned. Rule number one and all that." I took a breath and closed my eyes.

    He pulled me in closer and wrapped his arms around me. "You are the only important thing in this world," he whispered in my ear. "We move ording to your wishes."

    I looked up at him and smiled. This man had been on my side since day one. Even when Wang Chao was running hot and cold, he was beside me. And that meant more to me than any amount of supplies.

    I will never admit that to any of them, even under torture that they are more important than supplies, but they were.

    "I''ll be fine," I said as I reached up to caress his cheek. "Might as well have some fun killing zombies. We''ll consider it to be intensive training or something."

    "We will bring you back here, or to the ranch. Wherever you want to go, that is where we will go," he promised me, staring into my eyes so I could read just how serious he was.

    "I know," I said going on to the tips of my toes to give him a gentle kiss. "But for right now, let''s get this show on the road. I have ces to be and things to kill." He chuckled in response and leaned down for a brief kiss to my forehead before backing out of the RV and into the light blue SUV that would be the lead car in this convoy.

    I turned around and went over to the couch where Chen Zi Han was sitting. Grabbing a bag of caramel corn that I had put in the overheadpartment, I sat down beside him and started snacking. "Did you pull the short straw? Having to be here beside me?" I asked as he powered up the remote that would lower the television so that we could watch something on our road trip.

    I mean, there was no coffee and doughnuts at Tim''s, but it still counted as a spring road trip.

    I heard Chen Zi Han let out a low chuckle as he lifted up his arm for me to curl up under. "The others know I would fight them to be able to be next to you at all times, and for the most part, they havee to ept it," he said as he pulled up one of the movies that we had downloaded before the EMP. Luckily for us, it was still able to work since the tv was in my space at the time.

    "Still, I would feel bad if you were stuck here," I said as I grabbed a handful of popcorn. It was a load of bull because there was no way I would feel bad about having him next to me.

    "Sure," he said, copying my saying. "Let''s go with that." I looked up at him as a big smile crossed my face. "Now, are you good with this or are you in the mood for something else?"

    Seeing that it was the sci-fi movie where the crazy catdy saves the world, I was more than in. He started the movie just as Feng Dong Yang walked into the RV and gave us a half-hearted salute.

    "Hello, my name is Feng Dong Yang and I will be your driver on this trip. Remember if you like the service, please give me a 5-star review at the end of it. I will do my best to get you to your destination in a timely manner, but should you get eaten by a zombie, please don''t mention that in your review. I need this for my livelihood." There was a giant smile on his face as he joked with us.

    "If you want 5 stars, less talking, more driving," I said, sticking my tongue out at him. It was time to get the show on the road.

 Chapter 184 I Am My Mothers Savage Daughter

    ?

    We had been driving for only 30 minutes before the first shitstorm hit.

    We had just gotten to the part where the crazy catdy managed to decode the signal and discovered that the alien signal was not an S.O.S. but a warning. But did anyone listen to her? No! I was grumbling to Chen Zi Han how much shorter the movie would have been if they just listened to the woman when the RV came to a screeching stop causing me to almost fall off of the couch.

    Good thing Chen Zi Han was really good at catching me or I would have been sent flying.

    "Sorry about that," said Feng Dong Yang as he looked out the window at the RV in front of us.

    "No worries," I said, patting Chen Zi Han''s arm to let me go. Getting out of the RV I walked to the front of the convoy to see what had caused us to stop suddenly. I mean, these vehicles should be able to mow down a horde or two, let alone a human, so there was really no reason toe to such a sudden stop.

    "What''s going on?" I asked FNG where he stood just behind the first SUV. I looked around and saw the three guys standing in a straight line with a few of their men on either side, guns raised. FNG looked down at me and said nothing. "Okay then, good talk," I said rolling my eyes and walking towards my men. I would deal with FNGter. No point wasting my time and my breath.

    Walking up between Wang Chao and Liu Yu Zeng, I looked out in front of us. There was a sight that I had honestly not expected at this point in time, but I guessed that I should have.

    To say that it could have been a scene out of a Mad Max movie would not have been an understatement. The vehicles in front of us, 20 in total, werepletely redesigned into something that didn''t even look possible. Some had the driver''s seat 6 to 8 feet in the air with nothing but a stringdder to let the driver get up and down.

    Others had what looked like a wolf''s head mounted to the front with spikes littered over the body and around the wheels. Seeing the blue, purple, and red blood decorating the outside, I could only assume that they had worked as they were intended.

    But more than the vehicles, it was the humans that gave me pause.

    I could deal with the leather pants and spiked jewelry that everyone was sporting, but it was the clumps of flesh hanging down from their face, the crazed look in their eyes, and purple flesh sticking out of their teeth that caused me to want to puke.

    Nice to know the Reavers were that fucked up even this early in the apocalypse. I thought what I had experienced 4 years from now would have been the birth of them, but who was I kidding?

    "What do we do?" asked Wang Chao, his arms crossed against his chest as he watched the line of Reavers about 15 feet in front of him. They hadn''t moved an inch since I had gotten there so I could only assume that they were waiting for the leader to show up. They might be the craziest fucks I had ever seen, but they always obeyed the head.

    "That''s a good question," I said as I watched the men in front of me. One had a huge chunk of flesh hanging from his jaw, his teeth and mandible visible even with his mouth closed. I wondered how they could still be alive with a lot of those injuries, most self-inflected, but then again, we had zombie sharks wandering around farming humans like cattle. There were just some things that you had to shrug your shoulders about and move on.

    "Have you ever seen anything like this?" asked Liu Wei, never taking his eyes off the threat in front of him.

    "Mmm," I hummed as I leaned back against Chen Zi Han. "Lived with them for almost a year," I continued, ignoring the men stiffening around me. While they were notid back before, the tension was even thicker now after what I had said.

    "Must have been fun," said Liu Yu Zeng, his eyes narrowing on a Reaver licking blood off of the machete in his hand. The fact that the blood was blue didn''t even cause him to pause.

    It takes all types to make the world go around, and all that bullshit.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Do we kill them?" asked Chen Zi Han, his chest vibrating behind me. I hummed. "We will, but now is not the time," I said as my eyes scanned the growing number of Reavers and vehicles in front of us. There were several with zombies tied to the front hood, their heads and teeth trying to rip apart anyone that go too close.

    I raised an eyebrow at the sight. "Huh," I grunted. When the men around me looked at me in question, I shrugged my shoulders. "The zombie makes a good car rm. No one is getting near that thing with their limbs attached."

    Wang Chao simply shrugged his shoulders before turning his attention back to the spectacle in front of us. "If we are going to kill them, it would be better to do it sooner thanter. Their numbers are just growing the longer we wait."

    "See, normally I would agree with you. But not in this case. Reavers are a lot like grass. You can pull them up, but if you don''t get it all, or you leave some roots behind, they will hunt you down and kill you."

    "You do know that grass doesn''t actually hunt you down and kill you right?" asked Liu Yu Zeng, giving me a wired look.

    "Sure it doesn''t," I said with a smirk. No, the grass didn''t mutate, but that doesn''t mean that I couldn''t fuck with my men.

    "Bitch," he said half-heartedly as he caught on to my joke.

    "But seriously, we need to wait until they are all here. If you leave any member of their tribe alive or allow them to get away, they will never leave you alone until you are dead. I don''t even know how they find their targets or are even able to track people across the country, but it''s not pretty once they get a hold of them."

    This time it was Chen Zi Han that snorted in disbelief. "I can''t see anything that they do as being pretty." He was about to open his mouth to say something else when the Reavers parted like the red sea and a man walked to the front.

    This man, if you could even call him a man, looked like death incarnate. He was almost 7 feet tall with a barrel chest and the skull of a giant wolf over his head,pletely blocking out his facial features. He walked forward, his bare feet leaving tracks in the mud as he made his way toward us.

    His eyes, if he had any, were trained on me and I could see his hands clenching and unclenching around the two battle axes, one in each hand. There was red blood running down his neck and onto his bare chest, his only clothing nothing more than a strip of cloth covering the part of him that I never wanted to see without it.

    He came to a stop 5 feet in front of us, towering over even the guys at this close of a distance. Honestly, I think I might have reached his belly button, and that made me shudder in disgust. No one spoke, each party waited for the other side to break the silence first.

    A second Reaver came up behind the leader, kneeling behind the man and looking down at the road beneath him. "The Head has determined that you will leave your supplies, vehicles, and women behind and he will let half of you go," came the clear voice from the Reaver that was little more than a skeleton with ripped leather pants on.

    "No," said Wang Chao, his arms still crossed, not intimidated in the least. I had to give it to the man. At least have of the men behind us had taken a gulp as soon as the offer wasid out on the table. If they weren''t more disciplined, I would think that they might have peed themselves. But in their defense, no one could be prepared for the Reavers.

    "Then you all die and we keep what we want," replied the kneeling skeleton not looking up once. The Head of this tribe never wavered his non-existent gaze. He never bothered to look at the men, just continued to stare at me.

    I smiled as I pushed my men to the side and stepped in front of the giant.

    "My mother''s daughter is a savage," I sang as I came to a stop. "But you know that, don''t you?"

 Chapter 185 Helping Them Resist Temptation

    The face below the jaw of the wolf broke out into a smile at my words. "I can make you a queen," came the deep voice that seemed to cause the very Earth to vibrate.

    I smiled in response to his words. "I already am. And you have threatened my men."

    "With me, you wouldn''t need four," came his reply and I could see my men stiffen in pure rage at his words. I only burst outughing.

    "Sorry, you''re not my type," I said, never taking my eyes off his jawline. "But now it is my turn for an ultimatum. Turn around and leave, or me and mine will make sure that none of yours will walk away from this." I could feel the worry along the links between me and my men, but the fact that they remained unchanging on the outside meant a lot. They trusted me to take care of this, and so I would.

    ''Wang Chao, turn them against each other. Liu Yu Zeng, send your mist and kill them all,'' I said through my bonds. ''They all need to die, but we cannot let a single fish escape our.''

    "You are your mother''s savage daughter," the giant said in what I was sure was supposed to be a whisper but came out sounding like the slicing of a de through the air.

    "I will not cut my hair, I will not lower my voice," I replied, continuing the song.

    "And you will not be my queen?" asked the beast in front of me.

    "No," I said simply.

    "Why?" he demanded, his temper starting to show.

    "My mother''s child dances in darkness," I sang as I started to sway back and forth. This was one of those songs that seemed to speak to every part of my being. But in this case, it was right. I would dance in darkness if it meant protecting my men.

    I could hear the quiet thudding of bodies hitting the ground, and if I could hear it, the giant definitely could. Trying to keep his attention focused solely on me, I called upon my purple me and held my hands palm up at my sides. I let the mes travel up my arms until they embraced my whole body.

    I was dressed simply in jeans and a sweater for this trip, but I was still rocking the look of a purple candle.

    The giant swung his attention back to me as his bottomless eyes tracked the path of the mes, his entire being focused on me. He was vibrating as he dropped one of his battle axes to the ground and reached forward to try and touch the fire that protected me. The tips of his fingers brushed against the fire and he jerked back in a hiss, not expecting the pain.

    Dropping the second axe, he held both hands out to try and touch me, his entire being focused on me like a moth to the me.

    He tried to grab my arm with his other hand but came across the same problem as before. Jerking back his hand, he raised it to his lips and licked at the burn blisters that had appeared on his palm. He cocked his head and looked at me as I pulled back the mes just a tiny amount.

    Thinking that this was his chance, he grabbed my upper arms and gripped me so tight I was surprised that my arms didn''t shatter under the pressure. Bent almost in two, the wolf skull came down to my face, the ck holes where the eyes should have been seemed to be a ck sea of nothing.

    "My queen," he growled, his voice so low that the words almost couldn''t be made out. But I could hear them, and so could my men.

    "Their queen," I smiled in response. "Your death." As soon as I had said thest word, I bathed the two of us in the purple me, the flesh of his hands melting into my skin, stopping him from being able to pull away from me.

    He fell down to his knees as he tilted his head back, roaring in pain.

    My ear rang, but I continued to feed my power into my me until his hands turned to ashes where they rested on my arms. The ashes continued up his wrists to his forearms and continued until his whole body simply turned ck and blew away in the wind, never to be seen again.

    "Are the rest dead?" I asked as I dusted off the ck marks on my upper arms. I looked up at my men when it took them a few minutes to respond.

    "They are dead," confirmed Liu Wei as he took a step toward me. He wet a piece of cloth with his powers and started to wash my arms, doing a better job cleaning me than I was.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Sounds good. I''ll burn everything and then we can take off. This took longer than it should have and now FNG will be able to tell me that he told me so," I grumbled as I took the hand that Liu Wei was not tending to and shot out a purple me to burn the bodies of the rest of the Reavers.

    I didn''t want to leave any evidence of what happened. I had no idea if we got them all or what, but I was not going to take any chances. The cars that they were driving exploded as my me set their tanks on fire, the sound of explosions echoing in the air.

    "We should go," I said turning around in a hurry. How could I have forgotten that the zombies would be attracted to the vibrations of the exploding vehicles? The blue shark was called the requiem shark for a reason.

    A mass for the dead.

    And there was a lot of dead here.

    And a lot of living if we didn''t get a move on soon. I knew that the zombies wouldn''t touch the Reavers, no fear made them taste terrible, but that didn''t mean that we weren''t on the menu. And there was a whole tide of theming soon.

    I picked up my pace and practically ran to my RV. ''We need to leave now,'' I called out to Wang Chao, knowing that he would be able to see my concerns. I didn''t even get a chance to sit down before my RV shot forward and picked up speed. Chen Zi Han held onto the roof as he smiled at me. "Ready to resume the movie?" he asked me.

    I raised my eyebrow. "Is that really what you want to say? You have no questions? Noments? Nothing?"

    Chen Zi Han raised his eyebrows and stuck out his bottom lip. "Nope. You will tell us when you are ready. Until then, we have a movie to watch."

    And that, my dears, are why my men are the best.

    I patted the couch beside me and as soon as he sat down, I curled up in his arms. "I would shower, but I don''t think that this is it for today," I said as I snuggled down and pulled out a nket from my space.

    "It''s fine," he reassured me wrapping his arms around me and turned on the movie. "Just noments on how the crazy catdy was right."

    ----

    In this case, I was wrong. The rest of the trip went smoother than nned and we managed to make it to the City Y Sanctuary Base in a little over 2 and a half hours. Take that FNG. I was right.

    But the wee that was waiting for us was not what I expected in the least.

    ---

    "Is someone going to tell me why we are sitting on this side of the gate when they were the ones that came to us for help?" I asked my men as I got out of the RV that I had been sitting in for an hour. I mean, Chen Zi Han tried to distract me with more movies, but there was only so much I could take before I got cranky.

    We were there because they asked us toe. For them to keep us waiting like this was pure bullshit.

    "We are waiting for the Major General to show up and allow us in. They also have a problem with all of the vehicles we have. I wouldn''t be surprised if they were trying to figure out a way to take them from us," grumbled Liu Wei from where he stood beside Wang Chao. The two men were leaning against the hood of the lead SUV their legs crossed at the ankles and their arms crossed against their chest. Dress in a ck tight sweater and ck cargo pants, they looked good enough to eat.

    "Well, let''s help the resist temptation," I said looking at my men. "Is everyone out?"

    After double-checking that all 100 men were ounted for, I ced all the SUVs, RVs, and ATVs back into my space and stood next to my men, waiting for whatever was going to happen to happen.

 Chapter 186 You Are Mine

    ?

    "Sorry for making you wait out here for so long," came the cheerful voice of as a man walked out of the gates of the City Y Sanctuary Base. "You know what a pain red tape is and everything."

    I raised an eyebrow. I understood red tape before the apocalypse, but there was no way they could expect us to believe that excuse now, right? The guy was making a power y and that was it. I sat on the hood of the light blue SUV, the only vehicle left after I put all the others in my space. What can I say? I wasn''t going to stand until whoever ran this base was willing to grace us with his presence.

    Wang Chao and Liu Wei were leaning on either side of me and Liu Yu Zeng and Chen Zi Han were talking to each other off to the side, but not one of us moved as the man approached. He couldn''t have been more than 40 years old, but I was horrible about judging someone''s age.

    I could see his eyes begin to widen as he saw who he had left waiting for him to appear. "General?" he stuttered, looking back and forth between him and Liu Wei. I guess it paid to travel around with a living legend.

    Wang Chao grunted and looked at the man before him. "Colonel," he said his voice cold. I don''t think he was all that happy to be left out here either. After all, we could have been swarmed by a horde if we had arrived a few dayster. "I thought the Commanding Officer was a Major General," he continued, his gaze searching for, and finding, FNG. I guess the poor messenger was not ranked high enough to enter the gates and was forced to wait with us.

    "I''m sorry, Sir," said the maning to attention and saluting Wang Chao. It seemed a bitte, but what did I know? "The Major General is in a meeting with other basemanders about the hordeing."

    Wang Chao raised an eyebrow and simply looked at the man. "If that is the case, I guess you don''t need us anymore. We''ll just return home. Best of luck in the future," said Wang Chao as he uncrossed his arms and legs and stood up, offering me a hand to get down.

    "Wait! Are you part of a base? I mean, we have a representative of the City J Naval Base here, I would think that you would be with them. Did you start your own?"

    I snorted in disbelief when I heard that the Rear Admiral had sent some people to this ce. I had no idea what he was thinking. Truth be told, I am a little disappointed that they managed to survive as long as they had. Maybe we had left a little too nicely.

    "Unfortunately there are some irreconcble differences between us and the Rear Admiral, if he is here, we will leave you to your own devices," said Wang Chao, his voice so cold I was expecting frost toe out of his mouth.

    "No! Please! I am sorry about what happened. Pleasee in. You and your men are more than wee. If you want, you can leave the female with the rest of the ones on base. She should be fine until we have solved the matter of the horde." The man in front of us seemed to be digging his hole faster and faster, not giving himself a chance to stop and take a breath.

    "She will be staying with me," said Wang Chao as he pulled me closer to his body. Rolling my eyes, I kept my mouth shut. I had no idea the dynamics of this base, and while I normally didn''t mind going in like a wreaking ball, I would trust my men.

    ''You need to go where the other women are. She is waiting for you,'' came the gentle voice from inside my head. I paused as I thought about what I should do. Clearly, the person that I needed to kill was in with the other women, but was I willing to leave the boys vulnerable here in hostile territory?

    Ignoring the voice, I stayed silent and followed Wang Chao and the rest into the base.

    While I didn''t agree with letting your enemy gain strength simply because it would be ''more fun to knock them down from the top,'' I was not going to ignore the threat that anyone from the Navy Base posed to us either.

    The Colonel led us up a few flights of stairs and down a long hallway. There were torches lighting the way, the flickering me creating shadows on the walls around us. "You guys don''t have electricity?" asked Liu Yu Zeng in confusion. He walked behind everyone, his hands in his pockets lookingpletely innocent.

    The man we were following scoffed at his statement like he said the dumbest thing he had ever heard. "No one has power," he said as if he was talking to a toddler. "The EMP made sure of that."

    "Don''t we have power?" asked Liu Yu Zeng as he turned to Chen Zi Han. The other man simply grunted and nodded his head, but didn''t say a word.

    The Colonel scoffed at that, "There is no way possible that you would have power."<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Sure, let''s go with that," said Liu Wei as he winked at me. I guess I have been saying that a lot if all of the guys were now using it. I rolled my eyes and let them have their fun. However, a movement in the shadows caused me to freeze for a second, my body pulled along by Wang Chao until he realized that something was wrong.

    ''She is here,'' whispered the voice, practically purring. ''And she is perfect!''

    I¡­ stopped. Refusing to move, I stared off into the shadows where I knew the woman once was but had long disappeared. ''Perfect?'' I asked, my tone void of emotion.

    ''Yes, perfect for your shadow,'' came the voice, in its joy, it didn''t realize what it was revealing.

    ''My shadow?'' I asked. I could feel myself start to turn cold at the idea that the perfect match for my shadow was just feet away from us. I could practically feel my blood turn to ice as I thought about Chen Zi Han leaving me, following some other woman. Protecting her, cherishing her.

    I exhaled, not noticing the cloud of condensationing out of my breath as if I was outside in the middle of a cold, winter day. In my head, all I could see was Chen Zi Han towering over a woman that, while taller than me, only reached his shoulder. Her back was straight, her hair falling around her like silk, his hand wrapping around the strands and bringing them to his lips.

    She was beautiful, the way she carried herself spoke about her confidence in herself and her skills, her eyes gleamed with the knowledge that this was her world to do with as she pleased. She was the heroine, and her hero was standing behind her like a king guarding his queen.

    I could see the challenge in her eyes, in her very stance as if she stood before me. She smiled at me, like she knew who I was, like I was nothing more than a minor inconvenience to her. I saw her face and studied it until it became engraved in my very flesh. I would be more than a minor inconvenience, I would hunt her down and¡­.

    "Li Dai Lu!" shouted someone right in my face, forcing me from my thoughts. I turned to the intruder, the one that was standing between me and my prey. Standing between me and my men. "Li Dai Lu," the person said again as they pulled me into their arms.

    I closed my eyes, preparing to break out of the hold and hunt down the woman that wanted what was mine. But as I took a breath, I breathed in the smell of Earth, of nts, of warmth. Chen Zi Han.

    He was here, with me, holding me. He wasn''t behind some nameless woman, some OP heroine that would save humanity. He was beside me.

    "Princess," he whispered into my ear when he realized that I hade back to him. "My Princess," he breathed again, pulling me in close.

    "Am I?" I asked, my teeth chattering for some reason I couldn''t ce.

    "What?" he asked, scrunching his eyebrows as he looked down at me in confusion.

    "Am I yours?" I asked, looking up into the eyes of the man that held a huge part of my heart in his hands.

    "Always and forever," he vowed as he leaned down to ce a gentle kiss on my lips. The words rang through my head, seemingly so familiar and yet foreign at the same time. His vice blended in with a deeper, hoarser voice. ''Let them all die. You are mine,'' growled the male voice in my head. The words wrapped me in warmth and I sunk into the embrace of my man.

    "Yours," I agreed. "And you are mine."

 Chapter 187 Your Air Conditioner Is Broken

    ?

    "Does someone want to tell me what is going on?" demanded the Colonel as he looked between me and the rest of the guys. Ice hung down from the ceiling and there was snow drifts packed into the corners of the hallways while ice crystals formed along both sides of the walls. I guess my ice power was more effective when I wasn''t controlling it, because I knew that there was no way in Hell I was strong enough to cause this type of damage intentionally.

    "Your air conditioner is broken," said Liu Yu Zeng as if the Colonel was a little slow on the uptake. "What else could it be?"

    The Colonel reached for the gun at his waist as he looked at the five of us like we were monsters out of his nightmares. I mean, we probably were, but that was neither here nor there. I was not admitting Jack and I knew the boyos wouldn''t tell either.

    "Bullshit," growled the Colonel. "Something isn''t right. One of you probably has powers. That must be how you were able to make all of those RVs disappear." He turned his attention to Wang Chao. "This must be you," he used.

    "Sure, let''s go with that," said Wang Chao with a deadpan expression on his face. It took everything in me not to burst outughing. "Now, are we meeting the Major General or are we going home?"

    The Colonel sneered at Wang Chao. Gone was the reverence he once held for the General. I was going to guess it was because he didn''t develop any powers and now hated the power users. I wonder if he would have joined a roving gang or the Reavers in his past life if he even managed to survive the tide that was. "You will be useful on the wall, I''ll bring you to the Major General."

    This time it was Wang Chao''s turn to roll his eyes. I think I was bing a bad influence on the guys. "So d I will be of use," he said as his eyes turned dark. Whatever was going on in the Colonel''s head, Wang Chao was not impressed.

    Taking a step forward, Wang Chao walked past the Colonel, forcing the other man to y catchup. Liu Wei and Liu Yu Zeng followed after, leaving only me and Chen Zi Han standing still.

    "Are you sure you are okay?" he asked looking into my eyes. Given the amount of ice around me, I could understand his worry. No one liked to be around an unpredictable power user. It was kind of like walking through a field full ofndmines. You didn''t know what step would be yourst.

    "No," I said honestly because the man deserved my honesty. "I am about as far from okay as I can be."

    "Should we just burn this ce to the ground and walk away?" asked Chen Zi Han. He waspletely serious and that made me love him that much more.

    "I''m contemting it," I said with a slight smirk. "But what would you do if you found the one woman that was perfect for you? Your soulmate, if you believe in them."

    "I have found her," he said with a shrug and I froze. Did he also see the movement in the shadow? Did he know that she was his? "She is in my arms right now."

    "I''m not talking about me," I said as I ced my hand over his heart. "I am talking about another woman, one that came here just for you."

    He scoffed at that very idea. "I have no idea what you are talking about, but I can tell you that even if there is another woman that was meant for me, I don''t want her. All I want, all I need is you and my brothers. That is it." He gazed into my eyes, searching for something.

    "We will talk about thister," he said as he led me toward where the others were waiting. "But make no mistake, Princess, we will be talking about this."

    I nodded my head. Maybe I would feel better if I told the guys about the heroines. But then again¡­ it might just be easier to kill them all first, then when they have no choice, they would have to stay with me.

    Could I do that to them? Kill the one that was meant just for them to keep them to myself? In way too many novels the second male lead always said ''I love her enough to want her to be happy''. Maybe I was the second female lead in four separate novels, but I couldn''t picture myself saying something like that. The words stuck in my throat and I couldn''t get them out.

    No, I licked them, they were mine. I would not be sharing them with someone else. Fuck being selfless. I would tell them what was going on, I would tell them about their soulmates and then I would go out hunting and kill them all.

    ''You are crazy'', came the cold voice. ''You know that right?''

    ''I am talking to voices in my head, so yes, I think I have officially reached the realm of crazy,'' I said as I reached the other men. I felt their gazes over me, making sure that I was safe and unharmed.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    ''You would destroy them if you killed the one that was meant for them. How could they forgive you? You won''t share them, why are you forcing them to share you?''

    ''Because I am the viin,'' I said,pletely epting my role. I was done being nice, sharing was not caring, and being nice to your enemy was being hard on yourself. I promised myself that I would live this life free, doing what I wanted, when I wanted, and I would not bend.

    They were mine, I was theirs. That was the beginning, the middle, and the end.

    I stepped into the conference room with my head held high. Even if I wasn''t strong enough at this moment to fight for my guys, I would do whatever I had to to be strong enough.

    I''ve no more fucks to give, so bring it on, let''s see just how much I could handle before I fell and shattered to pieces.

    ----

    Wang Chao was not in the mood to deal with the crap in front of him. The Colonel, whatever his name was, lead them to a set of empty chairs and the gazes that followed him made his skin crawl. His little girl was upset enough that she froze everything around her within a mile radius. Probably would have been more if they weren''t limited to the hallway.

    The ice had even started to encase her in a crystal prison, her lips turned blue and each exhale turned into condensation as soon as it left her mouth.

    This ce had set her off since the first time she mentioned it. He didn''t know why she wanted to be here, but since she felt like she needed to be, he would support her. But he refused to continue until he figured out what was going on. And if he didn''t like her answer he would throw her over his shoulder and leave this ce to their own devices.

    He told her that he would be her shield and her sword, and now he was going to prove it.

    "General, how nice of you to join us. I thought that you would have been part of the Navy Base of City J delegation, but I guess you aren''t there?" asked a young man, probably around his own age. From his uniform ranking, Wang Chao understood that this was the Major General that had asked for help.

    "No," replied Wang Chao, his face impassive. Liu Wei and Liu Yu Zeng went to sit down on either side of him at the table while Chen Zi Han and Li Dai Lu stood behind them. He was not happy that Li Dai Lu was not sittingfortably, but he understood. Chen Zi Han would not let go of her until he was certain she was over whatever happened in the hallway.

    "Then where did the messenger find you?" continued the Major General.

    "At my base," replied Wang Chao as if the answer waspletely obvious. And it was.

    "Well, we''ll have to catch up more after the meeting. I heard that you have arge number of working vehicles, that wille in handy if we have to evacuate the base."

    "Funny," said Wang Chao as he leaned back. "I don''t remember volunteering them."

    "Well, how else are we going to save the civilians?" asked the Major General as he tilted his head looking at the hero that outranked him.

    "Who said we are here to save the civilians? We are just here to kill zombies. If they get to the people before we can kill them, well, that''s not our fault, now is it?"

    There was stunned silence in the room as Wang Chao''s words echoed in everyone''s mind. "Have you ever fought against a horde?" asked the Major General, a look of disgust passing over his face.

    "I have," said Wang Chao, reassuring the whole room. "But we aren''t facing a horde, we are facing a tide. It would be interesting in seeing the difference between the two firsthand."

 Chapter 188 Now I Dont Have To Feel Bad...

    ?

    The room turned silent for a moment at Wang Chao''s words before everyone burst outughing. Wang Chao raised an eyebrow and looked at me. Rolling my eyes, I nodded my head at his unasked question. Yes, this is the way it always went right up until they were being ripped apart by the very zombies they didn''t believe existed.

    "I find it that hard to believe that there are enough zombies to form a horde any bigger than a hundred bodies at most," said one of the guys sitting across the table from us. He eyed the five of us before turning his head away like we were unimportant.

    "I didn''t say that it was a single horde," said Wang Chao as he looked down at his nails. "It is multiple hordes, all together, in a number big enough to wipe out this base in a matter of hours. But what do I know?"

    "Not possible," argued the leader of the group beside us. "The zombies aren''t capable of the intelligence needed to do something like that."

    "Really? Then you havee across the zombies before?" asked Liu Yu Zeng as he turned his head to look at the man speaking.

    "Well, no, but we all know that they are just mindless creatures that are looking for a meal," said the man as the top of his ears started to turn a light pink color.

    "Ah," said Liu Yu Zeng nodding his head in understanding. "If that is the case then they don''t need us. Let''s get back home, if we hurry we can get back before Li Dai Lu eats thest peach crisp," he continued looking at me with a wink.

    Wang Chao didn''t say anything but simply stood up. Liu Wei and Liu Yu Zeng followed, scraping their chairs back on the floor. "Now, now, don''t be so hasty," said the guy at the head of the table. "It is true that there are zombiesing, and it is also true that our scouts can''t determine their numbers. Besides, as some of thest humans, it is our responsibility to fight whenever possible to rid the world of this infection."

    Liu Yu Zeng let out a slow p. "Rousing speech," he said, continuing his apuse. "But it means nothing if you don''t even know how to fight the zombies in the first ce."

    "I am pretty sure that everyone here knows that you just slice off their heads," said the man beside us.

    "Ah, ignorance is such bliss. I miss that. I really do," said Liu Yu Zeng as he came to stand beside me and Chen Zi Han. "But at least I know why you get so cranky dealing with new people. I think we should make the grump the face of our group. Let him deal with the stupid people," he continued as he looked at me.

    I let myself rx enough to allow a smile to pass through my lips. Leave it up to my guys to try and make things better, even if they don''t understand what was wrong. "False knowledge is more dangerous than ignorance," I said repeating one of those inspirational quotes I had oncee across. The men grunted in agreement before turning to the head of the table.

    "Are you going to listen or are you going to die?" asked Wang Chao like he was asking how the man preferred his coffee.

    "Nice to see that some things haven''t changed," came a woman''s voice from the doorway. "Sorry I amte to the meeting, healing really takes a lot out of me, as I am sure you know."

    I closed my eyes, trying to keep down my temper. Not only was I dealing with Chen Zi Han''s soulmate running around this fucking ce, but now I have to manage to not kill Zhao Jia Li. Life really liked to throw curve balls when you least expected it.

    "I am surprised that they let you out," said Liu Wei as he took off his sses and proceeded to clean them with a handkerchief that he had pulled out of thin air. Once he had determined that his sses were clean enough, he ced them gently on his nose and pushed them into ce.

    "Country K''s Naval Base thought that it was only fitting for them to offer my services so as to ensure victory," said Zhao Jia Li as one of the men beside her pulled out an empty chair and helped her sit down. Pretty sure it was the same guy that carried her out of the gym when she discovered her healing powers. I wondered if he enjoyed ying second fiddle to Wang Chao.

    "Are you only offering your healing services?" asked Liu Yu Zeng with a slight smirk on his face. "I mean, I heard your other¡­ skills¡­ were impressive as well."

    I almost bit my tongue off to keep fromughing at the expression of shock on her face. But I guess being treated like a goddess for so many months meant that no one ever talked back to her in such a manner. "How dare you!" snarled the second male lead as he put his hand on his waist and onto his gun.

    "What? I mean, I had heard that herbat skills were second to none. That was why she was made a Captain and given her own team. Right?" Liu Yu Zeng asked as a look of confusion crossed his face.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Yes," said Liu Wei, his deadpan expression didn''t give anything away, but I knew he was just as good at pressing buttons as his younger brother was. "Combat skills."

    There was an awkward silence as the men looked around. Zhao Jia Li was the only woman sitting down at the table, and I could tell that it made the men ufortable. Now, I wasn''t standing because I cared about thefort level of the cannon fodder. I was standing because I needed to be touching Chen Zi Han right now.

    "Let''s get on with the meeting, now that everyone is here," said the guy at the head of the table. H.O.T? No, that spelled hot, and no matter how close in age he looked to me, he was not that attractive. What other name should I give him? Ass? That worked too,

    ''He is Major General Deng Jun Hie,'' said Wang Cho in my mind.

    ''Major General? Does that mean that he outranks you?'' I honestly had no idea how rankings worked, but with so many flipping military people around, I probably should start paying attention. Maybe I would once they lived long enough for me to care about them.

    ''Hardly,'' said Wang Chao with a decisive snort. ''He is two ranks lower than me.''

    ''So does that mean that you are the highest rank possible?''

    ''No, there is still one more higher than me, a Full General,'' he said with a shrug like that wasn''t pretty impressive at 29.

    ''27. I''ve had the rank for two years now,'' he said with a smirk. Stupid man.

    "I think that it is safe to say that out of all of us, Wang Chao has the most experience fighting the zombies, so I think we should listen to him in this matter," said Zhao Jia Li as she blinked her eyes at Wang Chao.

    I think I just threw up a bit in my mouth.

    "After all, he was the one who introduced us to our powers at the Naval Base. Not to mention, he was the one to teach us how to harness it."

    "I think that there is a difference between teaching you how to use your powers and fighting zombies," sneered the guy across from us.

    Stretching my neck from side to side, I could see my temper rising like the red bar on an old-fashioned thermometer. This was why you never bothered holding a meeting like this. Everyone in here thought that their way was the only smart one, and wouldn''t listen to anything contrary. Really, the only thing that would determine the oue was to throw each one of them off the wall and see who managed toe back in.

    You can''t strategize against a zombie because they know all of our tactics. Especially those hordes that had zombies from the military in them. They knew what we were going to do before we would even do it. And with this many zombiesing, there would be more than a few with military-type tactics. Hell, there would probably even be gamers in the masses that would act like this was a first-person shooter game.

    "How would one of your special forces team try to take out this base?" I asked, not really reading the room or even really remembering that I wasn''t alone with the guys.

    "That is ssified," sneered Zhao Jia Li like I was gum stuck to the bottom of her shoe.

    "Okay," I said, nodding my head. I tried; they refused. Now I didn''t have to feel bad when they all died. T -5 days and all that.

 Chapter 189 Come Out, Come Out, Wherever You Are...

    ?

    Wait¡­ there were still at least five days left until the tide came, and they knew about it for a week and a half now¡­ "What have you guys been doing for the past week and a bit to get ready for the horde?" I asked looking at the guy whose rank was under Wang Chao''s.

    "We have been making ns," the Major General assured me. He gestured around the room as if he was trying to bring my attention to the men and woman sitting around the table.

    "You''ve been having meetings?" I asked, my eyes widened. I mean, I knew that the higher up in rank you went in any organization, the less of a hold on reality you had. And that was a very P.C way of me saying that I had yet toe across an intelligent officer of high rank.

    ''I think I have to take offense to that, little girl,'' growled Wang Chao in my head.

    ''Presentpany excluded, of course. Here, you look thirsty, have a drink,'' I said as I took out a coffee mug full of a steaming cup of coffee from my space. The fact that it said ''I survived another meeting that could have been an email'' was aplete coincidence.

    "So you haven''t sent people out toy down traps or dig pits? How about a trip line? Bear traps? Anything?" I asked, wondering where this guy''s head had been.

    The look he gave me might have scared someone else, but considering I just froze an entire hallway, it didn''t have the desired effect. "I''ll take that as a no," I answered my own question. I swore, if I rolled my eyes any more they would stick in the back of my head.

    "Hear me out, instead of meetings that aren''t going anywhere, maybe you get some people outside to¡­ I don''t know¡­ cut down on the zombie numbers?"

    "Thank you for your advice, I will take that under advisement," said the Major General in a tone that suggested he had said that phrase more than once.

    "No worries," I said with a shrug of my shoulders. "It''s your funeral."

    I tapped Chen Zi Han''s arm and he let me go. I strolled to the door knowing that my men would follow me. This was nothing more than a waste of time, and I had much better things to do. The first thing on my to-do list was to kill a woman I had never met, followed by getting some supplies from the surrounding area.

    City Y Sanctuary Base was located just outside of the downtown core of City Y and I didn''t know how seriously they took gathering supplies. I mean, they didn''t take the zombie threat too seriously so there might still be more than a few things I could grab. Might as well try to make this a productive trip.

    "What''s up first?" asked Liu Yu Zeng as we reached the still-frozen hallway. The ice had started dripping from the ceilings, but there was a definite temperature difference between here and the meeting room. Maybe I should have charged them for the air conditioning services.

    "Going to find Chen Zi Han''s soulmate and kill her," I said with thergest,pletely not unhinged smile on my face. I felt the men behind me stop dead in their tracks as they looked at me. "What?" I asked as if I didn''t have a clue what I just threw out. This was my roundabout (or not so roundabout) way of figuring out the guy''s feelings on the matter.

    "Want to take a moment to expand on that thought, Sweetness?" asked Liu Yu Zeng from where he stood about 5 feet from me.

    "Not particrly, and not because I have already killed your soulmate. I just don''t think it is a conversation for a hallway. Besides, you let the men wander around the base, don''t you want to gather them all back up so we can get going?" I said as I turned back around and opened the fire door to the stairwell. I miss elevators.

    I had almost made it down a full set of stairs before I heard the men behind me. There was silence, and as much as I wanted to look and see how the boys were feeling, I also wanted to give them their privacy. I opened the door to the outside and saw the sun shining bright before me, a beacon of hope in the world.

    I scoffed at that thought. The sun was not necessarily a beacon of hope, but rather a never-ending reminder that the world as a whole kept on spinning, no matter how much your world had shattered.

    I managed a few steps away from the building and was about halfway to the gate when the guys came up to me. "Is this a better ce?" asked Wang Chao as he looked around. I smirked at him. "Sure, why not?"

    "Then, would you mind repeating what you said?" asked Chen Zi Han as he stood so close to me that my nose was practically brushing his chest.

    "The part about your soulmate or the part about me going to kill her?" I asked, tilting my head back to look at him.

    "The first part," he growled menacingly.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Well, the voices in my head have told me that there is a perfect woman waiting for each and every one of you. That you two will go off and save the world and live happily ever after. Doesn''t that just sound perfect?" Yes, I knew that I was sounding a tad bit crazy talking about the voices in my head, but this thing had been eating away at me and I finally snapped.

    "My shadow''s shadow is somewhere around here. I just have to find her."

    Chen Zi Han ced his hand under my chin and forced me to look him in the eyes. "There is no soulmate if she is not you," he said sounding so certain and confident in that statement.

    ''He is not yours, the one he is destined for is here,'' came the hissing voice. Hearing its words, I yanked my chin out of his grasp and frantically looked around.

    "Come out,e out, wherever you are," I sang as I looked around, paying particr attention to the shadows.

    "Sweetness," said Liu Yu Zenging up behind me when I wasn''t paying attention. "There is no one for us that isn''t you," he promised as he drew me into his arms.

    "I know," I said nodding my head. I turned to face him, but he was bing a bit blurry. "That''s because I killed yours," I continued with a smile.

    "Good," he said with a shrug of his shoulders, like killing off the woman he was destined for was not that big of a matter. "Now, do you want help hunting down Chen Zi Han''s?" he asked as the world started spinning.

    I nodded my head, trying to keep upright but my body was weaving back and forth as the world continued to spin faster and faster. "Yes," I hissed, right before the darkness epassed me. Thest thing I felt was the warm arms of one of my men surrounding me.

    ----

    "You cannot do this," said the gentle voice. I was back at the rocks, surrounded by darkness and a red river.

    "Watch me," I snapped, turning around to face where I heard the voiceing from. All I could see in front of me was more darkness.

    "You cannot kill them!" the third voice said, no longer sounding as gentle as it did before. That made me smile.

    "I beg to differ," I responded with a shrug of my shoulders. I turned around and walked towards the red river off in the distance. "They are mine. They are meant to be mine. And let''s face it, I don''t share well anymore."

    "Do you know why you keep being reborn?" asked the cold voice, causing me to stop. I never even thought about that. I assumed it was because I had regrets and things I needed to change. Why else would I constantlye back?

    "People hated you," continued the cold voice. I stepped forward, drawn to the river in front of me. I had the feeling that no matter where I went, that voice would follow. "Well, they didn''t hate you per se, they just hated what they knew about you. The men always left to go defend those that spewed hatred at you, and you had enough."

    "Don''t tell her anything more," came the hissing voice. I closed my eyes as I heard the absolute heartbreak in that hissing voice as if they were talking about it and not me.

    "She needs to know," came the gentle voice. "Maybe that way she will let them go find happiness and she can go back to doing her duty."

    "My duty?" I scoffed at the very thought of what my ''duty'' could possibly be. "What has my ''duty'' ever done for me? I mean, after foster care, I had a ''duty'' to help others in my situation, no matter what I felt like inside. I had a ''duty'' to put others before myself. And then I died. Then I had a ''duty'' to save all those that I could, and they threw me to the zombies. So fuck ''duty'', I don''t give a shit about what my ''duty'' is. I will live my life ording to my own thoughts and feelings and no voices will deter me from that."

    I took in a deep breath.

    "Even if the voices are me."

 Chapter 190 Am I Prey?

    ?

    "Did you really think that I wouldn''t guess?" I asked as I continued to walk toward the red river, something inside of me needing to see it. "The hissing voice every time I got mad. The ice voice when I was overwhelmed and wanted to shut down. The gentle voice¡­ well, I have no idea where that one came from."

    "Because you want to be gentle and kind. You wanted to make the people stop hating you," said the gentle voice.

    "That was then, this is now," I said as I finally reached the rocky banks of the river. I crouched down and stuck my hand in the water. A shadow darted away from my touch. I stared into the water, unable to look away as more and more shadows joined the first one and seemed to be swimming downstream.

    "Beware when fighting monsters that you don''t be a monster yourself, because when you stare long enough into the abyss, the abyss also stares into you," hissed the first voice.

    "Friedrich Nietzsche," I replied as I continued to dip my hand into the water, startling the shadows. "But if we are going that route, here is another one for you, ''he who has a why to live for can bear almost any how''. Those men are my why and so I can bear any how."

    "Even if it makes the world hate you?" asked the cold voice. I thought about it for a moment. I always wanted a man to love me enough to sacrifice the world in order to keep me safe. But now I realize that if I want that type of love, then I need to give that type of love.

    "Bring it on," I said with a smile as the world turned white.

    ---

    "She ising too," I heard Liu Wei say as I opened my eyes. I was startled to see four faces staring down at me. "Hey guys," I said looking between them. "What''s going on?"

    The four of them chuckled and stepped away. That was when I realized that I was being carried in Liu Yu Zeng''s arms. The men were walking towards the front gate, the rest of our men following behind us. "We had ns to hunt for supplies while you were out, but you woke up too soon," admitted Liu Wei as he adjusted the leather gloves on his hands. "However, that can change if you need it to."

    "No," I said shaking my head. I could use a supply run.

    "No one to kill?" asked Chen Zi Han as he looked down at me. I smiled back at him. "Oh, there are lots of people to kill, but I have all the time in the world," I answered as I wrapped my arms around Liu Yu Zeng''s neck. "Might as well grab the supplies while we can. The cannon fodder will show up in time and can be killed off then."

    Iughed as we passed through the gates and I took out all the vehicles that I had on hand. We piled in and set off.

    ---

    "Now, are you going to tell us what is going on?" asked Wang Chao as the four men piled into my RV. I smirked at them. This was one of the first times that all four of them had ever been in here with me.

    "Maybe?" I asked as I pulled out an ice cream cake. It was the best of all worlds. Ice cream and cake¡­ rolled into one! Cutting myself a piece of it, I took out a fork and started to dig in.

    "Princess¡­" said Chen Zi Han as he picked me up and sat me down on hisp. "Just tell us."

    "Well, the voices in my head told me that you weren''t mine and that each one of you had a destined woman," I started as I took a bite of the ice cream. "They suggested that I should let you guys go find them and when you did, you would save the world, rescue humanity from the brink of destruction, and probably issue in a new and prosperous era the likes of which has never been seen before. Oh, and live happily ever after."

    "And if we didn''t find them?" asked Wang Chao from where he was stilling on my couch, his legs crossed.

    "Hell, fire, and the end of the world."<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    The four men looked at each other. "We''ll take option B," said Liu Yu Zenging over and stealing a bite of my ice cream cake.

    You know when you get the answer that you really wanted to hear so it takes a few seconds to process it? Yeah, that was the few seconds that that rat bastard managed to steal my ice cream cake! "I didn''t know I was giving you guys an option," I said crankily as I took out another slice of the cake. I red at all of them as I took a bit of cold, delicious vani and chocte ice cream.

    The four men chuckled and we all let the matter drop.

    ----

    We made our first stop 20 minutes outside of the base. The men spread out inplete silence to gather the supplies that we needed while me and mine stood by my RV and waited for them toe back. This was what I should have had in myst life. Competent minions that could go out and do my bidding so I didn''t have to work myself to the bone gathering enough supplies.

    The men talked amongst themselves as I was staring off into space, debating whether we should save the people at City Y Sanctuary or let them fend for themselves. Honestly, I was more inclined to let them fend for themselves, Rule #1 and all, but I was hesitating solely based on the worry that there might be something useful for me in the future there.

    As my mind went back and forth listing and discarding the pros and cons of both sides, I felt that intensive gaze from long ago. Straightening from where I was leaning against the RV, I searched the area around us, trying to figure out where the feeling of being watched wasing from.

    It seemed to have the same intensity as when we were at the City J Naval Base, but I couldn''t sense any hostility or rage.

    "You know, I always wanted a stalker," I said out loud, still scanning the shadows. We were in a suburban neighborhood going house to house looking for supplies so there were no dark forests to hide in or tall buildings to shelter it.

    At the sound of my voice, the guys stopped their conversation and turned to look at me.

    "I mean, it is kind of¡­ hot¡­ to think that you upy someone''s mind so much that they became obsessed with you. That they refused to leave you alone for even a second." I could feel the stare bing more intense, but I couldn''t for the life of me, know where it wasing from.

    "Yeah, I know, I probably have a lot of psychological issues, especially for admitting that, but hey, you try living three lifetimes and not end up with a few quirks." I looked around trying to see if I could find any animals, but there was none around. It wouldn''t be out of ce in a neighborhood like this to not have any animals, so I couldn''t rule out it being natural and not the result of a zombie nearby.

    "Is that what you are? A stalker? I mean, you would have to be if you followed us from the Navy Base to here. Maybe you were around my Elysian City too, I just never left the base to notice you." The boys walked over to me and formed a circle with me at its core. I could feel the tension leeching out of them as they took over scanning the area.

    "See them? They will never let you get close enough to me to offer any harm. But you don''t mean me any harm, do you? So what is it that you want?" I asked, knowing full well that it would be pointless to try and see around the guys.

    "Am I your prey?" I continued to gloat the unknown being in the darkness. I could still feel its gaze. "Are you going to keep hunting me down over and over again? Until what? What is it that you want?" There was a slight breeze and then the feeling of being watched vanished into thin air.

    "I don''t know if that added anotherplication to my life or made it more interesting," I grumbled as the guys continued to search the area for a threat. "It''s gone," I added as an afterthought. The guys turned around and studied me, trying to figure out what was going on in my head.

    "Want to exin that, Sweetness?" asked Liu Yu Zeng as he came to stand in front of me.

    "I''m training your recement?" I replied with a smirk on my face.

    Apparently, the guys didn''t appreciate my sense of humor.

 Chapter 191 Welcome Home, Brother

    ?

    (This chapter will contain some... heavy petting? Read at your own risk. NSFW)

    "I''m joking," I said as I looked up at Liu Yu Zeng. It would have crushed me if any of the guys had said that to me, especially knowing that they did have someone out there waiting for them. I shouldn''t have said it to them. "And I have no idea. It feels like the same thing that was watching me when we entered City J for the first time, but I can''t figure out for the life of me why it would be here in City Y. Especially given all the time that has passed."

    "Still, I don''t like it," growled Chen Zi Han as he came up behind me, pressing me closer to Liu Yu Zeng. I reached up to put my hands on Liu Yu Zeng''s chest and I could feel his heartbeat vibrating against my palms.

    "You feel that?" Liu Yu Zeng whispered to me as he nibbled on the outer shell of my ear. "That beats for you. But I will not share you, presentpany excluded. So if I find this person who is following you, I will rip them limb from limb and carve out their heat so that we can put it on our mantel at home. Do you understand, Sweetness?" he purred as he glided his tongue up my neck, only to press the gentlest of kisses behind my ear.

    I hummed, my eyes closed. I couldn''t even form a thought at the moment, let alone a sentence.

    "He might give you the heart, but I will give you their eyes. If they want to watch, let them watch what we will be doing to you. Let them be eaten alive with jealousy as we eat you."

    I couldn''t figure out how we go to this point where I wanted both men to take me here and now, forget the cold and the audience. I could feel the fire in my blood threaten to consume me as they continued to make bloody promises against my stalker.

    The two stepped back and I swayed forward and backward, unable to support myself. Before my brain could restart and process what was going on, two more bodies surrounded me in their scent. "Wang Chao, Liu Wei," I moaned as I felt one man pressing up against my back, clear evidence of his desire pinned between us.

    I wriggled, trying to feel it better, but the man in front of me held me securely in ce.

    "My brother promised you its heart, his second, its eyes. What can I promise you to show you how much you mean to me? Should I take out the heart of the next man to be obsessed with you? Or is that only following in my brother''s steps?" whispered Liu Wei as he pinned me against the solid wall that was Wang Chao.

    "You do seem to have a thing about collecting men," growled Wang Chao as he gently nipped my neck. I shook my head.

    "There was no one before you four," I groaned,pletely overstimted, but I needed more, I wanted¡­ more.

    "Maybe not in this life, but what about the one before that?" demanded Liu Wei as he licked and nipped at my corbone.

    "Never in that life either," I replied, not even registering what I was saying.

    "And your first life?" asked Wang Chao. I shook my head no as Liu Wei grabbed my ass and pull me up against him. I wrapped my legs around his waist as Wang Chao bridged the small gap that formed between us, allowing me to lean against his chest, my head draped back over his shoulder.

    "No one touched you here?" asked Liu Wei as his hands gripped my ass tighter, causing the cheeks to pull apart. I shook my head no.

    "What about here?" asked Wang Chao as he slide his hands between me and Liu Wei to be able to reach down into the stic waist of my pants. I moaned and shook my head again. Every nerve in my body was reaching out to them, screaming their desire to never stop.

    "So you never felt this?" demanded Liu Wei as he pulled me even closer, trapping Wang Chao''s hand even more between our bodies as he glided my core up and down his hardness. I moan, my hips starting to move on their own.

    "No one ever felt this?" snarled Wang Chao as he pulled me back far enough to allow his fingers to dip into my wetness, my warmth. It was enough to set me off. Almost biting off my tongue in order to not scream my release, I saw stars behind my eyes.

    "No one ever tasted this?" continued Wang Chao as he extracted his fingers from my throbbing center and brought them to his lips, tasting my essence. I shook my head no. Trying to catch my breath, I missed Liu Wei''s movement as his mouth mped down at the spot where my neck met my shoulder.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    I screamed one more time as another release hit me and I cked out.

    ----

    Wang Chao watched as Liu Wei bit Li Dai Lu. "Finally," he breathed as he pulled Li Dai Lu out of Liu Wei''s arms after he released his grip on her neck. "Let''s get you two to the RV before you pass out too," said Wang Chao as he ced his treasure against his chest. Liu Wei looked at him in confusion.

    "I''m not going to pass out," he snorted in disdain. "That was mind-blowing, but there are still a lot of things to be done." He adjusted the gloves on his hands, wishing that he had taken them off before just so he could have her smell on his hands.

    "Yes, there are a lot of things to be done," agreed Wang Chao as he carried Li Dai Lu over to the RV. Chen Zi Han opened the door and the four men entered. Gentlyying their woman down on the bed, he gestured for Liu Wei to go in next.

    "Seriously guy, I am fine. And there are still supplies to organize and men to look after," argued Liu Wei not willing to get into bed. There was nothing that he wanted more than to curl up behind her after that and just hold her in his arms until his heart finished its rapid beating, but he needed to prove that he was just as important as the other three.

    After all, he was the only one without a link to her.

    "Liu Yu Zeng with supervise the guys, Wang Chao will deal with the supplies and I will stay in here," said Chen Zi Han as he sat down on the couch and turned on the tv.

    "I don''t understand," said Liu Wei as a rush of dizziness hit him. Swaying for a second, he didn''t stand a chance as Wang Chao pushed him down onto the bed.

    "You will. And wee home, brother," said the other man as darkness engulfed Liu Wei.

    ----

    ''Wee home,'' said the voice in the darkness as Liu Wei forced his eyes open. Looking up, he saw a blue andvender sky with two moons shining in the middle of the day. Not moving, Liu Wei took stock of how he was feeling. If this was enemy territory, then he needed to make sure that he could move fast and urately.

    ''This is not enemy territory,'' growled the voice. ''Didn''t you hear me? This is home. Or one part of it.''

    Liu Wei ignored the voice. Until he could figure out where he was, it was enemy territory.

    He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He could feel cool grass under his back, tickling and itching him all at the same time. That meant that he was no longer in the ck military-issued sweater that he had on before. He could feel the same feeling on his legs and arms. Was he naked?

    Liu Wei flexed his fingers and noticed that his right hand was gripped on something so hard that it felt like an extension of his arm. He slowly turned his head, hoping that no enemy would notice the subtle movements, and cracked open his eyes. His arm was bare except for a gold wrist cuff that started at his wrist and went halfway up his forearm. In his hand, he was gripping a long wooden stick.

    Trying to raise the weapon, he noticed that one end was much heavier than the other like there was a de of some kind. Why would his enemies arm him like this? Why give him gold wrist cuffs? ''Because there are no enemies. Now open your eyes and go to her before it is toote!'' snapped the voice.

    ''Her? Her who?'' scoffed Liu Wei as he turned to the other side to see his left arm had the same golden cuff. But his arm was resting on what looked to be the back of arge iron te, held in ce by two leather straps. Lifting up his left arm, he was surprised at how light the te seemed. Like he was as used to the weight of the te as he was to the weapon in his other hand.

    ''Your goddess. Your queen. The reason why you wake up every morning and the reason why you take every breath.''

 Chapter 192 My Sun, My Moon, My Very Being

    ?

    Liu Wei rolled back slightly onto his upper back and used the momentum to flip himself onto his feet. Landing in a crouch, his weapon forward, his shield behind him protecting his back, he scanned the area. If Li Dai Lu was here then he needed to get to her fast. She could be in danger.

    There was a dense forest off to one side, while in front of him stood a majestic mountainndscape. The other side held a meadow filled with flowers that swayed gently in the wind.

    Not seeing his Queen, he maintained his low crouch and spun around facing whatever it was behind him. Seeing ake stretched out, he scanned the shores and saw a wooden perg in the distance fine white fabric hung at the corners and across the top, swaying in the wind. As the breeze picked up, the curtain moved, revealing a figure standing at the edge, staring at the water.

    "Li Dai Lu," he whispered before he took off running to the very woman that held his heart in her small hands. She must have heard him approach her as she turned around, the wind blowing her white dress behind her. Her ck hair danced in the wind like a bird in flight.

    There was a golden tiara on top of her head and her body was dripping with gold jewelry. There were armbands on her upper arms, bangles on the wrists of both arms and a gold belt held down the loose flowing fabric of her dress.

    He dropped to his knees, sliding to a stop feet from her. Raising up until he was only on one knee, he made a fist with his right hand and ced it over his heart, his head bowed.

    This was his reason for being. This was his everything.

    "Why did you leave me?" she asked. She didn''t plead or cry, but that made his heart break all that much more.

    "I was called. Where my brothers go, I too must follow," Liu We heard himself say, but it sounded more like the voice from the darkness.

    "That is what you all say. You were called. You were called so you leave me here alone time after time, century after century, with nothing more than your memory to keep me warm at night." A lone tear dripped down her cheek as she looked down at Liu Wei.

    Liu Wei froze at her words. "I know. But I must go with my brothers, you know that," came his voice again, but not his words. Liu Wei started to rage at this body that refused to obey hismands like this was a dance that they had to do over and over again.

    "I understand War, they love him. Well, the winners love him, the losers curse him. And yet still they call." The hollowness of her voice stabbed Liu Wei in the back and he struggled to breathe.

    "Pestilence? He goes for the fun of it. He loves challenging the humans and for the most part, the humans rise above and be stronger for him." Liu Wei closed his eyes as each word seemed like an arrow that was meant to rip him apart.

    "Famine? Well, I guess they don''t really call him. But they are sure quick to me him, aren''t they? They hate all of you, and yet you still leave me to go to them. Is it because they hate me more that you think it''s okay to leave me alone?"

    "Oh, Sweetheart," Liu Wei tried to say, but his mouth remained closed.

    "If I became better, would you all stay? If I was kinder, more merciful, more forgiving. If I sacrificed everything for the humans, would you stay?" Her eyes were filling up with tears that she refused to shed and Liu Wei wanted to crawl to her on his knees andfort her.

    "I have to follow my brothers. I always follow my brothers," said the voice in the darkness.

    "But that was not how it was supposed to be! That was not what you promised me!" she yelled, turning her back on Liu Wei to stare out over the water. "That is not how the story is supposed to go."

    "Is that why you are punishing the humans? Creating a creature that they have no hope in beating?" demanded Liu Wei''s body as it got to its feet and walked over to stand behind her. She scoffed at his words. "Is that what you think? That I created those monsters?" Liu Wei could hear her heart shattering at his words.

    "Leave," she demanded, her voice bing almost a hiss. "You don''t belong to me. I understand that now. Go save the humans. Go follow your brothers like you always do. Go find your destiny. But this will never be your home again. Don''te back."<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Liu Wei could feel his body turning away from the devastated woman in front of him,pelled to obey her orders, even if it was not what either one of them wanted. "No!" screamed Liu Wei as he reached forward into the darkness of his mind and ripped the glowing silver eyes out of the shadows.

    His hand was wrapped around the neck of a man that looked exactly like him but dressed more like an ancient soldier with his shield and weapon in each hand. His helmet hid his face, everything but his eyes, but Liu Wei knew who it was. "You are no longer in charge," he hissed at the voice that had been tormenting him for months now. "You fucked up, but I will not."

    Closing his eyes, Liu Wei gripped the other''s weapon, noticing the curvature of the de, he swiped it against the other''s neck. There was a sigh of relief as the silver eyes flickered and then turned to darkness. ''She always rides with us,'' it hissed before the entire body crumpled to ashes in Liu Wei''s hands.

    Forcing himself back into the outside world, he saw that he was still standing behind the woman that looked like Li Dai Lu. "I will not leave you," he hissed as he gripped one arm around her waist, pulling her back against his firm chest, his other hand gripping her throat from in front. Forcing her chin up as high as it could go, Liu Wei smiled down at the woman in his arms.

    "I hate sharing you with the others, I hate that they have a part of you inside of them that I don''t. But now I understood why they wouldn''t tell me, why they couldn''t. I need you to listen to me and listen to me well," whispered Liu Wei as the golden armor fell off of his wrists. They ttered to the wooden floor of the perg, but neither person moved.

    "You are mine. I will share you because those men are my brothers, but you are my sun, my moon, my very being. There will be no more answering calls unless it is your call. I will reign hellfire down on this world and every other if it meant never leaving your side again. And if I need to go? You will be behind me, because I will never, ever let you go."

    The woman looked up at him, her face turning red forck of oxygen, but she didn''t struggle, didn''t fight. If anything, she seemed to rx even more into his embrace. "You promise?" she asked as the clothes that Liu Wei was more familiar with appeared on his body, including his leather gloves.

    "I swear," he whispered as he dragged her onto her tiptoes in order to im her mouth as his own. The humans didn''t need them, they managed to create their own downfall well enough. Liu Wei scoffed inside his head as he continued to devour the woman in his arms, trying to bring her very essence into his being.

    There might be someone else out there for him, there might be countless reasons why he should have walked away. But there was one good reason to stay.

    "I am yours, always and forever, until even the Gods turn to dust and blow away," he vowed against her lips.

    And then everything turned ck.

    ----

    Liu Wei shot bolt upright in bed, a knife already in his hand as he searched around the enclosed space for any sort of a threat.

    "She will sleep for a while longer," came a hushed voice almost right beside him. Liu Wei turned to the source of the sound and saw Chen Zi Han standing close. "We''ll be right outside of the door. That way you can stay close, guard her and still not disturb her."

    "Is this what happened to you? To all of you?" asked Liu Wei as he gently got out of bed and followed the other man outside.

    "Yeah," nodded Chen Zi Han. "But I passed out in a hallway. When I woke up, I didn''t have a clue what happened. All I knew was that she had a part of me in her and her in me." Liu Wei''s eyebrow rose and the thought about what the other man said.

    "When we were emptying out Elysian Tower and met Li Yi Ming." Chen Zi Han nodded in agreement and took out a cigarette.

    "But you have to be willing tomit yourself, to make your own vows. That was why we couldn''t say anything."

 Chapter 193 I Came, I Saw, I Hit Him Right There In The Jaw

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    Liu Wei nodded in understanding as he adjusted his gloves. Then he turned around and punched Chen Zi Han in the face. "Willing tomit myself?" he said softly as he swung another fist at Chen Zi Han''s head. This time, the other man blocked it with his forearm. "Willing tomit myself?" snarled Liu Wei as a primal feeling welled up inside of him.

    "I was the first onemitted. I was the first to see her, the first to kiss her, the first to hold her. I am all her firsts, and you questioned whether I was willing tomit myself to her?" This time, Liu Wei attempted tond a roundhouse to Chen Zi Han''s temple, and when Chen Zi Han ducked, narrowly avoiding the kick, Liu Wei followed it up with an uppercut to the jaw.

    The second hitnded firmly, causing Chen Zi Han to stumble back a bit and hit the RV behind him. "You know, she can feel us all inside of her, right? She knows when we are hurt." Chen Zi Han smiled as he rubbed his jaw. Using his fingers he counted down. 3¡­ 2¡­ 1¡­

    "Chen Zi Han!" came a yell as Li Dai Lu rushed out of the RV and looked around for the man.

    "Right here, Princess," said Chen Zi Han, his gaze never leaving Liu Wei''s as he smirked. "And I am fine. Liu Wei just got in a decent hit."

    "Why were you two fighting?" she asked looking between the men. Liu Wei was asposed as ever and without being able to feel the hit, she never would have guessed that Chen Zi Han was hurt.

    "Past issues," shrugged Chen Zi Han as he lowered his hand and cracked his neck. "But it''s been dealt with now," he reassured her as he drew her into his arms for a hug. "I promise."

    Li Dai Lu hummed, still looking between the two men suspiciously before she left Chen Zi Han''s arms and went back inside the RV. ''I wasn''t born yesterday,'' came a voice inside of Liu Wei''s and Chen Zi Han''s heads. ''No more fighting. You want to beat something? There are zombiesing. Kill them instead.''

    Liu Wei and Chen Zi Han looked at each other before the two smirked. "Wee brother," said Chen Zi Han as he nodded to Liu Wei.

    Liu Wei hummed in response and the two of them stayed outside of the RV, waiting for Li Dai Lu toe out and gather the supplies.

    -----

    I had no idea why Liu Wei and Chen Zi Han were fighting, but at this particr moment, I didn''t care.

    The pain was excruciating and it was all I could do to block it from the boys so they couldn''t see it or feel it. But it felt like my insides were being shredded by a zombie w only to be put back together, and then shredded again.

    This cycle went on and on until Iy on the floor of the RV, curled up in a ball, tears running down my face. Just when I thought that I couldn''t take another moment of it¡­ it stopped.

    It stopped so suddenly that I couldn''t process anything for a second. Taking in a shallow breath I tensed, waiting for the pain to hit me again. When it didn''t, I waited another second before I took a second breath, filling up my lungs a bit more. When the pain didn''te that time either, I rolled over onto my back and stared out of the sunroof above me.

    Closing my eyes, I centered myself and looked at my core me, trying to see the mes of my three men. Except, there weren''t three mes dancing around a single blue me at all. In fact, there weren''t any mes at all inside of me. I panicked for a quick second, worried that because I shut out the boys from feeling my pain, I somehow pushed their mes out of me at the same time.

    After all, I had no idea how those mes got inside of me in the first ce. Even the link was a little fuzzy, although if I concentrated, I could feel my men. There was Chen Zi Han, Liu Yu Zeng, and Wang Chao, but there was also a fourth link¡­ Liu Wei? How did I be connected to Liu Wei?

    Just as I was thinking about him. The pain came back, setting my body on fire and burning me down to nothing but ashes. I opened my mouth to scream, to call the boys, but nothing came out. There was nothing but darkness.

    ----

    "You must be ready to burn yourself in your own me; how could you rise anew if you have not first be ashes?" came the hissing voice. I groaned both in pain and denial. I was just here.

    "That is the biggest load of bull I have ever heard," I replied as I continued toy on my back, looking up at the midnight-ck sky.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    The hissing voice just chuckled. "I am proud of you," it said and from the corner of my eye, I could see the bottom of a redce skirt. I was too tired and too sore to want to really look at the person standing beside me. Besides, if my guess was right, they would look just like me.

    "Thanks?" I said, more of a question than a statement.

    "You know that they will still hate you, right?"

    "Meh," I said with a slight shrug of my shoulders. "I really don''t give a fuck."

    "There she is," hissed the voice as it couched down beside me. All I could see was that the redce over a flesh-coved undey hugged every curve of the woman beside me. "Keep that fire. Now, go out and burn down the world." There was a burst of maniacalughter that floated off into the darkness, and I had to smirk.

    "They want and need a viin?" I asked out loud, continuing to stare at the sky. "I can do that."

    I forced myself to sit up and catch my breath. Who knew that burning to ashes could be that painful? Now I feel slightly bad for the zombies. Never mind, I really didn''t. I closed my eyes, trying to get back to my boys when I felt a tug along our links. Looking inside of myself, I gasped.

    Where my blue me once was, there was now avender crystal shining in the darkness. It was shaped like a diamond and it spun slowly in a circle. Inside the crystal were four individual segments, each one with a different color. There was one ck, Chen Zi Han. There was one red, Wang Chao. One white, Liu Yu Zeng, and finally, one silver, Liu Wei.

    Each of the sections shone brightly, its colors mixing in with the light purple of my own, but protected inside of the crystal, no longer vulnerable to outside forces.

    I smiled as I continued to study the crystal. Now, more than ever, the men were buried so far into me that they would never be able to break out of that crystal, and that was more than fine with me.

    I looked around at the barrenndscape. "Anyone know how to get out of here?" I asked as I tilted my head back to the sky.

    ----

    "We really got to stop meeting like this," I groaned as I brought a hand up to my head and tried to rub the pain away.

    "And you have to stop fainting every few minutes," grumbled Liu Wei, readjusting me in his grip as he and I were sitting on the couch. Liu Yu Zeng was beside us while Chen Zi Han and Wang Chao were leaning against the built-in shelves on either side of the tv.

    "Yeah, sorry about that. Not enough cake," I smirked, feeling better than I ever had before, even when I started sleeping with all the guys around me.

    Liu Yu Zeng rolled his eyes. "Well, we can''t offer any cakes, but there are a few chocte bars in the pile of supplies that the men managed to grab. I think someone even found some flour that was not infested with bugs."

    "Even if the flour has been infested with weevils, make sure to take it. It is still usable." The look that the four men gave me made me chuckle. "$20.00 for a piece of moldy bread, remember? The flour is still good and won''t make you sick. The weevils are edible, but baking the flour either first or after will kill them in every stage of life."

    "You know, every so often I look at the outside world and think that this is as bad as it could be. And then we have discussions about moldy bread and eating bugs in flour and I realize that I am really that ignorant," grumbled Liu Yu Zeng as he rubbed his eyes.

    "So now isn''t the time to tell you that ants have an incredibly high protein content?"

 Chapter 194 No Guarantee That The Enemy Of My Enemy Doesnt Want To Eat Me.

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    I hid in Liu Wei''s arms so Liu Yu Zeng couldn''t see the smile on my face. "You are evil, Princess, pure and utter evil,"ughed Chen Zi Han from where he stood. Liu Yu Zeng was still a bit green around the gills and couldn''t speak yet.

    "Oh, right! About being evil and all. Have you guys thought whether or not we should rescue the base and the people in it?" I asked, turning back around and looking at the guys.

    The four of them shared a look. "I think we will leave that decision up to you," said Wang Chao, taking one for the team. I nodded my head. I mean, I really didn''t want to save anyone that treated Wang Chao like that, plus it would be nice to use the zombies as a way of getting rid of Zhao Jia Li. But something told me that that woman was like a bad rash, alwaysing back when you least expected it.

    But the truth was¡­ I was bored. Anding from an introvert, that was saying something.

    I thought that this was the life that I wanted to lead, one without constantly fighting for survival, without worrying about where my next meal woulde from. But honestly? I was bored out of my mind. I wanted to go out and test out my mes, fight side by side with my men, and maybe, just maybe teach the zombies what it meant to fear something.

    If someone was going to be at the top of the fucking food chain, then it might as well be me.

    And maybe I would take over the world in my free time, I didn''t know for sure, but I was not going to rule it out either.

    "Then how about we take the hunt to the zombies instead of waiting with our thumbs up our asses?" I asked as I stood up. The men just looked at me like they didn''t think that I would choose that option. But why not? I mean, it wasn''t like I was doing it for the good of humanity. I was doing it for me.

    "I don''t know, I kind of like the idea of that?" said Liu Yu Zeng as he stood up beside me and gave me a kiss on my neck. I shivered at the feeling of his breath against my sensitive skin.

    "What idea?" I asked, my eyes closed as I leaned back into his embrace. He just chuckled. "You will find outter, Sweetness. For now, let''s go kill some zombies. I''m sure the men could use the workout. Don''t want them getting rusty."

    ----

    Going out and hunting zombies at the beginning of a zombie apocalypse seemed like an easy thing, but it was proving to not be as easy as I originally thought. In fact, if I didn''t know better, I would think that the zombies were purposefully hiding from me. But that didn''t make sense. There was no way a horde, let alone a tide, would be scared of a little over 100 men.

    And yet¡­ there was nothing.

    After we had settled on our next move, we quickly gathered all the supplies that the men had gotten into my space and drove out to where thest ce the zombies were seen. Well,st ce ording to the Major General.

    But there was nothing there either. So, we thought that maybe we hadn''t gone far enough, but we drove for another 30 minutes, and still, not a zombie in sight. Were they taking a union break? I mean, we could see where the spring vegetation had been trampled under their feet, and there were some spots of blue and purple blood from where they must have been cut.

    But as far as a living, breathing, zombie? Nothing!

    Well, now I was getting a bit ticked.

    "Are you sure that this was the ce?" I asked for the 100th time as I looked at Wang Chao. We had stopped in the middle of the road to let the men out and try to find signs of the zombies and me and my guys waited by the lead SUV.

    "No," said Wang Chao. "The ce that I got from the Major General''s head was about two miles back that way," he continued as he pointed behind us. Clearly, there were no zombies there. We had driven outside of City Y and into the city limits of City D. (Now, I am apparently more Canadian than I thought, because not only did it confuse the hell out of me that all cities were named after a letter, but they weren''t in order either! I could understand that given almost every city in every province had streets named after numbers. But how they got City D beside City Y? Yeah, no clue.)<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    But back to my problem. Or myck of a problem. We were in a pretty wide-open space that allowed us to see any potential threats easily. I mean, there were warehouses around us that zombies could be hiding in. But the number of zombies that were marching to City Y was in the hundreds. Why would they be hiding?

    I motioned for the men to stay where they were and I walked out in front of all the vehicles. Tilting my head back, I let out a long, loud roar. When I stopped, I waited for a few minutes. When there was no reply, I roared again, trying to make myself as loud as possible.

    Still¡­ Nothing.

    There really weren''t any zombies around.

    Not once, in all of the lives that I have lived, in all the books, all the novels, and all the movies, had a zombie ever been scared of a human. I don''t know if I should be happy or worried. Because if they weren''t scared of me and mine. That meant that they were scared about something else around here. And there was no guarantee that the enemy of my enemy didn''t want to eat me.

    I turned back around and walked towards the guys, hoping that something was going to attack me when my back was turned. How could I get to the top of the food chain if no one wanted to eat me? I mean, did I not taste good enough? Did I need to bathe in BBQ sauce before they wanted me?

    And how screwed up was I in the head that I was trying toe up with different ways of making myself more desirable to zombies?

    Grumbling, I stomped into my RV like a 5-year-old having a temper tantrum over her favorite toy being taken away.

    "You know, every other person on this would be thrilled not to find any zombies around," said Liu Wei as he followed after me. Wang Chao and Liu Yu Zeng had gone to round up the rest of the men and then we were heading back to the City Y Sanctuary Base. At least I knew that the zombies would show up there.

    "Yes, well, we have already established that I am not like every other person. Besides, if I don''t be stronger, how am I supposed to take over the world?" I demanded as I flung my body onto the couch, half of me threatening to tumble onto the floor.

    "You want to take over the word?" asked Chen Zi Han as he closed the door behind him and started the RV. He had decided that since he was going to be in here anyways, he wasn''t going to let anyone else drive me.

    "Well, I woke up for the third time today feeling cute and deciding that I needed to take over the world. I mean, what else am I to do with my time?" I asked as I stared up at him.

    "Anything else?" suggested Liu Wei with a chuckle. Picking up my head from where it dangled over the side of the couch, he sat down and started ying with my hair.

    "Well, I thought I would want to sit back, avoid the zombies at all costs and do nothing but eat sweets, but now, the zombies don''t seem as scary as I remember them. Why not take over the world? It''s not like I have anything better to do."

    "Understood," said Liu Wei as he took out his cell phone from God only knows where. "I will add world domination to the schedule. Any particr time you wanted thatpleted by?" And this was why the was the world''s #1 assistant.

    "I''m not in any rush," I said with a wave of my hands as the RV rumbled to life. Heading back to the base was not ideal. Mostly due to politics. But if I wanted to be stronger, I needed to fight. In order to fight, I needed opponents. To get opponents¡­ well, apparently, I had to look really, really hard.

    Life was just not easy, I thought as I pulled out another slice of chocte cake that I had randomly found. Thank God nothing could go bad in my space or else I might have cried. Taking a huge fork full of the decadent dessert I moaned in pleasure.

    Yup. Life was really, really hard.

 Chapter 195 I Dont Have An Anger Problem

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    "I see you have returned with your legs between your legs," smirked Zhao Jia Li as we passed the gates of the City Y Sanctuary Base. I rolled my eyes, not bothering to answer her. Let''s be honest, if I didn''t know better, I would think being a bitch was her superpower.

    Then again, I was not one to talk.

    "We need to speak to the Major General," said Wang Chao to one of the base soldiers that was assigned to escort us around. I think it was a bit bullshit, given the fact that one man cannot keep track of 105 people. But what do I know?

    The man nodded at Wang Chao and quickly entered the main apartment building that housed all of the ''important'' people. As I said, only having one person to watch over all of us was a bit ridiculous. With a wave of his hand, Wang Chao dismissed the rest of the men to blend in with the civilians and gather what information they could.

    It took maybe 10 minutes for the soldier toe back, letting us know that the Major General would speak with us. Zhao Jia Li stood beside us the whole time making eyes at Wang Chao, but he pretty much ignored her, probably saving her life if I was to be honest. Maybe he shouldn''t have done that. Any excuse to kill that woman would be nice.

    "Why are you following us?" I asked, turning my attention to the other woman that was walking me with me and my men as if she belonged with us.

    "Who said I was following you?" she asked, flipping her hair over her shoulders. "I also need to speak to the Major General."

    "Okay, then feel free to talk to him¡­ after us," I said nodding. Turning my back to her, I entered the meeting room, mming the door in her face with a satisfying bang.

    The Major General put down his pen and looked up at the five of us from behind his desk. Seeing him this close up, I couldn''t help but notice how young he looked. Did he sign up for the military in elementary school?

    "Where did you say the horde was located?" asked Wang Chao, getting to the point. I think he was just as concerned about ack of zombies as I was.

    "I thought you said that it would be a tide," smirked the Major General as he sat back in his chair. "And don''t you have all the answers?"

    "See, if I had all the answers, I wouldn''t be in your office right now asking questions," pointed out Wang Chao as he offered me one of the two seats on our side of the desk. Sitting down, I waited for Wang Chao to sit down beside me, the rest of the men spread out in the room. The Major General looked me up and down before ncing over to the other guys.

    "Thest we heard, the zombies were on the highway between us and City D," he said as he started to y with his pen. "Why?"

    "Because we were just there, and they weren''t," replied Wang Chao.

    "What do you mean, they weren''t?"

    "Exactly that. We could not find a single zombie, in fact, we even went so far as to ring the dinner bell, and not a single one showed up," I said, drawing the Major General''s attention to myself.

    "That''s impossible. There is no way that many zombies could just vanish," scoffed the man, clearly not impressed by my statement.

    "Why don''t you send a few people to go double check," I offered copying his posture and leaning back in my chair and folding my hands across my stomach. In fact, I wanted him to send more people. If I couldn''t draw the zombies out for some reason, I needed bait¡­ I mean¡­ nope, can''t do it, I meant bait.

    The Major General looked between me and Wang Chao. "I never took you for someone that was willing to take orders from a woman," he said with a smirk.

    "Well, you know, happy wife, happy life, and all that," replied Wang Chao with a shrug of his shoulders.

    "Wife? You got married? I am sure there are countless women that arepletely heartbroken to hear that," said the Major General with a sly smile on his face as looked over at me. I didn''t know if he was expecting me to be surprised, offended, or jealous at his statement. But seeing as there was one woman with a huge crush on Wang Chao standing outside the door, I would have to say that I was getting used to the idea.

    I didn''t like it. But I was getting used to it. Now if there was touching on the other hand¡­ The smile on my face must have set off warning bells because now the Major General was trying to create as much space between him and me as the office allowed.

    "I suggest you find those zombies," I said, standing up. If he wasn''t going to take this matter seriously, then he was more than wee to the consequences.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "I am not Wang Chao," said the Major General cing both hands on his desk and standing up. Leaning forward he tried to get as much in my face as the desk would allow.

    "Oh, I am well aware," I responded with a roll of my eyes.

    "I will not be obeying anyone. This is my base, and if you don''t like it, feel free to get out. But if you are looking for sanctuary under my protection, you will follow my orders."

    I bit my thumbnail as I stared at the man in front of me. "You think that I will follow your orders? Why?" I asked, turning my full attention to the man in front of me. I lived two lives with the philosophy that there will always be someone bigger and stronger than you.

    At 5''2, pretty much everyone was bigger, but I had kept my head down and assumed that most were stronger too. In this life? With my boys behind me? Nah, I had yet to find someone stronger than me, and even if I did, it wasn''t this man in front of me.

    "I am the Major General of this base and I am the highest-ranking person here," he said as he stood upright, no longer leaning over his desk.

    "Understood," I said, backing down. I was not 100% sure what my next step would be, and until I did, I would keep my cards close to my chest. "If you need us, we''ll be right outside of your gates." I turned around and was just about to put my hand on the doorknob when the Major General''s voice rang out in the room.

    "Wang Chao, your wife appears to have an issue with her anger. She might want to work on that before she offends someone she shouldn''t."

    "I don''t have an anger problem," I said as I turned around and looked at the smirk on the Major General''s face. "I have an idiot problem. But don''t worry. I am not one to suffer long."

    And since I tried to always have thest word, I opened the door and walked out.

    Right into the chest of the woman waiting outside of the door.

    Fuck my life.

    Taking a deep breath, I stepped back, scratched my forehead, and wrinkled my nose. It wasn''t that Zhao Jia Li smelt bad, but getting a nose full of her perfume was enough to give me a headache. "The Major General is free to see you now," I said as I stepped to the side. I was not going back into that office.

    "Not even an apology for bumping into me like that?" she sneered as she rubbed her chest.

    "Seeing as you were the idiot to be standing so close to the other side of the door, I don''t think one is called for," I reassured her as I gestured to the still-opened door. The men had already left the office and were waiting for me at the other end of the hall.

    I must have pissed her off enough that she didn''t even notice Wang Chao leaving or I was sure that she would follow him.

    She looked into the office and quickly realized that Wang Chao was not there. Scanning the hallway, she spotted her target. Without another word, she pushed me aside with her shoulder and quickly went to Wang Chao.

    "I wanted to let you know that I had room in my apartments for you and Liu Wei," she said with a purr as she got closer to Wang Chao.

    "You know I am married, right?" he replied, looking down at her. I mean, I don''t remember getting married. I wasn''t single, but I definitely wasn''t married. However, I assumed that this was like a woman wearing a fake wedding ring to a bar or at work to avoid being hit on. If he wanted to im me as his wife to make others leave him alone, why not?

    "The marriage doesn''t count. Your grandfather and my father have been talking about a marriage between us for a long time now," she said as she yed with her hair. Now, I am all for letting people do what they want, I really am. Go live your best life and all that, but when a 30-year-old is acting like a 12-year-old to get a 29-year-old? Yeah, it just looks weird.

    "Then feel free to marry his grandfather. He is taken," I said as this time I hip-checked her to the side. "Gentlemen, if you are done watching the show, we should get going."

 Chapter 196 He Was Waiting For Her

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    "So, what''s going through that little head of yours?" asked Wang Chao as he took a seat on the couch of my RV. The five of us were inside with Wang Chao and Liu Yu Zeng on the couch, thetter flipping through the downloaded options on the tv. Chen Zi Han was in the little kitchte throwing something together for dinner and I was sitting on Liu Wei''sp by the dining room table.

    "Shouldn''t you know?" I smirked at him as I rested my head on Liu Wei''s shoulder.

    "I know, but I think that is something that needs to be discussed. We are a team, we do everything together," he replied as Chen Zi Han came out with a beer for everyone and a pop for me. I really didn''t like the taste of beer at all.

    "What is he talking about, Sweetheart?" asked Liu Wei as he looked down at me.

    "I think I need to go out and explore a bit¡­ by myself," I said, cringing. It wasn''t that I was going to sneak out and not tell the guys, but¡­ I didn''t want to tell them this soon.

    "No," said Liu Wei in a straight forward manner.

    "Not a chance, Sweetness," answered Liu Yu Zeng as he turned his attention away from the tv and back to me.

    Chen Zi Han didn''t say a word, just stared at me. For some reason, I would have preferred him screaming at me. This look was causing my stomach to twist into knots.

    "You might as well tell them the rest," said Wang Chao as he took a sip of his beer.

    "There is more?" asked Liu Wei with a raised eyebrow.

    "Not really, I will only be gone for like¡­ a day," I said. Now, I understood that I could have just told them the way things would be, and they would have to ept it. But that was not how I wanted this rtionship to work. I wanted to stand at the top of the world, but I didn''t want to be that person all of the time. I wanted there to be times when the boys took over for a while to give me a break. No one was strong every hour of every day. It just wasn''t possible.

    And if that was what I wanted, that also meant that I couldn''t run rough shot over the boys. Their wants, needs and opinions were just as important as my own. And that was why my stomach was in knots. I didn''t like upsetting the guys because I knew that if this was one of their ideas, I would lose my mind.

    "Thank you, little girl, it means a lot to all of us that you think that way. But you are not beingpletely honest. Tell them why you want to go out alone," said Wang Chao as he put his beer on the table beside him. All four men turned their attention to me.

    "It is for a few reasons," I said, scratching my eyebrow. "I need to try and find that tide. I need to know what is going on with it because it was a big thing in my past life. It swept over the southern half of the country, and if it doesn''t happen in this life time, I don''t know where things are going. I can''t predict the future anymore."

    "And it is important that you can predict the future?" asked Chen Zi Han as he leaded against the kitchen ind.

    "Yes," I said, closing my eyes. There were things that needed to be changed, there were people that needed to be saved. And if I didn''t know when and where they were expected to be, how could I save them?

    "What else?" asked Liu Yu Zeng, his entire being centered on me, his smirk nowhere to be seen.

    "The stalker," I said with my eyes closed so I wouldn''t have to see the look on the men''s faces. "I don''t know if the zombies are scared of us, or my stalker. And if they are scared of my stalker, then I need to know what type of threat they are."

    "No," said Liu Yu Zeng simply as he leaned back against the couch. I opened my eyes and looked at him. "I know you are a bad bitch. I know you could take on a whole horde by yourself and not flinch. I know that we are alive because of you. But I can''t sit back and hope that youe home to me," he continued in a rare looked of seriousness.

    "Okay," I said with a nod of my head. I mean, I could understand where he wasing from. Confronting someone that may or may not kill you, by yourself was not the smartest thing to do. But if that was the case, then it only left n B.

    "Then we need to send some of the men out to find the horde and see what is going on. If it is my stalker that is keeping them from the base, then we might have to leave to allow the tide toe. I am not here to save everyone. I am here because Chen Zi Han''s soulmate is here and there is something else calling me."

    "So, we aren''t trying to stop it?" asked Liu Wei as his grip tightened on me.

    "No," I said, but there was a lot of conflicting emotions going on inside of me. "Maybe slow it down until I can figure out what I am doing here."<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "And your stalker?" asked Liu Yu Zeng.

    "I''ll put them on the backburner for now, but I don''t think I can do that for the rest of my life. At some point in time, they will have to be dealt with. I can''t stand having a threat breathing down my neck," I said with a shake of my head.

    "Did you want to take over the base?" asked Chen Zi Han as a timer went off from somewhere. Turning his attention back to the kitchen, the rest of the men looked at me.

    "I can''t say I didn''t consider it," I said. "But there are issues to taking it over."

    "Like what?"

    "Like supplies, like having people I trust managing it. It sounds evil and viinous to take over a base, but in fact, it is more of a headache than it is worth."

    "That''s why you don''t want to take it over? It would be a headache?" asked Liu Yu Zeng letting out a bark ofughter.

    "Yeah," I admitted seriously.

    "So how were you nning on taking over the world?" asked Liu Wei.

    "Seriously? I haven''t figured out that part yet. You know, there is a big difference between saying that you want to take over the world and actually doing it," I grumbled as I crossed my arms across my chest.

    "Taking over the world can wait," said Chen Zi Han taking off his oven mitts. "Dinner is ready."

    ---

    "She''s not wrong," said Liu Wei as the guys made themselvesfortable in Li Dai Lu''s RV. She had fallen asleep a little while ago and now the men were making themselvesfortable. "We are going to have to address this stalker thing."

    "Not to mention the horde," added Liu Yu Zeng. "Anyone know how to start a zombie tide?"

    Chen Zi Han scoffed into his beer before lifting it to his lips and taking a sip.

    "We need to take things one step at a time, starting with the most important one to her," said Wang Chao as he stared at the beer bottle in his hands.

    "The reason why we are here," nodded Liu Wei as he ran a finger over the lip of his own bottle. The men weren''t that much into beer, none of them had ever rxed enough to overindulge, but sometimes it was nice to just have one.

    "Any ideas? We know she is not big on answering calls," chuckled Liu Yu Zeng as he took a big gulp of his beer. The others chuckled with them.

    "We know it is not connected to Chen Zi Han''s soulmate," said Liu Wei as he too took a drink of a beer that was starting to turn warm.

    "My soulmate isying in bed in the back room," snarled Chen Zi Han. It had been bugging him for a while, the fact that Li Dai Lu was so certain that there was another woman out there for him. Now, at 31 years old, and the oldest of everyone in the group, he had never been celibate. There were times when he was younger when he looked for a one-night stand to scratch an itch. But that was more because he thought that was what he had to do, rather than because he was interested.

    As he moved up the ranks of the Red Dragon Syndicate, he became too busy for that, his time better spent working or sleeping or at the gym. But ever since Li Dai Lu entered his life, he understood. The reason why he didn''t care was not because there was something wrong with him, but because he was waiting for her.

 Chapter 197 Then Where Are We Supposed To Be, Little Bird?

    ?

    A gentle knock on the door to the RV snapped all the guys out of their own thoughts and their attention turned to the door. Their men were all out in various sections of the base gathering information and going undercover, so they knew it wouldn''t be one of them.

    The knock came again, this time sounding more urgent. Liu Yu Zeng stood up from the couch and ced his hand on the middle of his back where he always kept his 9mm. The other men remained seated in their ces, but they too took out their handguns andid them on theirps.

    Whoever was at the door was in for a rude surprise. They just had to make sure that they didn''t wake up Li Dai Lu. Standing up, Liu Wei walked over to one of the overhead cabs in the kitchen and opened the door. Taking out a cylinder object, he screwed it onto the end of his gun.

    The knock came again, and with a brief look at the other three men, Liu Yu Zeng opened the door, blocking the way so that no one could slip past him.

    "You are Liu Yu Zeng, right?" came the whispered voice of the woman outside. Liu Yu Zeng didn''t respond, his face remaining impassive.

    "I know you are Liu Yu Zeng. I can help you," she continued to whisper. Chen Zi Han rotated his head and stretched his neck from side to side. For some reason, he could feel his calm start to copse with every word out of her mouth.

    "And how do you think you can help me?" asked Liu Yu Zeng leaning against the door jam, preventing the stranger from entering the RV.

    "I know you are looking for your brother, I have information about him," she whispered.

    "Let her in," said Wang Chao, his face nothing more than a block of ice.

    Liu Yu Zeng looked at the other man. He wasn''t happy about that call, but he took a step back and allowed the woman to slip through.

    She breathed a sigh of relief as the door closed behind her. "So nervous," smirked Liu Yu Zeng. "You would think that there was someone hunting you or something. Do you fear for your life?"

    She looked at him and then turned her attention to the rest of the men in the room. Her gaze skimmed over Wang Chao and Liu Wei without any recognition, but then froze as soon as she saw Chen Zi Han.

    "You aren''t supposed to be here," she said as she continued to look at the man standing behind the ind counter. She couldn''t draw her gaze away from him even if she tried. It was like he called to a part of her that she didn''t even know existed.

    "Then where are we supposed to be, little bird?" asked Liu Yu Zenging up behind her. Not so close that he would touch her, even by ident, but enough to use his size to intimidate her. He followed her gaze to Chen Zi Han.

    To an outsider, Chen Zi Han looked calm and collected, but Liu Yu Zeng was not an outsider. He knew the other man just as well as he knew himself. Chen Zi Han was furious in a way that Liu Yu Zeng had never seen before. In fact, if Chen Zi Han didn''t have a steadfast rule about not killing women and children, Liu Yu Zeng would have thought that the other man was going to jump over the ind and strangle her himself.

    At that thought, Liu Yu Zeng stood up straighter and looked at the other men in the room, his eyes wide.

    "You said that you knew something about Liu Yu Zeng''s brother?" asked Liu Wie as he pushed his sses up his nose.

    The woman tore her gaze away from the most attractive man that she had ever seen and to the man that just spoke. He looked familiar, but she was sure that she had never seen him before. She shook her head and then nodded. "I know where you can start looking for him," she confirmed. "He should be in Country S right now."

    All the men in the room tensed at those words. "How do you know that?" asked Liu Yu Zeng taking out the same leather gloves as his two brothers. He had no problem killing the woman in front of him. Unlike Chen Zi Han, he understood that some of the most poisonous snakes in the world were women. But he refused to touch another woman with his bare skin.

    The woman, not knowing the danger she was in, just shook her head. "I can''t tell you that," she said as she moved to sit down on one of the stools near the ind¡­ near Chen Zi Han.

    "Is that because you transmigrated or reincarnated?" asked Wang Chao as he took a sip of his beer. The bottle was almost empty, but he didn''t care.

    The woman stiffened at his words and a look of fear passed over her face. "Who are you?" she asked in a voice a little over a whisper. They had all kept the conversation low, simply because they didn''t want to disturb Li Dai Lu and the other woman was just following their lead.

    "I am a friend," replied Wang Chao tilting his head towards Liu Yu Zeng who was moving over to the ind. Warning bells rang loudly through every guy in the room. "Who are you?"<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "My name is He Xin Yi," she said as she turned to look at Chen Zi Han behind her. "Who are you?"

    Chen Zi Han remained impassive, not answering her question. Every time she opened her mouth it was like nails on a chalkboard. "You know me, but you don''t know him?" asked Liu Yu Zeng raising an eyebrow. "How unexpected."

    He Xin Yi shook her head. "I don''t know you, I know about you," she admitted looking at Liu Yu Zeng for a brief second before her attention was drawn back to Chen Zi Han.

    "And what do you know?'' Liu Yu Zeng purred as he came close to her.

    "I know that you are looking for your bother," she stuttered, almost hypnotized by his voice.

    "And what else do you know?" he continued to press her while still staying well away from her.

    "I know that a tide is going toe andpletely wipe out everything around here," she said as she stared into his eyes.

    "We are a little far from the water to be concerned about a tide," smirked Liu Wei, his face giving away nothing. This woman was a threat, to them and to Li Dai Lu. She could not be allowed to leave here alive.

    "Not that kind of tide," she said with a shake of her head, "A zombie tided. Hundreds of thousands of theming for all of us."

    "If that is the case, what are you doing here?" asked Liu Yu Zeng, drawing her attention back to himself.

    "I was on my way out when I heard someone calling your name. I knew I had to tell you to leave. You are too important to the future to let you die when I can stop it," she continued with a rush. She tried to grab Liu Yu Zeng''s forearms, but the man pull back, out of reach.

    "And how is he too important to the future?" asked Wang Chao as he studied the woman in front of him. She was not a spirit user so they would keep ying with her for a bit longer. Get all the information out of her that they could.

    There was a scoff behind the ind as Chen Zi Han''s voice sent a shudder through the woman. She swung around to look at Chen Zi Han as if there were no other people in the room. "He is going to be the one to build all themunication towers. He is going to¡ª" She stopped suddenly and pped two hands over her mouth, looking at Chen Zi Han fearfully.

    "You might as well keep going, I mean, you''ve gone this far," said Liu Wei as he adjusted his leather gloves around his wrists.

    "In order to find his brother, he builtmunication towers throughout the south, even though it was pretty much taken over by zombies. Because of that, and his power, he became one of the strongest men in the world."

    "Just him?" asked Wang Chao as if he didn''t already know his fate in thest life. In his nightmares, he could still taste the human flesh between his teeth.

    "No," she said shaking her head. "His second inmand was also there."

    "And who was that?" asked Liu Wei, looking at the man behind the ind, noting the whitening of his knuckles. They would have to wrap this up soon. Wang Chao should be able to get what they need from her head.

    "Chen Zi Han," she whispered shuddering, as if saying his very name had given her a visceral reaction.

    "You know him?" asked Chen Zi Han. She shook her head. "I wish. I just heard about it after."

    "After what?"

    "After Liu Yu Zeng saved the world."

 Chapter 198 Im Sorry, What?!?

    ?

    "I''m sorry, I don''t think that I heard you correctly," said Wang Chao looking at the woman that was sitting at the ind. For the first time since He Xin Yi walked into the RV willing to help Liu Yu Zeng find his brother, Wang Chao''s expressionless face cracked.

    "Did you really just say that he saved the world?" demanded Liu Wei. He was managing to hold his emotions close, but telling them that Liu Yu Zeng saved the world was like saying that Satan moonlighted as Santa one night a year. Yeah, it could happen, but the chance of it was almost zero.

    He Xin Yi nodded her head, "Yes," she said looking at Liu Yu Zeng with stars in her eyes. "After he created themunication towers, he went about taking over the southern part of the country. With powers like his, the zombies didn''t stand a chance."

    The men looked at each other. It was true that out of all of them, Liu Yu Zeng had the most far-reaching power, and disease still affected the zombies as much as it did the humans.

    "What exactly is his power?" asked Chen Zi Han, refusing to look at the woman in front of him. He always prided himself on not hurting women or children, but she was greatly testing his control.

    "Thunder, of course," she said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "You look surprised," she continued as she looked between the men. "Does that mean you haven''t awakened your powers yet? It''s okay. Most people will still take over a year before they reallye into it."

    "I am a thunder type?" Liu Yu Zeng asked, looking at her confused. He Xin Yi nodded her head. "What was Chen Zi Han?" he continued, not looking at the man on the other side of the ind.

    "No one really knows. He is the strong, silent type," she said with a shrug of her shoulders, but there was a definite blush on her face.

    "Do you know what he looks like?" asked Liu Wei. How can she talk about Chen Zi Han like she knew him, but yet, couldn''t recognize him when he was only three feet away?

    He Xin Yi nodded her head. "He is tall, like even taller than you," she started, waving her hand to Liu Yu Zeng. "He lost his right eye in a battle against a zombie Alpha and has scars running down his right cheek. I heard that he also ran into a burning building to save you, and he got burned badly as a result." He Xin Yi let out the tiniest bit of a scoff when she said thest part, like the very idea of Chen Zi Han rushing into a burning building for Liu Yu Zeng was ridiculous.

    "It made a lot of people think that you two were together¡­ like together, together, untilter, you married that woman and had a bunch of kids." The reservation that He Xin Yi first showed them waspletely gone as she talked about what had happened in her past life. In fact, she was so into her story that she didn''t notice how cold everything had gotten. Even her breath was now visible.

    But her mind kept reying Chen Zi Han from all the news stories. There was something about his image that just pulled her to him. It was like what she was feeling with the fourth guy in the room. The one that didn''t talk much.

    "He had children?" asked a new voice and He Xin Yi''s head snapped up, looking at a short woman who was leaning on the doorframe at the back of the trailer.

    The men that were still sitting shot to their feet, but the new woman continued to ignore them.

    "Please, go on, finish your story. You said that Liu Yu Zeng had children?"

    He Xin Yi looked around the room, not understanding why the atmosphere had be so tense. Thinking that it might have something to do with the neer, He Xin Yi sat up and smiled at the woman.

    "Are you curious?" she asked, her voice taking on a different tone than the one she was using to speak to the guys. The men in the room made her feelfortable, especially the silent one. This woman though, she caused the warning bells in He Xin Yi''s head to go crazy.

    The woman hummed and nodded her head, her arms still crossed over her chest. She seemed rxed, but He Xin Yi didn''t believe that for a second. "Well, curiosity killed the cat. You wouldn''t want that, right?" she said, winking at the neer in the room.

    The woman cocked her head to the side and just stared at her. "Mmmm. Curiosity did kill the cat. Isn''t it a good thing that I''m not a cat? Now, please, it was such an interesting story, keep going," the woman said as she straightened and weaved amongst the men until she got to the kitchte.

    Looking up at the man that captured He Xin Yi''s attention, the man lifted his arm and let the woman slide between him and the edge of the ind. "You were saying?"<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    The woman seemed to be possessive of the man, maybe Liu Yu Zeng too. He Xin Yi, not liking the fact that the man she wanted now had another woman in his arms smiled. "Liu Yu Zeng, after he created a new type of government, found the love of his life when he visited City J looking for his brother. I guess she had wound up as a victim of human trafficking and after a few years of living in a cage, a squad from the Navy, who was going house to house looking for supplies, found her and a bunch of other girls. After they saved them all, she joined their team. They say that it was love at first sight."

    He Xin Yi smiled as she said thest sentence, slowly saying each and every word so there could be no questioning what she meant.

    The woman in the arms of the man that would soon be hers nodded her head slowly. "So, essentially, he saved the world, ended the apocalypse and he and his soulmate lived happily ever after¡­ with kids." He Xin Yi paused as she thought over the words that the other woman had spoken. They sounded weird, but they weren''t wrong.

    She nodded her head and the other woman started nodding with her. "And how many kids did you say he had?"

    "I didn''t. But they had five kids together, each one taking over a different section of the country when they got older."

    "Five kids," the woman said slowly. He Xin Yi felt herself shiver, it seemed to have gotten a bit colder in the RV. Maybe there was a window open? Nights were still pretty cold in April after all.

    "Sweetness," said Liu Yu Zeng as he started walking towards the woman, but she held up and hand and he stopped.

    "You mentioned something about Chen Zi Han?" the woman asked, turning her attention away from Liu Yu Zeng and back to He Xin Yi.

    "What about him?" asked He Xin Yi as she sat up straighter on the stool. It might have been only in her fantasies, but that man belonged to her. Although, she might be willing to stop looking for him if the quiet guy was interested.

    "Did he have a wife? Children?" the air was getting cold enough that He Xin Yi could see her breath. Turning to the man that was standing near the dining room, she waved her hand. "Can you close a window? It''s getting cold in here."

    "A window isn''t going to help you," said the woman as He Xin Yi saw the quiet man moving his arm to wrap around the other woman''s waist. She narrowed her eyes at the scene. But it was okay. He was allowed a girlfriend now. As long as she was thest one, it didn''t matter how many came before.

    "Chen Zi Han," said the woman, pulling her attention away from the quiet man back to the woman who he was holding.

    "He wasn''t married, no kids," she admitted and watched the tension leach out of the other woman. Narrowing her eyes, He Xin Yi scoffed, "But that is only because he never met me."

    Seeing herment hit a nerve, He Xin Yi smiled.

    "Did you transmigrate or reincarnate?" asked the woman, taking a deep breath. Her question knocked the smile off of He Xin Yi''s face faster than any p could. She bit her tongue. She had survived for 15 years through the apocalypse and for another 15 years after that. She was not some child that reacted to everything.

    "Do you know the problem with people from either category?" asked the woman as she leaned against the quiet man, letting him tighten his hold on her.

    "What?" asked He Xin Yi, unable to hold her tongue.

    "They always think that they are the hero of the story."

 Chapter 199 He Is Mine

    ?

    "Excuse me, what?" screeched the woman who, for some reason, the boys invited into my RV, my HOME, while I was sleeping. I cracked my neck from side to side trying to get rid of the tension in my shoulders.

    "You are not excused, and I think you heard me just fine," I said as I got morefortable against Chen Zi Han. My head fit perfectly between his pecks allowing them to act like a pillow. I would prefer to be sitting on the couch right now, but Chen Zi Han was so tied up in knots right now, that I needed tofort him. "People that either transmigrate or reincarnate always seem to think that they are the hero of the story. Sorry, heroine, in your case."

    She scoffed at that, like it was the funniest thing that she had ever heard, but tell me one instance where someone came back from the dead and didn''t think that they were special. That the shitty life that they had before was gone and now they would get the gorgeous guy with a lot of money and live their best life?

    Hell, even I fell into that trap in my second and at the beginning of my third life. Now I know better.

    "Do you think that this time, you are just going to walk up to Chen Zi Han and save him? That he will be so grateful to you that he falls head over heels in love with you and treats you like a queen for the rest of your life?"

    I felt Chen Zi Han stiffen under me and I tried to send him reassuring vibes along our link. I was not mad at him for this, I understood that she came looking for them. But the funniest thing of all was how she kept going on about Chen Zi Han without realizing that he was right in front of her this whole time.

    Her face morphed into something else before settling back down into the sweet innocent look that she had before. You could never trust someone that transmigrated or reincarnated. They always seemed to have a golden finger of some kind or other that kept them alive a lot longer than they should have been.

    Not like I actually met anyone like me in any of my lives, but let''s face it, I read a lot of novels.

    "Why did youe here?" I asked, no longer in the mood to stretch things out. She was stressing out Chen Zi Han and even Liu Yu Zeng, and I would not put up with it.

    "I came here to tell Liu Yu Zeng about his brother," she said, raising her chin. I smirked, both at her statement and her posture.

    "His bother is right there, you don''t need to worry about helping him anymore," I said as I pointed to Liu Wei. "Next."

    She stiffened as she looked back and forth between Liu Yu Zeng and Liu Wei. I mean, it wasn''t that they looked exactly alike, not to mention their personalities couldn''t have been more different, but they were clearly family.

    Family.

    Then it hit me. "You are here to grasp Liu Yu Zeng''s thigh to cruise through the apocalypse, giving him hints here and there about what he needs to do to stand on top of the world and hopefully, he will be able to lead you to Chen Zi Han. The man that you came back to life for."

    That fucking bitch.

    The woman''s face went white as she looked to Chen Zi Han for help. "Don''t look at him," I snapped as I felt his disgust and difort. No one could make one of my men feel that way. No one.

    She turned her attention then to Liu Yu Zeng. "I can help, I can tell you everything you need to know about the future," she begged. "Just take me to Chen Zi Han."

    Liu Yu Zeng scoffed, his face bing an expressionless mask. But if you looked close enough, you could see the rage in his eyes. "So you wanted to use me to find Chen Zi Han, is that it?"

    "No," she said, frantically shaking her head.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "No," I agreed with her, and Liu Yu Zeng turned his gaze to me. I took the full brunt of his rage and then smiled. "She also wanted to hug your thigh to make her life easier."

    "What does it mean to hug someone''s thigh?" asked Wang Chao as he stood between the Liu Brothers, one hand in his pocket. The other hand was holding a 9mm. Huh, wonder how I missed that before.

    "She wanted to cling to him so that he could pave her way and she didn''t have to fight so hard to get ahead," I answered with a shrug of my shoulders. She spun around, her hair flying in a perfect circle and she turned her attention back to me. I smiled. I wanted to run my hand up Chen Zi Han''s neck to pull his head down so that I could kiss him. Stake my im.

    But I also didn''t want to do that. I didn''t want to use our rtionship, our need for each other as ammo against someone else. Someone that doesn''t matter. Even if she was his soulmate.

    As pain stabbed through my heart at that thought, Chen Zi Han took my neck in his firm grip and tilted my head back until he could im my lips. ''You are my soulmate. The only one that I want in my life forever and a day. Don''t ever hesitate to do whatever it is that you want to me, I don''t care who is watching,'' he growled into our link. My mind froze as he tookplete control of my body. I had forgotten that he could feel me just as well as I could feel him.

    The soft gasp forced my mind back to the present and not the promise of his lips.

    "Chen Zi Han is mine," I said as I focused my full attention on the woman that was trying to weasel into my men''s lives. "He was mine before, he is mine now, and he will continue to be mine in the future," I snarled, curling my lip. I could feel my blue mes rising to the surface, burning away the cold that I was feeling before.

    "You will die," I continued as Chen Zi Han gently flexed his hand that was still around my throat. It was that connection that kept me grounded, that stopped me from burning her and everyone else down to the ground. "But I will be merciful. I will let you pick the way you die. Do you want to burn to death or a shot to the head?"

    The weak, eager-to-please girl from before faded in front of us, and in her ce was a woman who survived the apocalypse. "You think it is easy to kill me? Do you even know who I am?"

    "No, I don''t," I said. And I didn''t care who she was. She had to die. But first--- "Are you okay with this?" I asked Chen Zi Han, tilting my head back to seriously look at the man that was my anchor in the storm.

    He scoffed his response, not bothering to dignify my question with an answer.

    "Why do you ask him that?" demanded the woman. I could see her trying to gather her powers and I knew that shadows were her thing.

    "Ah, allow me to introduce to you... Chen Zi Han," I said with a smile as his hand gripped my throat a bit tighter. Not enough to hurt, never enough to do that. But he also knew that I needed it, so he gave.

    The woman gasped and the shadows that she was gathering fled as she copsed on the floor. "But he is to be mine," she said as she looked around the room frantically.

    "He is mine," I said pointing to Liu Yu Zeng and her eyes followed my finger. Liu Yu Zeng smiled a maniacal smile and waved his fingers in a ''hello''. "He is mine," I said as I pointed to Wang Chao. The CEO and probably richest man in Country K if not the world, tilted his head down in a nod to acknowledge my statement.

    "He is mine," I said as I pointed to Liu Wei. The woman''s eyes followed me from man to man as I introduced them. Liu Wei didn''t move an inch as her eyes fell on him. "You''ll have to excuse him," I said with a smile as I scrunched my nose. "He is trying to figure out how to kill you without upsetting me."

    Then I reached up and grabbed the hair of the man behind me and dragged him down to my level so that our cheeks were touching and she could easily see both of us at the same time. "He is mine," I said as I raised my chin. "Any questions?"

    "You can''t have them all!" she screamed and the shadows in the room reacted to her anguish, pulling themselves from all corners of the room and swirling around her.

 Chapter 200 Darkness And Shadows

    ?

    The lights inside the RV seemed to flicker as the shadows continued to be pulled into the mass of swirling darkness. I heard the shattering of the lightbulbs and hoped that none of the guys was injured from the flying ss. I could feel the shadows flying towards the kneeling woman that thought she could take Chen Zi Han from me, their presence like a gentle breeze in the RV.

    "He is mine! I waited two lifetimes to be with him," she growled as she started to stand up, the shadows growing taller as they continued to surround her. I did understand what she was going through. Because let''s face it, she and I weren''t that much different at our core. She didn''t want to hand over something that she considered to be hers any more than I wanted to.

    But I had lived long enough to realize that no one truly cared about the happiness of someone else. No one could give me happiness, I needed to take it and protect it myself. Why should I give up Chen Zi Han simply because she wanted him? I mean, what made her think that I would be willing to give up my happiness for her to be happy?

    That was a lot of ''happy'' in one sentence.

    I could feel the men tensing up as the shadows started to berger andrger until the entire confines of the RV were covered in darkness. The fact that Chen Zi Han was still holding me in his arms was the only way I even knew that he was still there.

    "What is your decision?" I asked, running my cheek against his until my lips were touching his ears. "Flight, fight, or freeze." Deep down I needed him to make the final call so that I knew that, in the end, he picked me. I didn''t have to keep arguing with the voice that said he was with me because I gave him no other options.

    "Fight," he growled, his voice reverberating in the darkness like a beast prowling through the forest. I nodded my head in understanding.

    "Do you know what the difference is between darkness and shadows?" I asked as I heard theughter of the woman. I might not be able to see her, but I could feel her. I closed my eyes and thought about what one of the voices had said. That everyone has a me.

    Let''s put that theory to the test.

    "Your golden finger is shadows, right?" I asked, loving the feeling of Chen Zi Han behind me in the darkness. A delicious shiver went up me and it had absolutely nothing to do with fear or the current situation. I could just picture what I wanted him to do to me in this darkness. Where he would put his fingers, his tongue. I held back a moan that was threatening toe out.

    I was supposed to be fighting, not thinking about how fun it would be to climb Chen Zi Han like a tree in this darkness.

    A chuckle, something that would not be out of ce in a funhouse emerged in front of me. "What do you know?" the woman''s soft voice came out in an almost whisper. "Do you think I am that easy to beat? Do you know how many people have underestimated me, only to find themselves buried in the ground beneath my feet?"

    I paused¡­ confused. Didn''t she understand?

    "The difference between darkness and a shadow is that a shadow needs light to be able to survive," I spoke slowly to make sure that she understood. "Your ability is to slip through the shadows, but what is inside of this RV? That is pure darkness. And darkness is mine."

    I felt her pause, her moment of panic. "Can''t run, can you?" I said with a smile as my fingers started to y with Chen Zi Han''s hair. "That''s because there are no shadows in here after yours shattered the lights. What makes you, nothing."

    "Wee to the darkness, little bird. We''re all a little mad here," came Liu Yu Zeng''s voice from somewhere in the darkness. I chuckled at his words as Chen Zi Han moved his lips to start caressing my neck. My fingers gripped his hair tighter, not willing to give up this feeling.

    I closed my eyes and enjoyed the swirling feelings that Chen Zi Han was invoking when I saw it. A bright pink me in the darkness. I stared at it in front of me, knowing that it wasn''t one of my mes and it would be impossible for her to use the light to create a shadowrge enough for her to travel through. Only I could see it.

    I guess the voice was right. Everyone had a me burning inside of them.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Chen Zi Han bit down hard at the spot where my neck and my shoulder intersected and I felt my knees go weak.

    "Do you want me to kill her?" I asked, panting. All I wanted was to pull this man into me. To be so close, so joined that we didn''t know where one of us started and the other one stopped. But first things first. And this bitch really needed to be dealt with first.

    Chen Zi Han removed his mouth from my neck and gently licked up. Putting his chin on my shoulder, my hand still tangled in his hair, he shook his head. I froze for a second, worried that he was choosing her.

    After all, why else would he say no to me killing her?

    The woman let out a frustrated screech as she tried to call on her powers over and over again, only to realize that there was nothing to call. "Chen Zi Han! I am the one for you! Me and me alone. I can help you. I can make it so you are never scarred, never had your eye ripped out. I can make you stand at the top of the world, not just as the shadow of Liu Yu Zeng but because it was you that brought the zombies to their knees."

    I could feel Chen Zi Han shaking behind me, and I lost my grip on his hair.

    He stood up, and I could only feel his arm around my waist, the darkness cutting off my sense of sight to know what was going on with him. And that was when I heard it.

    It started out low at first and then built up more and more until his arms started to shake and his whole body started to tremble uncontrobly. He tilted his head back and roared withughter. I would admit that I was more than a little jealous that she could make himugh like that. I had never heard him sound like that before.

    "Is that what you think I want? To stand at the top of the world?" he asked, theughter never leaving his voice. "You clearly don''t know me at all."

    The woman gasped in the darkness as if he had physically pped her.

    "I like being in the shadows, I like going unnoticed by everyone. To me, there is nothing more satisfying than being the protector. That is what I need from a rtionship. To have my woman understand that I need to cook for her, that I need to take care of her. That I need to stand in her shadow to protect her from the world." My breath caught in my throat at his words.

    No one in their right mind would ever think that Chen Zi Han was not an Alpha male to the extreme. He was built like a brick wall and could easily kill a man with a smile on his face. And yet, that was not who he was on the inside. Inside, he was not a killer, not a thug, not a criminal. He was a protector, a caregiver. And I had never been more proud or happy to call him my own.

    "You can''t mean that!" screeched the woman in the darkness. I still didn''t know her name, but now that she was going to die, there wasn''t much point in learning it. "You should be at the top, you deserve to be acknowledged by everyone for who you are."

    Chen Zi Han just chuckled and pulled me in closer so that I was back against his chest like I never left. "I don''t want to be at the top. And I only need four people to acknowledge me." He turned his attention back to my neck and I could not have been happier. He removed the hand from my waist and ce it gently around the front of my neck. Not taking his lips off of my skin for a second, he lifted his right hand and held it out into the darkness.

    Too lost in the sensations of his lips and hand, I only barely heard the thud of a body falling to the floor in front of me.

    Chen Zi Han retracted his arm, only to have it wrap around my front as the thumb rubbed my ribs right under my breast.

    A crackle of electricity filled the air with light and this time, I couldn''t hold back the moan slipping from my lips.

 Chapter 201 "You Need More Hands,"

    ?

    (Here is your warning: NSFW. But still what I consider to be light when ites to my level of smut.)

    A ball of light cut through the darkness, bright enough that I could make it out even with my eyes closed. The electricity adding something to the atmosphere that wasn''t there before. Like tiny fireflies dancing over my skin, causing me to shiver.

    Chen Zi Han growled in my ear and tightened his grip on my neck. I loved how he knew what I needed before I even did. His teeth continued to im the right side of my neck as his index finger gently tilted my head even more to the side, giving him more room to work with.

    "If you two can wrap this up, we have a dead body in the middle of the living room that needs to be dealt with," said Liu Yu Zeng with a smile in his voice. I opened my eyes to see him sitting on the couch, staring at me. He smirked at whatever expression he saw in my eyes. "Then again, it''s not like she is getting any more dead. Please, don''t stop on our ount." He waved his hand for us to continue and I could feel Chen Zi Han''s chuckle vibrating through me.

    His right hand slowly started to roll up the bottom of my ck tank top as Wang Chao and Liu Wei made themselvesfortable on the couch and chairs. I could feel their eyes on me and it caused me to flush more.

    "She does turn a beautiful shade of pink all over when she is embarrassed," said Wang Chao from where he sat crossed-legged on the couch, his left arm resting on the armrest. He looked to be the picture of calm until you looked at his fingers and noticed how deliberately he was rubbing them together like my skin was under his hands too.

    "I don''t think she is embarrassed," said Liu Wei as he adjusted his sses higher up on his nose. "I think she is loving this."

    "Is that true, Princess?" asked Chen Zi Han as he brought my shirt up high enough to expose the underside of my right breast. "Are you loving this?" My mind didn''t work as I felt the slightest breeze against my flesh.

    I looked at Liu Wei. His fingers were flowing gently through the air and with every slight flick, a breeze skidded across my skin. He smiled as he noticed my gaze on him. I loved how he could do that, seem so impassive, and yet, I could tell I was having an impact on him.

    "You seem to be needing more hands," said Liu Yu Zeng from where he sat on the couch, the smile on his face belied the fierce, hungry look in his eyes.

    Chen Zi Han hummed in agreement as he applied pressure with his teeth to my earlobe. "But you have five kids with someone else. Let your brothere help," snickered Chen Zi Han removing his mouth from my skin to smirk at the other man.

    I expected a rush of jealousy to engulf me, maybe even white-hot rage. But there was nothing. The man sitting on the couch in front of me was not the man that had five kids with another woman in another life, decades after I died. Not to mention I killed that bitch before anything could happen.

    Liu Wei stood up and undid the cuff buttons of his dress shirt slowly and meticulously. I closed my eyes. Even his walk was causing my heart to beat furiously. He stared at me through his gold sses, his grey eyes never leaving mine as he folded his sleeves up to his elbow on each arm.

    Coming to a stop right in front of me, he slid his glove-covered hand across my ribs, over top of where Chen Zi Han''s arm still held me tight, their buttery softness giving me a different texture, a different feeling across my skin. I moaned even louder, fighting my need to close my eyes in favor of looking at the man in front of me.

    "Liu Wei, your tie," rasped Wang Chao, his gaze intent on me and the two men that surrounded me.

    Liu Wei slowly undid the ck tie that was around his next and pulled it free of his cor. Holding it between his two hands, he brought it up to my eyes before tying it behind my head, causing my world to be plunged into darkness once again.

    "I will never be able to wear this tie again without thinking about you like this, pinned between me and Chen Zi Han, blind andpletely at our mercy," he said softly into my ear. He glided his fingers down my arm until my wrist was firmly in his grasp. "How am I supposed to go out and kill zombies when the thoughts in my head make me so hard I can''t move without pain."

    He pulled my hand and rested on the center of his pants, letting me feel the hard bulge there. I swallowed hard, my eyes closed beneath the blindfold, relishing in the feeling as he let go of my wrist. My hand didn''t move, instead, without conscious thought, I gripped him harder, hearing his answering moan like I was the one with all the power right now, not the one pinned between two giant men, unable to do more than moan.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Liu Wei," came Wang Chao''s gruff voice from the couch.

    "Yes, Sir?" replied Liu Wei, I could feel his eyes on me, never leaving for a single second, but his tone reminded me of when I first met him; when he was Wang Chao''s assistant.

    "You are being rude," censured the other man.

    "Sorry, Sir," said Liu Wei, but I could hear the humor in his voice.

    "You should be attending to her, not the other way around," continued Wang Chao. His voice sounded normal, almost bored like we really were at his office, but I could hear the faintest hitching of his breath. He was enjoying this just as much as I was.

    "Of course, Sir," replied Liu Wei as he pushed me back against Chen Zi Han. "You are inplete control. You say stop, we stop. No questions, no hurt feelings, nothing. You have all the power," he whispered in my ear before he took a step back, my skin already missing the heat of his. It was a heady feeling, feeling both powerless andpletely powerful.

    This was what I craved, what I dreamed about at night. The ability to just let myself go and know that someone will catch me. The ability to not have to be strong at every minute of every day. The ability to just be me. Whatever that was.

    I felt Liu Wei''s gloved hands at my hips, sliding down my curves until they reached the waistband of my pants. I sucked in a breath, my pulse thundering in my ears as his thumbs hooked into the stic of my pajama pants, slowly pulling them down, exposing more and more of my creamy flesh.

    I heard four distinct moans as the men discovered that I wasn''t wearing any underwear, the part of me that had never been seen by any man,pletely exposed to them.

    Liu Wei dropped to his knees in front of me, as Chen Zi Han stopped his administration long enough to pull my tank top over my head, causing my breasts to gently bounce from the force of being pulled up with my shirt and then freed.

    I was starting to feel overwhelmed with everything that was going on. My heart started to pick up. I had been a virgin for almost 60 years, over three lifetimes, and this was only the second time I had experienced anything even remotely like this.

    I was about to open my mouth, to call a stop to everything when Chen Zi Han reced his hand on my throat. Theforting feeling of that weight there allowed me to get out of my head and start to enjoy the feeling that the men were creating in me.

    "You should apologize," said Wang Chao, cutting through the quietness.

    "Yes, Sir," said Liu Wei from where he was beneath me. I could feel his breath tickling the skin around my belly button. "Any suggestions, Sir?"

    Wang Chao let out a low chuckle and a sh of anger came out of nowhere at the idea that the two of them had shared before. How else would they be able to work so wlessly together? ''Never, little girl,'' came the growl of Wang Chao in my head, knowing my thoughts. ''We have never done this before. Never wanted to do this. But you call on different parts of us and we can''t help but answer. Now, turn off your mind and enjoy.''

    I rxed as his words gave me the reassurance that I needed. I trusted them. If he said that they had never done this before then I would believe him.

    I took a breath and turned off my mind as best as I could, ready to be swept up with what was toe next.

 Chapter 202 Underestimated Their Numbers

    ?

    (The first bit is NSFW there is a break if you want to skip it.)

    "We apologize with our mouths, Liu Wei," said Wang Chao from where he sat watching us on the couch, directing what was going on like a conductor in front of an orchestra. I could feel the sticky wetness rush out from between my legs at his words and I couldn''t stop the moan of encouragement if I wanted to.

    I could feel Liu Wei''s breath getting closer and closer to my core and my thighs clenched together in response. "I can''t obey the CEO if you are like that. Do you want me to get into trouble?" teased Liu Wei as he gently pulled my thighs apart. I forced them to rx, embarrassed by my wetness but knowing that it was their fault too. I had never felt like this before them. Never had all these desires swirling in my brain.

    Supported by Chen Zi Han at my back, hisrge hand engulfing my neck in its warm security, I pulled my thighs apart, letting Liu Wei see the deepest part of me. "So beautiful, so wet. Is this for us?" he hummed as he brought his gloved hand up and gently swiped his finger through my lips, capturing my essence. Bringing it to his lips, he sucked me off of his finger. "Delicious."

    He picked up my right leg and ced it on his shoulder. The only thing keeping me standing was Chen Zi Han''s arm wrapped around my ribs, his thumb still worrying that spot under my breast, not once moving to grip it. I moan as Liu Wei took a slow swipe of his tongue from my back to my front, causing the leg that was still somewhat supporting me to buckle. I tilt my head back to rest on Chen Zi Han''s chest, loving the feeling of Liu Wei''s mouth on me.

    I had read about it countless of times, but the idea had never seen so erotic as what he was doing to me now. "Harder, Liu Wei. You need to apologize for putting yourself first. The Queen alwayses first," rasped Wang Chao, his voice bing deeper with every word, causing my body to go into overdrive. Liu Wei picked up his pace and started to lick me like I was his favorite dessert. The juxtaposition between Chen ZI Han''s slow advances and Liu Wei''s hard licks against my center as his hands gripped my ass caused me toe so hard I screamed my release, and coated Liu Wei''s face in my juices.

    I opened my mouth to say something, but before I could say a single word, a knock came at the door. The men had a look of darkness fall over their faces like they were ready to go to war against whoever was standing on the other side of that door.

    Me, I couldn''t think, I could barely stand. My body continued to tremble from my release as Liu Wei gently put my leg down. Chen Zi Han continued to support me as the pounding on the door got louder and more insistent.

    "Take her to her room," said Wang Chao, the rage in his voice almost made me pity whoever was on the other side of the door. Almost.

    Liu Wei untied his tie from around my eyes and then gave me a gentle kiss on my lips. The taste of myself caused me to moan, my core getting wet again, upset that it was empty when it should have been filled.

    "Don''t worry, little girl, this is not the end," said Wang Chao as he came over to me and brushed the hair out of my eyes, and gave me a gentle kiss on my forehead. The knocking continued, shaking the door with each bang.

    Scooping me up into his arms, Chen Zi Han strolled across the RV and into my room. Shutting the door behind us, he gently ced me on the bed and went to the washroom.

    Coming out with a wet face cloth, he spread my legs apart and, despite my objections, proceeded to clean me up. "Get some sleep, Princess, I am here," he said as he put the dirty cloth in the hamper to be washed and crawled into bed with me.

    As much as I wanted to yell at them for having that woman in my home, Liu Wei more than made up for it. Maybe I would give the boys a pass this one time.

    Gathering me up in his arms, I sighed in pure contentment and closed my eyes. Letting the day wash over me as I fell asleep.

    ---

    Liu Wei adjusted his tie as Liu Yu Zeng and Wang Chao came to stand beside him. The pounding hadn''t stopped even after all this time. It made him wonder what was so important it was worth his life. And let''s be truthful about it. He would die.

    Bringing up his gloves to his nose, Liu Wei inhaled Li Dai Lu''s smell. With a smile on his face, he took off those gloves and reced them with the ones that he normally used for work. He knew that she liked the feeling of the soft leather on her skin, but he didn''t want to contaminate her perfection with the dirtiness of the others.

    "Liu Yu Zeng, the door please," said Wang Chao as he went to sit down on the couch, stepping over the body of He Xin Yi. Liu Yu Zeng nodded his head, a gleam in his eyes showing just how thin of a thread he was holding on to.

    Walking over to the door, he flung it wide open, causing it to bang off the other wall before trying to swing back again. "Can I help you?" he asked, the low rumble of his voice would have sent any sane person off running. But clearly, the person in front of him didn''t catch on too quickly.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    The person pushed Liu Yu Zeng aside and strolled into Li Dai Lu''s RV like he owned it. Liu Yu Zeng dropped his head and proceeded to shut the door behind the second intruder of the night. The fact that he locked the door so quietly there was only the slightest sound waspletely lost on the neer.

    "Major General," said Wang Chao from where he sat on the couch, his fingers tapping in agitation against the armrest. "How can we help you? Clearly, this is some type of emergency or you would not have been so¡­ persistent¡­ abouting in."

    "First, you can exin that," replied the Major General pointing to the dead body on the floor. As much as the woman only died a few minutes ago, her corpse was nothing but a dried-out husk. Her yellow skin wrinkled over the top of her bones as if she had been dead for centuries.

    "Exin what?" asked Liu Yu Zeng as he maneuvered around the Major General to find his own ce on the couch. Liu Wei stood beside Wang Chao, his hand behind his back, but he couldn''t prevent his fingers from clenching and unclenching. He was, by no means, satisfied with how their evening ended. The only saving grace was that Li Dai Lu was somewhat satisfied before the other man''s arrival. But it was a small constion.

    Her taste still danced over his tongue, making him want more.

    "Exin why you have a dead body in this ce," snarled the Major General as he looked between the three men.

    "What body?" asked Liu Yu Zeng, practically purring. A wave of dark mist crawled up the husk of what once was a healthy, vibrant woman less than an hour ago. The Major General watched wide-eyed as the mist consumed everything in its path, leaving no trace of evidence behind that there was ever a bodyying on the floor.

    The Major General looked at the man sitting so calmly on the couch as if his power didn''t justpletely disintegrate a body. "What are you?" he asked, not believing his eyes.

    "Well, I can tell you," said Liu Yu Zeng as he opened his palm and let out a tiny strand of ck mist. "But I think you would understand better if I showed you."

    The Major General backed up so fast that he bumped into the ind, the same ce where they had almost devoured their woman. The frown on the faces of the three men matched as they stared at the Major General.

    "It is gettingte, maybe you could hurry up and let us know why you are here?" said Wang Chao, still the perfect picture of calm andposed.

    "You said that the zombies weren''t there. You were wrong," snarled the Major General finally getting some steam back.

    "They''re back?" repeated Wang Chao as he cocked his head to the side. A small smile appeared on his face. "That''s perfect. My wife will be so happy to hear that," he continued as he looked at the other man. "If that is everything, Deng Jun Hie¡­"

    "It''s not," admitted Deng Jun Hie. He paused, not sure what to say next. Normally, Wang Chao would not bother to break the silence, but tonight, he was in a bit of a hurry.

    "Then what is it?"

    Deng Jun Hie closed his eyes. "We might have underestimated their numbers a bit," he admitted, not looking at any of the men.

    "What is the correct number of zombies then?" asked Wang Chao.

    "A little over 2,000."

 Chapter 203 The Over/Under

    ?

    "How much is a little over?" asked Wang Chao as he stared at the man in front of him. Truth be told he was d that the tide was still on time. Li Dai Lu was too stressed about it for this to not be a good thing for them.

    Major General Deng Jun Hie just stared at Wang Chao, refusing to answer the question.

    "Must be a lot over then," smirked Liu Yu Zeng from where he sat on the couch beside Wang Chao. "Want to do an over/under?" he asked as he turned his attention to where Liu Wei was standing. Liu Wei scoffed at that. "What''s the bet then?"

    "Who gets to eat next," said Liu Yu Zeng. He was more than a little upset that he had to sit back while Li Dai Lu wasid out in front of him like a buffet. Liu Wei smirked and dragged his thumb just under his bottom lip. "No way in Hell. It was delicious and I will be feasting again as soon as possible."

    Liu Yu Zeng snarled half-heartedly at his brother before turning his attention to Wang Chao. Thetter rolled his eyes. "No way am I putting a bet on that. Besides, you would lose. The number is 2,800. Give or take."

    Deng Jun Hie''s face turned pale as he heard the number that Wang Chao just said.

    "That seems like more than just a bit more than 2,000. He probably should have gone with under 3,000 because now he looks like an idiot," said Liu Yu Zeng as he rolled his eyes and looked at the man in front of them. He was treading on thin ice as it was after interrupting ytime, and now he was outright lying to them. No one would consider 800 zombies only a little over.

    "How did you know that?" asked Deng Jun Hie as he took a seat at the kitchte ind. "Magic," scoffed Wang Chao.

    "Why are you here Major General?" asked Liu Wei. It was gettingte and he was jealous of Chen Zi Han being able to cuddle with Sweetheart instead of dealing with this guy.

    "We need your help," said the man. He sighed and his shoulderspletely deted. "I have no idea how we are going to survive this."

    "It''s all fun and games until a zombie tidees," said Liu Yu Zeng nodding his head. "But you realized that we tried to help, and you allughed in our faces," he continued. "Now, I am one of those people that believe that you only get one chance. If you fuck it up, then that''s on you. Fortunately for you, she is much more forgiving than I am."

    "She?" asked Deng Jun Hie as he looked around the enclosed space. There were no women here. The other three men didn''t say anything. "Okay, look," said Deng Jun Hie taking a deep breath. "We screwed up by not believing you. I don''t know how you knew, but you did and I should have listened." It was as close to an apology as they were going to get and they all knew it.

    "We have two more delegatesing to the meeting tomorrow from City Q. They are both from their top two teams so they should be able to help us too."

    "I thought we all agreed that the meetings were useless seeing as no one could agree on anything," said Liu Wei raising his eyebrow.

    "I know. Things will change," said Deng Jun Hie as he stood up and walked towards the door. "But we need your help."

    "We will think about it," said Wang Chao nodding his head. He wouldn''t make any promises without consulting with Li Dai Lu first. She knew what was going to happen. The rest of them were just winging it and hoping not to die. It would be her call, and they would listen.

    Deng Jun Hie nodded his head and left the RV.

    "Anyone else know what just happened?" asked Liu Yu Zeng as he stretched his neck. Rubbing it from behind, he tried to loosen up the tight muscles. It was one thing to know that they were going to be putting themselves in the way of a zombie tide, and it was quite another knowing the numbers involved.

    "What just happened was that Sweetheart was right, they areing. Whates next is up to her," shrugged Liu Wei as he undid his tie and the top few buttons of his shirt. "But no matter what, tomorrow morning is going toe early so I am going to bed."

    Without giving the other men a chance to process his statement, Liu Wei strode towards the shut door where Li Dai Lu and Chen Zi Han were sleeping. If he nned it right, he should be able to steal the spot next to her. The other two could figure out their own ces to sleep.

    Smirking in the darkness, he slipped into the room and into the bed. stering his front against her back as sheid half-sprawled against Chen Zi Han, Liu Wei gave her a gentle kiss on her shoulder de. He met Chen Zi Han''s gaze and nodded his head. Everything could wait until the morning.

    ----<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    I stared down the same hallway that I walked through yesterday and sighed. I mean, it was kind of funny that the carpet squished under my feet from the amount of water that had melted, but there was something off today and I couldn''t put my finger on it.

    I felt like I was going to have a panic attack, but I had no idea why. I wasn''t too worried about the zombie tide. Even if the zombies weren''t terrified of me and the guys, we could still take out a huge chunk of them. So that was under control.

    Was I stressed about supplies? No¡­ I had enough for now. More would be nice, but that was because more was always better than having us be short anything.

    My rtionships were good, even better afterst night. So that wasn''t what was twisting my gut into knots.

    FNG was the soldier designated to bring us to the meeting today, and he was walking down the hallway toward the conference room not noticing that none of us were following him. He turned to look at us and then walked back down the hallway, a look of impatience on his face.

    "Is there something wrong?" he demanded. He was getting a lot braver now that he was in his own territory, I would give him that. It was stupid, but as least he seemed to have more of a backbone than I had originally given him credit for.

    Wang Chao held up his hand. "We know where the room is. We will be there when we are ready. You are dismissed."

    "Yes, General," said FNG as he saluted to Wang Chao before he even realized what he was doing. I had to hold back a chuckle, but it was funny.

    "Have you figured it out?" asked Wang Chao once FNG left through the stairwell on the other side of the hall.

    "Figure out what?" asked Chen Zi Han from where he stood behind me.

    "She feels like there is something wrong," said Wang Chao answering his questions so I could continue going through the checklist of things that made me want to puke.

    Bad food? Nope, only ate a carrot cake today so that couldn''t be it.

    Too much coffee? No¡­ guys have limited my coffee and I have only had tworge cups this morning instead of my regr 5.

    Colin? I mean, I got this feeling when Colin was around. But his men killed him (with a little help) and I burned him to ashes, so it couldn''t be him.

    What the ever-loving fuck could it be?

    "How about we go to the meeting and you can sit down and think about it more," suggested Liu Weiing to stand in front of me. Looking down in my eyes, he tilted my head back to be able to look at him better. My mind briefly shed to where his mouth had beenst night and I could feel myself start to blush.

    He only chuckled. "Such an expressive face," he said as he dragged his glove-covered thumb over my bottom lip. Did he know what those gloves did to me? "I do," he said as he leaned forward to whisper in my ear. "And I will definitely not leave you wanting in the future." He ced a soft kiss on my lips before he stood up. "We are here, we are not going to leave. Whatever has set you off, we can face together and kill it."

    He spoke with all the confidence in the world, and given his nickname of Death, I think he more than deserved it. I smiled at him and nodded my head. I couldn''t figure it out here in the hall, I might as well go sit down and go through things again.

    Straightening my back, I lifted my chin up and strolled into the conference room with my head held high.

    Fake it ''til you make it¡­ right?

 Chapter 204 â€œIsnâ€™t That Convenient.â€

    ?

    "Li Dai Lu? What the fuck are you doing here?" demanded a voice as soon as Liu Wei opened the door to the conference room for me. I was startled. This was the first time in two lifetimes that anyone had called my name like that. Like they knew me.

    And then it hit. My stomach twisted so badly that the pain almost knocked the air from my lungs and my legs almost gave out. I would have copsed to the ground if Chen Zi Han hadn''t quickly wrapped his arms around me. Pinning me against his chest, I listened to his heartbeat, not noticing the reaction of my other men.

    Liu Wei and Wang Chao slide in front of me protecting me from the eyesight of whoever knew me in this room while Liu Yu Zeng stood beside Chen Zi Han, protecting my back. I knew they could feel my pain, but I didn''t know how to stop it nor could I spend the energy worrying about it.

    I had never had this much pain in any of my lives before. Not even being ripped apart by the zombies was this excruciating. I opened my mouth, trying to get a breath of air, but my lungs refused to work.

    "Li Dai Lu?" said the voice again. The condensation in its tone practically dripped out with every word he spoke. As soon as he said my name again, the pain was back, this time stronger than before. And considering that I wasn''t able to function against the first wave, let alone recover before the second wave, I was ready to pass out. Damn the consequences.

    ''Go into your space, little one,'' said Wang Chao as his voice prated my mind, causing some of the pain to go away. I debated whether or not I should, I knew that no one would see me blinking in and out, but that meant that I was running away from whatever it was. And I refused to run away.

    Taking a deep steadying breath, I concentrated only on breathing in and out¡­ in and out¡­ in and out.

    "Wang Chao?" said the voice, but this time, it wasn''t as painful. "Hello, I am Li Shoi Ming, we have met a few times in City A." Wang Chao nodded his head in acknowledgment but otherwise ignored the other man.

    He walked over to the same empty chairs that we sat in yesterday, but instead of sitting down, he held it out for me. Straightening my back, refusing to back down any more than I already had, I walked forward and tried my best not to copse as I lowered myself into the chair. Grabbing the chair beside me, Wang Chao sat down shortly after. The rest of the men fanned out behind us, refusing to go to the wall where the other people acting as security waited.

    "I am so sorry for the inconvenience, Wang Chao," said the guy whose voice sent ripples of pain through my whole body. I clenched my hand, refusing to give in to the pain. I didn''t understand what was going on and not knowing was almost worse than the pain itself.

    "What inconvenience?" asked Wang Chao, finally turning his attention to the man sitting across the table from us. He was young, and when I say young, I meant that he was probably around Wang Chao''s age. He looked like a businessman before the EMP, his posture and the words that he spoke screaming privilege. And while he might have a slight bloody aura now, it was not as much as my men had.

    I looked at the woman that sat just to his right. Like him, she wasn''t here yesterday and was probably part of his team. I would fully admit that she was stunning with long ck hair and blue eyes. In fact, she looked a lot like me. Her eyes widened as she looked at me and realized the same thing.

    "I am so sorry for making you escort my cousin around. She should have been in City A though, I don''t know what she could possibly be doing here," he said as he smiled at me. The smile promised pain and torture and my body quivered as it tried to make itself smaller. The reactions were so strong that I couldn''t stop myself.

    This was not me. I no longer had panic attacks since all four of the boyos started to travel with me. I thought that I had gotten over it. Apparently not.

    "Cousin?" asked Wang Chao, his voice smooth and confident as he picked up my trembling hand and brought it to his lips. "I had no idea," he continued as he felt me rx from his touch.

    "Yes, we are cousins on our father''s side," the man, Li Shoi Ming, said before he turned his attention back to me. Having his eyes on me shot my fear back into a DEFCON 1 level. "Come here, Li Dai Lu, don''t be so stubborn. Leave the man alone and stop clinging to him. It is embarrassing. I thought that Uncle and Auntie would have taught you better than this."

    I heard a scoffing from behind me, right before I felt Liu Yu Zeng''s hand on my shoulder. With two of my men touching me, my body rxed even further and Iid my head on his stomach as I looked up at him. "I don''t think she likes you. Are you sure you are rted?"<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    All the guys knew that I didn''t have any memories from this body''s previous life. I knew absolutely nothing about her, well, other than she was loaded and didn''t seem to have any family. But maybe that was her choice. Maybe it was her fear and pain that I was feeling. Something so ingrained into her that it became more of a muscle memory than anything else.

    "She is merely throwing a temper tantrum, just ignore her. We had a fight a while back and haven''t spoken since. Apparently, she hasn''t gotten over it."

    If the feeling that this body was giving me was anything to go by, it was more than a simple fight.

    "I think she is fine, right here," said Wang Chao as he stared at the man iming to be my cousin. Li Shoi Ming¡­ even thinking the name was causing me to start hyperventting. I guess he was going to have to die.

    "I understand that you are very protective of women," said Li Shoi Ming as he took his eyes off of me and turned to look at Wang Chao. "But you don''t need to worry about her anymore. She will being home with me after we sort out this horde thing. My father has been missing her and so has my mother. They will be ecstatic to know that she is safe."

    That did it.

    I closed my eyes, shing into my space and into my bathroom in the house. Bending over the toilet, I started throwing up, tearsing to my eyes at the force that I was expelling everything from my stomach. Unfortunately, since I only had cake and coffee for breakfast, I was quickly out of stomach contents and had moved on to dry heaving.

    And in my opinion, dry heaving is much, much more painful than actually just throwing up.

    I sunk down to the floor, still holding onto the edges of the toilet seat as my stomach continued to rebel, the need to throw up never letting up for a second. Blindly, I reached over to the toilet paper and pulled it to me, tearing it off after a while.

    I wiped my tears and my mouth just as my stomach reminded me that it wasn''t done yet.

    With another painful contraction, I groaned as nothing came out, just the unrelenting feeling of pain and nausea.

    I was so out of it that I didn''t notice the soothing hands on my head as they gently pulled the stic out of my hair that was holding up my bun. My stomach heaved again, but the hands just started to massage my scalp, allowing me a brief bit of pleasure amongst the pain.

    "Do I even want to know how you got in here?" I asked as more bile came out. Putting down the lid and flushing the toilet, I rested my cheek against the cold porcin and opened one eye to look at where Chen Zi Han kneeled right behind me, my head in his two massive hands as he tried to help me with the headache that was starting to form.

    He let out a low chuckle as he started fingerbing my hair, gently pulling it together so that he could braid it. "I don''t think that there is anywhere you can go that we can''t follow," he admitted, my hair gliding through his fingers as he weaved them back and forth. Before I could say anything, the braid was done and tied off with the scrunchie from before.

    "Well, isn''t that convenient," I said with a smile, still refusing to lift my head or otherwise move.

    "I think it is," he agreed as he stood up and went to the sink. His actions were careful and precise.

 Chapter 205 Chen Zi Han

    ?

    "You''ve done this a lot," I said as I watched him go through the motions of wetting a facecloth before bringing it over to me. "I think I might be jealous." My cheek was still resting on the closed toilet seat as my stomach couldn''t decide if it had put me through enough misery or not.

    He let out a low chuckle as he began wiping down my face with the cold facecloth. I continued to stare at him, never letting him leave my eyesight. "No need to be jealous," he said as he sat down on the tile floor behind me, spreading his legs so that he coulde right up behind me. Gently pulling me away from the toilet, he brought my head to his chest and the two of us just sat there as he rubbed my hair.

    It''s funny. Out of every book I have ever read, every movie, manga, and tv show, I think that this was the most romantic thing that I had ever experienced. Here was a big, strong man, more than a decade older than me sitting on the floor of my bathroom after just watching me puke my guts out and he was cuddling with me.

    I could feel the tears start to run down my face, but I didn''t want to move. I always thought that it was the grand gestures that showed just how much someone loved you, but right now, Chen Zi Han made me realize that that was not the case at all, real love, real dedication was this; seeing you at your worst and still wanting to hold you.

    "My mother was sick almost every day growing up," he said in a hesitant voice, his hand that was soothing my hair never stopping.

    "I''m sorry," I said, and I really was. I had been in foster care long enough to hear how devastating it was for a child with a sick parent.

    "Don''t be, it was self-inflected," he admitted, not moving or looking at me. "She had a thing for drugs, alcohol, and men." I could feel the hurt and loneliness pouring out of the man that held a piece of my soul.

    "I had to take care of her for as long as I can remember," he continued, his hand never pausing for a second as he continued to rub my head as if it was as much for him as it was for me. "By the time the drugs had finally gotten to her, there wasn''t much of her left. Instead of bing a ward of the state, I decided to vanish, try my luck on the streets. I mean, better the devil you know that the one you don''t, right?"

    My two hands came up and held onto the forearm that was across my chest, trying to show him my love and support as much as I could without breaking the silence.

    "I was almost 16 when I came across the Red Dragon Syndicate. I had been on the streets for four years, trying to make out a life. I didn''t go to school, I didn''t have friends, all I had was my fists and the drive to be at the top." He sighed and ced a kiss on the top of my head. I squeezed his forearm more in response. "The rest is history," he finished after a pause. I knew it couldn''t be that easy, especially not if he was in the Syndicate for only 15 years and was already firmly established as the second inmand of the heir and an enforcer. But I wouldn''t force him to talk.

    I kissed his arm and leaned my head against his chest.

    "I feel like I am useful when I can look after someone I love," he confessed with a voice so soft I almost couldn''t hear him. "I need that feeling. I need to look after you almost more than I need my next breath. I need to cook your food, I need to brush your hair, I need to take care of you if you are sick and I need to kill anyone that causes you pain."

    Well, that escted quickly. But I wasn''t going toin.

    "I know you are strong, that you are independent. I know that we probably would have been dead by now if you hadn''t been there to rescue us. Even if the zombies didn''t get us, I would have been dead inside just by not knowing you."

    Tears were streaming down my face again, but I didn''t want to interrupt him. I closed my eyes and sunk more into his chest and tilted my head back.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "What that woman said, about the future of me and Liu Yu Zeng? I could see it. I could see myself doing nothing more than being the shield for Liu Yu Zeng because I needed to look after him. But that wasn''t the future that I wanted for myself. I wanted to find someone that could ept my need to care for them, I wanted a family, and the idea that I had to live vicariously through Liu Yu Zeng would have been slowly ripping me apart every day like a wound that I couldn''t close."

    He took a deep shuttering breath as he pulled me even closer to him until I was practically sitting on top of him, his head buried in my neck as he breathed in my scent. "Thank you for giving me my dream," he whispered as he gently kissed my neck. "Thank you foring into my life," he said with another kiss just behind my ear.

    Taking in a deep breath andposing himself, he stood up, never dropping me for a second as he swung me up into his arms and out of the bathroom. cing me gently on my bed, he lightly covered me with a fluffy nket. "All that to say," he started as he went back into the bathroom and started to clean up the mess that I had left behind. "Li Shoi Ming is going to die. How that happens is up to you, but he will die."

    "Honestly, I think it is a visceral reaction that the body still has even after all this time," I said as I rolled over onto my side and watched as he wiped down the counter and sink. "I have no memories of him at all, but the fear¡ª"

    "We know, we all felt the fear, the pain. That is why he must die," he said as he threw the dirty cloth into theundry basket to be der and came over to join me on the bed.

    "You care that much about the woman whose body I have taken over?" I asked with a smirk on my face.

    "Fuck that, but unfortunately you have the pain and fear of the previous owner so we have to take care of it so that it doesn''t affect you again. No more throwing up," he growled as he gently rolled me over and ced me how he wanted me on his chest. "Now sleep, when we go back no one will know what happened and you can deal with everything then."

    "Thank you, Chen Zi Han," I said as I rubbed my fingers over his chest. I wanted to tell him that I was falling in love with him, that I was in love with him, but I held back. I knew they could feel what I felt. They could feel my love. And when I gathered the courage to say it out loud, they could hear it then too.

    ---

    I shed the two of us back to the same spots we were in before that whole episode, this time much more able to deal with the feelings of the original Li Dai Lu. Wang Chao gripped my fingers tightly from where they were in his hand and he gave me a kiss to the temple.

    "Feel better?" he asked, ignoring whatever Li Shoi Ming seemed to want to say. I nodded my head, "And it was a surprise to see that you guys could follow me into that space," I said as I looked back at Chen Zi Han. I had managed to do a load ofundry and put back on the same clothes so it shouldn''t be too noticeable that I had vanished.

    "Well, we do have a piece of you in us," he said with a smile on his face. "We can and will follow you to the ends of the world and beyond." I rolled my eyes and smiled for the first time since I had woken up that day with a sick sense of dread in my stomach. "So you will follow me back to City A and the ranch?" I asked.

    "Anywhere," he promised me with a smile and I believed him.

    Before I could say another word, the door to the conference room opened, and in walked the Major General. "Ladies and Gentlemen," he said with a nod to everyone around the room. Going to his seat, he looked at each one of us. "There have been a few changes sincest we spoke."

 Chapter 206 Not My First Rodeo

    ?

    I watched as a serious air fell onto everyone in the room. Those at the table sat up straighter while those along the walls were no longer leaning so casually. Everyone, it seemed, was holding their breath, waiting for the Major General''s next words.

    Well, everyone but us, that was. Chen Zi Han draped my favorite ck fuzzy nket over myp as I brought out coffees for everyone. I was particrly happy with the mug I ''identally'' poured my drink into. It read: ''Blood stains are red, ultraviolet lights are blue. I watch enough murder shows, they''ll never find you.''

    Taking a sip of my coffee and curling up in the chair beside Wang Chao, I finally felt like I was back to normal. I was not going to let this body dictate what I was feeling. Stretching my neck I took another sip and turned my attention to the ass at the head of the table who changed his tune in under 24 hours.

    Surprising how that sometimes happens, wasn''t it?

    "What we had originally thought to be a horde of maybe 100 zombies has grown," said Deng Jun Hie as he looked around the room. His gaze settled on Wang Chao for a second, but then he quickly looked away.

    "What are we looking at now?" asked Li Shoi Ming as he looked at the woman beside him. The two shared a look before turning their attention back to the Major General.

    "A little over 2,000 zombies atst count," answered Deng Jun Hie, his voice somber as a nervous energy spread out from him. He was in way over his head and he knew it too.

    I heard a choking sound from behind me and I looked back only to see Liu Wei beating the back of Liu Yu Zeng. "Is everything ok?" I asked looking at the two men in confusion. "All good, Sweetheart," said Liu Wei with a smile as he continued to pound on Liu Yu Zeng. "His coffee just went down the wrong pipe."

    I gave them a weird look but simply nodded my head before I turned back to the Major General. His eyes had narrowed on my boys and I didn''t appreciate his look.

    "Want to be a bit more exact in the numbers? Just so we know what we are getting into?" I asked as I stared him down. If he had an issue with what was mine, he would have to go through me first. And that would be thest thing he would ever do.

    You know, sometimes I wonder if there hadn''t been an apocalypse, would I have turned into a serial killer or something? I seemed to be more and more bloodthirsty every time I died and came back.

    "It would be more urate to say; n for 3,000 and prey we don''t get that many, but that is just me," said Wang Chao as he stared back at the Major General. Now, as far as I was concerned, there was a big difference between 2,000 and 3,000. As in a whole 1,000. In my first life, I would have killed for $1,000. That amount of money would make a big difference to a lot of people. So to say that 3,000 is only a few more than 2,000 made me question how his brain worked.

    "Do you want to run this meeting?" asked Deng Jun Hie through gritted teeth, looking like he would leap over the table and try to strangle Wang Chao.

    "He might run it better," said my joker that loved to press buttons. I took another sip of coffee just to hide my smile.

    "Alright kids," I said as I put down my mug and looked at everyone at the table. I ignored Li Shoi Ming and hispanion, but I managed to capture the attention of everyone. "I think we can all agree that another meeting like yesterday would not be productive, and as I would like to think that everyone here is enough of an adult to pick a single leader, I don''t think that that is going to happen. So here is how things are going to go."

    I met the eyes of the Major General, not backing down in the slightest. "There are clearly five independent teams at this table so we will be dividing into five different groups. Each group would need about 50-100 people. Clearly the more people the better, but I will leave that up to the team leaders." I went around the room starting with the Major General and gave each team a number.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Teams 1-3 are going to be responsible forying out traps for the zombies. Make sure that the traps are more along the lines of caging them rather than trying to behead them or anything along those lines. We don''t need to multiply almost 3,000 zombies simply because you guys can''t follow directions." I opened my mouth to continue when someone cut me off.

    "That is enough, Li Dai Lu. You don''t know what you are talking about so you need to be quiet. I don''t know why a person like Wang Chao even let you be in here in the first ce, but it is not your ce to be directing everyone," snarled Li Shoi Ming, a look of anger cracking through his nice guy fa?ade.

    I didn''t have to say a word, my men spoke for me loud and clear. Each one of my guys had their personal 9mm pointed at the man across from me, the man that imed to be my cousin. "And I don''t think that you understand how this is going to work," I said as I took another sip of my coffee, not caring that my guys were ready for war.

    "If you want to live, you do as I say. If you don''t, then we will get up and leave you to your own devices," I said with a shrug of my shoulders.

    "That''s funny, you said the same thing yesterday, and yet, you are still here," came a voice from the doorway. I turned my attention to them just in time to see Zhao Jia Li and her entourage entering into the conference room and taking their seats.

    "Almost as funny as you being unable to make a meeting on time two days in a row. But I am pretty sure that you know what I am capable of. Or did you forget just how we managed to leave the Naval Base?" I asked as I took a sip from my cup. Not getting anything out of it, I looked down and frowned at it for being empty. Theserge mugs really didn''t seem to hold as much coffee as they used to.

    There was silence from Zhou Jia Li and her men, but not everyone was so quiet. "Li Dai Lu, you don''t speak to someone like that. Apparently, my father will have to take you well in hand when I bring you back."

    I had to swallow the bile that rose from my stomach at his words as my body broke out in cold sweat. That was the second time I had such a reaction at the mention of Li Shoi Ming''s father. There was something wrong there. But I would sort it out a different day.

    "Let''s see if you even make it back to tell your father anything," I said, maintaining myposure even as my stomach was trying toe out of my throat again. "Now, teams 4 and 5, you will be in charge of the security of teams 1, 2, and 3. They can''t do their job fast and effectively if they have to keep looking over their shoulders. Team 6," I said as I turned my attention to Zhou Jia Li.

    "We won''t be doing anything," said Zhou Jia Li with a smirk on her face as she challenged me. "My job is to stay in the base and heal those that need me."

    I smiled in return. "Even better," I said with a nod, causing her eyes to go wide when I agreed with her. "Then team 6. You can stay in the base and organize everything here. We will need a hospital set up; somewhere where injured people know to go to. We will also need someone to take ount of the supplies. We don''t need anyone taking advantage of the situation to take more supplies than they should have."

    Major General Deng Jun Hie looked at me after I had finished giving my directions. "Didn''t think about that, did you?" I asked with a smile. "This is not my first rodeo," I said, both to reassure him and to mock him at the same time. The only thing predictable about human nature was that we would do whatever we needed to do to survive.

    "Li Dai Lu," said Li Shi Ming, his jaw clenching as he said my name. "Can I speak to you for a minute outside in the hall?"

    I felt my men stiffen, not liking the idea, but I wanted to go. I needed to go.

    So I nodded my head and stood up, leaving Wang Chao as the decision-maker for our group.

 Chapter 207 Useful For Something

    ?

    I scraped my chair back against the floor and stood up. I gestured for Li Shoi Ming to head out in front of me and as he left the conference room, I followed.

    I had just stepped through the door when I was backhanded across my face. My head snapped to the left and I could taste the blood in my mouth. "Well, that was stupid," I said with a smile as I stepped to the side to give the raging bull that had followed behind me ess to his target.

    The roar that Chen Zi Han let out was enough to cause Li Shoi Ming to turn pale as my man grabbed the shorter man by the throat and had him pinned up against the wall before I could even wipe the drop of blood from my lip.

    "Does someone want to exin?" asked Wang Chao from where he stood in the doorway, my other two men on either side of him. I turned back to look into the conference room and saw that everyone was crowded in the doorway, trying to see what was going on.

    I licked the blood off of my finger and then cracked my neck from side to side. "Family dispute. Don''t worry about it. You guys go back in and iron out the details. We will need to get started in the next hour or so if we want to take advantage of the sunlight," I said as I looked at Wang Chao.

    This wasn''t the first time I had been hit and it wouldn''t be thest. Chen Zi Han and I could take care of this cousin of mine and the rest needed to get to work.

    Wang Chao nodded his head and everyone filed back into the room. Well, everyone except for the woman that was sitting beside Li Shoi Ming in the meeting and Liu Yu Zeng. My joker was not looking so happy right now.

    I returned my attention back to Chen Zi Han and the man that he had pinned up against the wall. Immediately my mind went to him and me in that position for an entirely different reason, but now was not the time to have my mind in the gutter. I had a cousin to deal with.

    I could feel my cheek radiate in pain and start to swell, but it was not so bad that I couldn''t ignore it.

    I was about to step forward when I saw a brief glimpse of an unknown hand reaching out to me. Luckily for me, it was stopped before it could actually touch me. "We don''t touch," said Liu Yu Zeng as he gripped the woman''s wrist that was about to stop me. "We don''t ever touch," he repeated, this time with a smile that wasn''t a smile.

    She nodded her head and withdrew her hand once Liu Yu Zeng let go. Rubbing her wrist, she looked at me. The longer I stared at her, the more I realized that we really did look alike, but as I had assumed, she was not as vertically challenged as me.

    "He didn''t mean it," she started to say before I burst outughing.

    "He didn''t mean it?" I asked once myughter died down to only a chuckle. "Let me guess? He had a hard day at work? He was just frustrated? He will never do it again? I just need to behave better? Which one is it?" I continued as I stood in front of her, my head cocked to the side. There were a whole host of excuses that men had for hitting women and women had for when men hit them.

    And I had heard them all at some point in my first life working and living in the foster system.

    She looked at me and the gentle look on her face slid off as she stared at me. "He really didn''t mean it," she said again as she searched my face. We could have been twins and I saw the moment she realized it too.

    "Sucks to be the substitute, doesn''t it?" I asked with a smile, turning my back on her. This had just entered a whole new level of creepy, especially if those two were together, together.

    Li Shoi Ming''s face was bright red from Chen Zi Han''s hand by the time I managed to walk the few steps to the other side of the hall. I might have taken my time, but that was neither here nor there. "I think that that was a bit uncalled for, don''t you?" I asked the man as more blood trickled down my chin. I must have bitten the inside of my mouth when he hit me.

    My tongue gently probed my cheek until I could feel the torn flesh. Yup, there it was. I shuddered. Whenever I thought about torn flesh, my mind immediately went to the Reavers and that was not somece I wanted to go right now.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Li Shoi Ming only red at me, not bothering to answer my question. I didn''t know if it was because he was so stubborn, or if it was because Chen Zi Han was preventing him from being able to speak. I was willing to go with the second possibility and I tapped Chen Zi Han''s forearm a couple of times. Backing away, Chen Zi Han watched as Li Shoi Ming fell into a heap at our feet.

    "There, now you should be able to answer, right?" I asked as I crouched down beside the man. "Don''t you think that it was uncalled for? Backhanding me like that? You made me bleed." I could feel my temper rising every time my tongue touched the torn flesh of my inner cheek. As much as my brain kept telling my tongue not to touch it, it couldn''t seem to help itself. Stupid tongue.

    Li Shoi Ming red at me from the ground as he rubbed his throat. "Heart or hands?" asked Liu Yu Zeng as he came up beside me. He looked down at my cousin as if he was nothing more than a hunk of beef on the butcher''s block. An offering for me and me alone.

    "I am thinking hands would be nice," I tilted my head to one side as I thought about it. "Most definitely his right one."

    "I''ll give you his eyes. I don''t like how he is looking at you," growled Chen Zi Han as he adjusted the wrists of his gloves. It was a tic that all three of my syndicate boys had. I loved it.

    "I think we all need to calm down," said the woman that looked like me as she came up beside Li Shoi Ming and helped him to his feet. What a touching scene.

    My men just looked at her, not bothering to say anything. "I don''t think that any of us particrly need to calm down," I said as I gestured to the men as I stood up and dusted off my hands.

    "They are talking about body parts," she scoffed as she wrapped an arm around Li Shoi Ming''s waist. I nodded my head in agreement. "See, calm. If they weren''t calm, they would have already taken them." I pointed out, not understanding what she was talking about. My boys were showing tremendous control. I was quite impressed.

    She sneered at me as her mask continued to drop. "They wouldn''t," she said, staring us down. "Do you even know who he is?" she continued like I gave a damn.

    "Nope, and that is the biggest problem," said Liu Yu Zeng as he looked my cousin up and down. "An unknown, a stranger, hit my woman. There needs to be some type of consequence for that. After all, it''s not like we are living in awless society."

    Actually, we were. But whatever.

    "She is my cousin. My family graciously took her in after her parents died and raised her. She owes us," snarled Li Shoi Ming. Turning to look at me, he continued, "You will being home and you will remember your proper ce."

    "Proper ce?" I asked as I tilted my head. My body was screaming, but I didn''t know why. "I am well aware of my proper ce, cousin. Don''t you worry about that," I assured him before turning to look at my boys. "We need him for the tide, you can kill him after."

    I went into the conference room as the other four people remained in the hall.

    "Everything okay?" asked Wang Chao as I took my seat beside him. This time it was Liu Wei who covered me in a nket. Mummering my thanks, I nodded to Wang Chao. "Whether he lives or dies, he will be useful," I said to Wang Chao. If he died right now, my men would calm down and be happy. If he went out to fight the zombies, hopefully, he could take out at least one of them before dying.

    Either way, his death would be useful for something.

 Chapter 208 The FiancÃ©

    ?

    "I need to arrange a meeting with Wang Chao if possible," said the woman who was holding the piece of shit that Chen Zi Han wanted to kill. Liu Yu Zeng simplyughed at her words. "Please, it''s important," she persisted, her attitudepletely different from what she had shown Li Dai Lu.

    Chen Zi Han was more than happy to let Liu Yu Zeng do the talking. He was more in the mood to m Li Shoi Ming''s head into the ground and try to smash it open like a nut. Too bad he couldn''t do it right now.

    "What is it about?" asked Liu Yu Zeng resting his arm on Chen Zi Han''s shoulder.

    "It''s private," she insisted causing both men tough this time.

    "And you think that by saying it is private would make him more inclined to meet you? Good luck," chucked Liu Yu Zeng as he shook his head, marveling at the stupidity of some people.

    "Then, can you pass something on to him?" she asked. Li Shoi Ming was able to stand up on his own two feet now and stepped aside so that hispanion could continue talking without him hanging off of her.

    "What?" asked Liu Yu Zeng, now bored that Li Dai Lu wasn''t around.

    "Can you tell him that Yang Meng Yao said ''hi'' and that I am d he didn''t turn this time," she said, looking down at the floor, almost vibrating with nerves.

    "You want me to tell him that?" Liu Yu Zeng asked looking at the woman in front of him like she was crazy. "You do realize that he ims Li Dai Lu as his wife right?" Well, that was his im in City Y. The guys all agreed that it wasn''t fair if he was always her husband when the others wanted that title too. So the idea was that whoever had the most influence in that city would be the one to say that she was his wife. That way she would be protected no matter where they went.

    Li Shoi Ming swung around to stare at Liu Yu Zeng in open-mouthed disbelief. "Impossible she can''t be married," he snarled his fingers clenching like he already had a neck between them and he was trying to strangle it. Whose neck was anyone''s guess.

    "Sure," said Liu Yu Zeng not impressed by the other man''s statement. It didn''t matter if others didn''t acknowledge it, all that mattered was that she was taken.

    "She has a fianc¨¦ in City A," said Li Shoi Ming, his head up and his chest out.

    "That''s nice," said Liu Yu Zeng nodding his head. "Does this fianc¨¦ have a name?"

    "You don''t need to know," sneered Li Shoi Ming.

    For such a big man, Chen Zi Han could move really fast when he wanted to. His hand was against Li Shoi Ming''s throat and once again had him pinned against the wall before he could take a breath. "I have done things that I am not proud of, things that were so bloody that I was still washing blood off of me three days after the fact. But I promise you. That will make me look tame with what I will do to you if you don''t tell him his name."

    "It''s a secret marriage, arranged by Li Dai Lu''s parents before their death," stuttered Li Shoi Ming as his face once again turned red. Yang Meng Yao tried to pull the bigger man off, but Liu Yu Zeng held her back.

    "I wouldn''t interfere if I were you," he growled as he gripped her upper arm. "I am interested in this answer too."

    Li Shoi Ming looked back and forth between the two bigger men, not sure what he should do. "Finish your thought," growled Chen Zi Han, his teeth bared, ready to rip chunks out of the other man until he confessed all that he knew.

    "Zhao Jun Jie," gasped Li Shoi Ming, his eyes white with fear. "It is a marriage alliance with Zhao Jun Jie."

    Liu Yu Zeng tilted his head, trying to remember where he had heard that name before. "Who is he?" he asked. Li Shoi Ming just looked at him in shock. "You don''t know who Zhao Jun Jie is?" he asked.

    "Would I have asked you if I did?" responded Liu Yu Zeng, not at all happy that he was made to feel stupid for not knowing some random guy in City A.

    "Zhao Jun Jie is the oldest son of the Zhao family and the current head. The family owns the second biggest conglomerate in Country K and they are second in terms of power and influence with only the Wang familying in first," said Li Shoi Ming, still not believing that someone in the country didn''t know the Zhao family. "Oh, and he is the big brother of Zhao Jia Li."

    Chen Zi Han and Liu Yu Zeng looked at each and then back to Li Shoi Ming. "You mean, Princess is engaged to Zhao Jia Li''s big brother?" asked Chen Zi Han.

    Li Shoi Ming nodded.

    "And he is the same person thates in second in every category to Wang Chao?" continued Liu Yu Zeng. <novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Once again Li Shoi Ming nodded.

    "And you think that she is going to go through with it?" This time when Chen Zi Han asked his question, Li Shoi Ming scoffed in response. "It''s not like she has much choice in the matter," he said with a shrug. For some reason, he managed to forget his fear quite quickly.

    Now it was the guys'' turn to scoff. Clearly, Li Shoi Ming had no idea what he was getting himself into. At least it would be amusing if nothing else.

    ----

    The meeting was over shortly after I returned to the conference room. Luckily for them, they decided to go with my n, even if Zhao Jia Li did protest a lot. We were leaving the room when I saw Liu Yu Zeng and Chen Zi Han leaning against the wall across the hall. And the look on Liu Yu Zeng''s face was¡­ scary.

    I don''t mean that he looked pissed, quite the opposite. He looked like he had a secret that he was dying to tell us all. The smile on his face when he looked at me sent shivers down my spine.

    "Now, Sweetness," he said as he came up and wrapped an arm around me. "What do you remember about this body?"

    "Nothing," I said confused. We had already gone over that a few times. This body waspletely nk when it came to a background.

    "You sure nothing?" he asked with a shit-eating grin on his face.

    "Nothing," I confirmed as look at him out of the corner of my eye. What the hell had gotten into him? We opened the door to the outside and made our way to where I had a single RV parked, my RV. We entered and I copsed onto the couch, Chen Zi Haning to sit beside me. "What is this all about?"

    "So, you don''t know that you have a fianc¨¦?" he asked, the grin only growing wider as three people looked at him in shock.

    "No way," I said with a shake of my head. No one hade looking for me in my second life so there was no way I had a fianc¨¦. He would have searched high and low for me, right?

    "Who?" demanded Wang Chao as he stood across from Liu Yu Zeng.

    "Some guy named Zhao Jun Jie from City A," he answered, the smirk growing wider and wider as he got to press the other man''s button. "Know him?"

    "Zhao Jun Jie?" asked Liu Wei as he took out a handkerchief and proceeded to clean his sses. "Head of the Zhao family?" Liu Yu Zeng hummed and nodded his head.

    "Apparently he is second only to Wang Chao. He must be a great catch," he said as he walked over to the couch and picked me up. Spinning around so that he was now sitting on the couch with me on hisp he wrapped his arms around me.

    "Zhao Jun Jie?" I asked in a soft voice. "Does he know about it?" The four men turned to stare at me.

    "I don''t know, Sweetness," said Liu Yu Zeng pulling me in tighter. "Why?"

    "I went to the sanctuary in City A in myst life," I said taking a deep breath. "It was thergest safe zones in all of Country K. Really impressive."

    "What happened?" asked Liu Wei as he put his sses back on.

    "Nothing. Made it to the gates and that was as far as I got," I said with a shrug, like being turned away from those gates was not one of the worst moments of my life. But then again, with everything that happened to me, maybe it didn''t even make the top 10.

    But I do remember my heart shattering when I was turned away, broken, and bleeding. It was not one of the highlights that was for sure.

    "Who was in charge of the Sanctuary?" asked Wang Chao, already knowing the answer.

    "Zhao Jun Jie."

 Chapter 209 You Have Made The List

    ?

    (Mild NSFW)

    "Should we add him to the list of people that need to be killed?" asked Liu Yu Zeng as he buried his face in my hair.

    "Might as well," I said with a shrug, not really caring about some man that I had never meant.

    "And speaking about people we might as well kill, Li Shoi Ming''s girlfriend wants to have a word with you," added Liu Yu Zeng. He hadpletely forgotten about the first message for Wang Chao. "Something about her name being Yang Meng Yao and she is happy you didn''t turn. Any idea what that means?"

    Wang Chao started to shake his head before he froze. "I have dreams that Liu Wei and I became zombies," he admitted, looking at me. I only smiled. I had enough stresses and worries in this life, I didn''t need to add to them by factoring in all the stuff from past lives. He wasn''t a zombie now, and wouldn''t be one in the future, everything was fine.

    "She has probably been reincarnated," I said with a shrug. "Probably your ''one and only''." He scoffed at my half-hearted attempt at a joke. "I somehow doubt that," he said with a roll of his eyes. Clearly, I was rubbing off on the guys. It was great!

    "What did you tell her?" asked Liu Wei, looking at his younger brother. Liu Yu Zeng paused for a second. "I told her that Li Dai Lu was your wife, which started the whole thing about Zhao Jun Jie," he said with a wave of his hand as if it didn''t really matter.

    Wang Chao nodded in approval. "We can set up a meeting, see what she knows," he said looking at Liu Wei. I chuckled. Once an assistant, always an assistant.

    "Slight problem," said Chen Zi Han as he started frying some bacon for ate lunch.

    "And that would be?" asked Wang Chao as he turned his attention over to the other man.

    "Her exact words were that it was private. I don''t know how much she would like for everyone else to be there," he answered as he continued to watch the frying pan. I was more than a little particr about my bacon, I would admit.

    "I don''t agree," I said as I stared at Chen Zi Han who was staring at the bacon. "I don''t want you meeting her alone."

    "I wasn''t nning on it. She cane here, or we don''t meet," said Wang Chao with a shrug of his shoulders. "But we do have to head out in an hour to act as security for thoseying the traps," he reminded everyone.

    "Whatever shall we do for that hour?" asked Liu Yu Zeng as he looked at me and licked his lips. Iughed at him and grabbed a throw pillow from the couch. Trying to smack him in the head with it, the bastard had the audacity to duck!

    Laughing at me, he stood up and ced me on the ground. Seeing the look on his face, I began to warily back up. But I was toote. Liu Yu Zeng charged at me. Bending down low, he picked me up and flung me over his shoulder without stumbling a step. Laughing, I started to pound on his back as he carried me off to the bedroom.

    He had just opened the door when there was a knock on the RV''s door.

    I looked up at Wang Chao who was sitting on the couch and stuck my tongue out at him. "You had to go and say it, didn''t you?"

    "What did I say?" he asked, his eyes wide with innocence but the smile on his face told apletely different story.

    "''If she wants a meeting, she cane here''," I quoted as another knock sounded. Grumbling under his breath, Liu Yu Zeng turned around and deposited me onto the couch and right on to Wang Chao''sp.

    "Stay there," he growled, pointing at me. "We are going to pick it right up after I kill whoever is on the other side of the door," he grumbled as he adjusted himself in his pants. Now it was my turn to lick my lips. I nodded my head as Wang Chao arranged me into a morefortable position.

    Stillining under his breath, Liu Yu Zeng opened the door to the trailer.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    ------

    Wang Chao wrapped his arms around the woman in hisp and buried his face in her hair like Liu Yu Zeng had just done. Taking in a lungful of her scent he felt his muscles start to slowly rx. A second breath and his shoulders lowered. A third and he waspletely rxed, the threat of the zombie tide, soulmatesing out of the woodwork, and an uncertain future were all gone from his mind.

    The only thing that mattered was in his arms. His brothers, a close second, were also nearby. That meant, that as far as he was concerned, the world could explode into a ball of fire and everything would still be okay.

    "Would you mind if I spoke to you privately?" came a tentative voice from in front of him. Suppressing a growl, Wang Chao opened his eyes and stared at the woman not three feet from him. As much as she might look like Li Dai Lu, there were a lot of obvious differences the more he studied her.

    Even if he could ignore the fact that they didn''t give him the same feeling, he could tell that the blue eyes staring back at him were nothing more than contacts overtop of brown eyes. Her hair, while it looked the same, the same cut, the same length, there were obvious differences in the texture. Extensions, he mused.

    Everything that made the two girls look the same, on the other one, was nothing more than a fake rendition of a piece of art. A forged copy that might fool others, but never an expert.

    "Yes," he said, never moving from where he looked at her just over Li Dai Lu''s neck. He never got the chance to cuddle with her, and for the most part, he understood why. But that didn''t mean that he didn''t need to feel her in his arms, feel her weight as sheid on top of him.

    But he was trained to put his needsst, and so he would. He could sit quietly in the background as the other threemanded her attention. Because every time she turned her head and looked straight at him, a small smile on her face, he knew that he could bear any price for those seconds that he had her undivided attention.

    "So, could you ask the others to leave?" the fake asked as she looked at Li Dai Lu on hisp. He kissed the base of her neck where he had seen Chen Zi Han and Liu Wei constantly licking, kissing, and biting.

    And now he knew why. Feeling her shuddering under his attention, to watch the goosebumps raising on her bare arms and knowing that he was the one to put them there? It was a heady feeling.

    "He meant, ''yes'' he minded," said Liu Weiing to stand behind Wang Chao. He was used to tranting for the other man. "If you want to talk to him, then all of us will be present."

    "Then, could she leave?" the woman asked and this time, Wang Chao didn''t hold back the growl that emerged from deep in his chest. If she thought that she was worth the one-on-one time that he was getting with Li Dai Lu, then she was crazy.

    "I''m afraid not," smiled Liu Wei as Wang Chao''s growl stopped echoing inside the RV.

    "But¡ª"

    "Speak or leave," growled Wang Chao as his attention fell back onto that spot that elicited such a response from Li Dai Lu. He lick it again, and this time, she tilted her head to the side to give him more ess. He redoubled his efforts, this time nipping at it, and smirked when he was rewarded.

    Li Dai Lu started to squirm on hisp, and, finding his hard length between her thighs, she started to ride it, attempting to find just the right pressure that she needed. Wang Chao groaned in his head, wishing that it was just the two of them locked inside her room, their clothes gone, and no barriers preventing him from taking what he wanted, what he needed. He shifted his hips up a bit higher, helping her to ride him better.

    He didn''t care anymore who was in the room, his entire focus was on his Queen, and bringing her to happiness was his sole focus.

    "I would prefer not to talk to you in front of others," she said and the others could practically hear her teeth grinding.

    "And he would prefer not to talk to you at all. Take what you can get, or else, leave," said Liu Wei his attention never leaving the other woman. Wang Chao was focused on their woman, so it was up to Liu Wei to keep an eye on any unwanted guests.

    Yang Meng Yao stared at Wang Chao as he nipped and sucked on the neck of the woman in hisp. She knew exactly who she was, the airheaded bimbo that was Li Shoi Ming''s cousin. She never considered her to be a threat, but with how Wang Chao was practically humping her through their clothes, she would have to re-evaluate that thought.

 Chapter 210 All The Time In The World

    ?

    (Mild NSFW)

    Yang Meng Yao watched mesmerized as Wang Chao''s lips left a glossy trail along the other woman''s neck. He hadn''t really looked at her since she first walked in here. Oh, she felt him studying her and she knew that she looked like what he wanted, but he wasn''t as captivated as she thought he would be.

    Closing her eyes, Yang Meng Yao ignored the stab of pain through her heart, knowing that the one meant for her was sitting there, making out with someone else, not even putting her in his eyes. She knew that Li Dai Lu wasn''t his wife, but she didn''t know why he was putting up such a charade and iming a woman when she was here now.

    But that was okay, she had a lot of time. She was the only human, the only woman that he had ever allowed near him in her past life. Hell, she even considered Liu Wei to be one of her closest friends, so to see the two of them here, not caring about her... it was almost more than she could bear. But she would.

    She would stand beside Wang Chao as he once again took over the world once. She would be there when the nightmares took over and she would be there when he stood in front of all of the zombies as the most dominant Alpha ever.

    Clearly, he hadn''t transformed yet, so she would be there when he did. Taking a deep breath, she nodded to Liu Wei. "Of course. I will leave you alone right now. I can see that you are busy. We can talk some other time." With a big smile on her face, she turned to look at the other two men in the room. She had only met them once before, in the hallway, so they must have died at the same time that Wang Chao and Liu Wei were turned into zombies in their previous life.

    "Gentlemen," said Yang Meng Yao with a nod of her head. The other two men continued to ignore her, one cooking something that smelled like bacon on the stove and the other one watching him do it. But that couldn''t be bacon, right?

    Maybe she had been too hasty when she said that she would leave. Looking around, she saw a stool beside the guy that had opened the door for her. "Yang Meng Yao," she said, holding out her hand to the man to shake. He turned around and leaned his elbows against the counter at his back.

    "So you said," said the man as he started to watch the disgusting show being put on by Wang Chao and Li Shoi Ming''s cousin. Didn''t she know that he would soon be tired of her? Then she would be nothing more than a used shoe that no one wanted.

    "It is normally polite to respond with your name in return," said Yang Meng Yao trying to maintain a polite smile on her face. Maybe if she saved these two too, Wang Chao would be appreciative. When Li Dai Lu''s moan echoed throughout the RV, Yang Meng Yao closed her eyes and thought about just how he could show his appreciation.

    There was movement behind her, but she was still too wrapped up in her fantasies until a deep baritone voice called out, "Lunch."

    Yang Meng Yao opened her eyes just in time to see a te of bacon, over easy eggs, and pancakes with strawberries on them being ced in front of the guy beside her. She turned her attention away from Wang Chao and Li Dai Lu and towards the te. "Thanks!" she said as she dug in. The giant in the kitchen just grunted before carrying a bunch of tes to the dining room table.

    Wang Chao was still focusing his attention on the slut in hisp when the cook simply lifted her out of his embrace. The roar that came out of Wang Chao was one that Yang Meng Yao had heard several times in herst life and it always meant that someone was going to be killed in the most brutal way possible.

    "She needs to eat," said the cook as he ced Li Dai Lu onto a chair in front of a te that clearly had overcooked bacon on it. What startled Yang Meng Yao the most was when the cook give Li Dai Lu a kiss on her forehead as Wang Chao and Liu Wei went to go sit in the booth on the other side of the table.

    "I''ll take a te like hers," said Yang Meng Yao as she got up and walked over to the only other chair not taken at the table. "But I don''t like my bacon like that, please cook it less," she continued as she sat down and looked around.

    Five pairs of eyes stared at her, but she refused to feel ufortable. This was where she belonged, and now that she knew Li Dai Lu''s little secret, she would make sure that she got plenty more opportunities to be by Wang Chao''s side.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Weren''t you leaving?" asked Liu Wei as he cut into the stack of pancakes.

    "I was, but then I smelt the delicious food so I decided to stay and share a meal with you," said Yang Meng Yao with a big smile on her face. It never even urred to her that she would not be wee.

    "I don''t recall inviting you. And I remember getting my knuckles rapped about it being impolite to eat without the permission of the host," said Li Dai Lu as she took a bite of a giant strawberry. Yang Meng Yao''s stomach growled in response.

    "Don''t you know how important it is to share supplies?" red Yang Meng Yao. "I am sure that your cousin would be very embarrassed by you right now. And I know that you don''t want me telling anyone about your... behavior." Smirking, Yang Meng Yao waited for her own te.

    "Sorry, you are going to be a tad more detailed when ites to my behavior." Li Dai Lu smiled at the other woman as she took a bite of pancake off the fork of Liu Wei. Humming in enjoyment, her actions caused Yang Meng Yao to look over at Wang Chao to see if he had caught the interactions between his ''wife'' and his best friend.

    Seeing that he was ring down at his te, she knew he didn''t see it.

    "I would just be a bit more careful if I were you," she smiled at Li Dai Lu. "After all, you don''t want Wang Chao finding out about some things."When all eyes once again turned to her, Yang Meng Yao smiled smugly. "Now, about that te of food," she said as she raised an eyebrow at the cook.

    Li Dai Lu justughed as if she had just heard the biggest joke in the world. "I am pretty sure that he knows just about everything," she said with a wink to Wang Chao. But Yang Meng Yao didn''t think so. After all, no man would be happy knowing that his ''wife'' was being kissed or fed by other men.

    "Mmmm, if you say so," replied Yang Meng Yao taking a piece of bacon off of Li Dai Lu''s dish. Bringing it up to her mouth, she wrinkled her nose. It was much too burnt for her tastes. She threw it back onto Li Dai Lu''s te. Clearly, the cook didn''t know what he was doing, but that was fine. Maybe this tide was what transformed Wang Chao into a zombie. And if that was the case, then the other two would die soon enough... Unless of course, she saved them.

    Yang Meng Yao leaned back in her chair and folded her arms across her chest. She had all the time in the world, especially now that she had found Wang Chao. She would bide her time and make him realize just how much he needed her.

    And this time around, she would destroy those that had managed to kill her. The stupid humans didn''t know what they were getting into, but she did. In herst life she had chosen the winning side, she would do it again this time around.

    She turned to look at where Wang Chao was sitting so close to her, she could put her arm out and touch him. In herst life, he had never let her watch him eat. The poor man was probably embarrassed about having to consume human flesh, but she understood that he just had her best interests in his heart at all times and didn''t want her to be ufortable watching him.

    The cook came back again with another te. Yang Meng Yao leaned away from the table so he could put it down in front of her when he picked up the piece of bacon that she had contemted eating off of Li Dai Lu. Holding it between his fingers he wrinkled his nose.

    "I know, it is too burnt to be edible," she said with a shrug as she watched Li Dai Lu eating another piece of it off of her te. The poor thing must be so desperate that she would eat just about anything.

 Chapter 211 Caught

    ?

    "Dirty," growled Chen Zi Han and I had to snicker. When he burned it to ashes with his fire power, I ended upughing even harder when the other woman jumped back, knocking over her chair.

    "Not used to powers?" I asked as I watched her straighten her chair and sit back down. "And what did you say your name was?"

    "Yang Meng Yao," she said as she turned to look at me, her eyes narrowing. "And no, I was aware that some people have evolved powers."

    "Ah, that must be why you looked so surprised. Now, what did youe here for?" I asked taking another bite of my crispy bacon. In my opinion, there is nothing better than bacon so crispy it just snaps apart as soon as you touch it.

    "I don''t think that is any of your concern," said Yang Meng Yao as she smiled at me.

    "It is if you want to be able to speak to my husband," I replied with a smile of my own. This was why I hated dealing with other women. Everything felt like a tennis match with the point going back and forth with every sentence spoken. It was exhausting.

    Not to mention Wang Chao had made it very ufortable for me to be sitting here, probably leaving a wet spot on the chair with all my luck. At some point in time, I want to be able to start something AND actually finish it.

    "Husband? Are you sure?" she asked volleying the point back at me.

    "Yup, I am absolutely sure that he is mine," I replied, passing it back in a never-ending match.

    See, tiring.

    "And would he still be willing to im you as his wife if he knew that his cook kissed you or that you ate pancakes off of Liu Wei''s fork?" she asked with a tilting of her head. She was determined to stir the pot. I wonder what her end game was¡­ or was it just that she wanted Wang Chao for herself?

    This time it was Wang Chao''s turn to smile, but it waspletely void of mirth. "The cook?" he asked looking at Yang Meng Yao for the first time since she walked in.

    "Yeah, the guy that was cooking your lunch. Although it looks more like breakfast so I don''t know why he would call it lunch," she said gesturing to Chen Zi Han. Sure. One of the scariest Mother Fuckers in the Red Dragon Syndicate, capable of making grown men pee their pants just by looking at him is¡­ the cook.

    "I believe he referred to it as lunch because it is around 12:30 pm. Ergo, lunchtime," said Liu Yu Zeng holding up his watch for the woman to be able to read.

    "You have a working watch?" she asked, her eyes widening as if she had never seen one before.

    "You would be surprised at what we have working," said Wang Chao finishing off thest bits of his te. "But he is not the cook," he continued as he stood up and brought his te over to the sink for us to washter.

    "Then what is he?" she asked with some confusion. I mean, I was really starting to feel bad for her. There was no way she was going tost too long with that level of intelligence.

    "Mine," I replied with a smile, putting thest strawberry into my mouth. I had bought them by the ts before the end of the world, plus with the ones that I was going in my space, I was knee-deep in strawberries and loving it. I should make some jams when I had the chance. I think I saw rhubarb somewhere. Mmmm¡­. Strawberry rhubarb pie¡­ strawberry rhubarb crips¡­ so much potential!

    At my im of ownership over Chen Zi Han, Yang Meng Yao turned to Wang Chao with a smug smile. It almost made me want to be nice, but I just couldn''t help myself. "Yes, Wang Chao is mine too," I said as the look of shock on her face made me smile.

    She looked around the table, expecting something. I wasn''t sure what, but when she didn''t get the reactions that she was looking for, she turned her attention back to me. "Yeah, they are all mine."<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Does your cousin know that you are such a slut?" she snarled standing up and leaning over me in an attempt to intimidate. I burst outughing. "Slut shaming? Really? So it is okay for a guy to have multiple girlfriends or wives but not a woman? And what about in the future when there are like 15 guys to every woman?" I leaned forward, getting into her space, and looked into her eyes. "I believe in equal opportunity. They are mine. I will not share. If you think you can take him, you are delusional. I suggest you go back to my cousin and hug him tightly to his thigh. You are not in my league."

    "I am quite happy not to be in your league if it means spreading my legs to any guy that even looks at me," she snorted, not backing down. I bust outughing. "You really think that?" I turned to Wang Chao and looked at him.

    "What would you do to some guy that looks at me?" I asked loving the darkness that shed in his eyes.

    "I would kill them," he said simply. "I would rip his hand off of his arms for even dreaming of touching you. I would feed him his own eyeballs for even looking at you and I would hand you his heart of a silver tter for being dumb enough to think that he stood a chance."

    "And what would I do if some girl looked at you?" I asked with a smile, including all of my men in that question. Liu Yu Zeng let out a bark ofughter.

    "Absolutely nothing," he said as I smiled.

    "That is right," I agreed. "I wouldn''t move a single finger. And do you know why, Yang Meng Yao?" I asked, drawing out her name.

    She scoffed. "Probably because you are too weak to be able to do anything to anyone," she said with disdain.

    "No," said Wang Chao as he came to take my empty te and brought it to the kitchen. "She would do nothing because we would have already killed anyone that was interested in us."

    "Sure," she said with a roll of her eyes. Why was she still here again? "If that was the case, why is Zhao Jia Li still alive? That woman is very clearly in love with you, and yet you have done nothing about her."

    I frowned and nodded my head. "Very good point. Should I go kill her now?" I burst outughing. "I am not threatened by her, but you are¡­ aren''t you?" I asked as I cocked my head and studied her. When she went pale at my words, I knew I was right.

    "You were hoping to borrow my knife to get rid of an enemy. Someone that is a threat to you," I surmised as I started pping. "I am quite impressed. But now I have an issue; do I kill her to make me happy or do I keep her alive, let her know that you are interested in Wang Chao too, and sit back to watch the sparks fly. Decisions, decisions, decisions."

    There was a knock at the door and everyone but Yang Meng Yao groaned. I was going to have to find another spot for the RV. Apparently, it was too easy to find with the number of visitors we were getting.

    "I get it," huffed Liu Yu Zeng as he slid out of the booth and gave me a kiss on my forehead. "Because I seem to have been elected as the butler for you all."

    "You would look hot in the uniform. Should I try to find one for you?" I said with a huge smile on my face. I could so see him in the tuxedo, the white gloves on his hands. It was the stuff of dreams. He tried to give me a smack upside the head, but Chen Zi Han got between us and blocked the hit.

    Peeking out from behind my shadow, I stuck out my tongue. But before we could get into anything, the knock came again, this time more insistent. "Wang Chao! I know you are in there. What are you doing with Yang Meng Yao?"

    I paused and looked at the girl in question. "You have something going on with my cousin and are still trying to crawl into Wang Chao''s bed? Can you exin to me how I am the slut?"

    "I don''t have a rtionship with your cousin," Yang Meng Yao said frantically as she looked at Wang Chao.

    "What!" yelled Li Shoi Ming as he entered the RV, Liu Yu Zeng trailing behind him. "You said that you weren''t interested in Wang Chao. That you merely had to discuss something with him and that was it!"

 Chapter 212 What Makes A Zombie A Zombie

    ?

    Finally! I had prepped for this exact circumstance! I was almost giddy as I pulled out five of the old-school buckets of popcorn. You know the ones with the red and white stripes? Yeah, and they were overflowing with the buttery treat.

    "We really aren''t like that!" said Yang Meng Yao as she looked desperately between Wang Chao and Li Shoi Ming. I didn''t know if she was looking to Wang Chao to confirm or deny her statement, but either way, he wasn''t rising to the bait.

    I handed the buckets of popcorn to Liu Wei, Liu Yu Zeng, and Chen Zi Han as I got morefortable in the built-in booth behind the dining room table. Liu Yu Zeng slid in on my other side and I leaned back into his arms as we both watched the scene in front of us as if it was thetest episode of a reality TV show. Even Liu Wei and Chen Zi Han had taken the two chairs and were casually eating the treat as they watched the entertainment.

    "If you two aren''t like that then why do you want to talk to him privately? Why have you been here for so long?" snarled Li Shoi Ming looking like he wanted to cross the room and shake some sense into the woman in front of him.

    "I had some questions about the uing zombie horde," Yang Meng Yao replied looking around the room like I had a list of good excuses pinned to one of the walls. Once again her eyesnded on Wang Chao where he stood just off to the side with his arms folded across his chest.

    He raised an eyebrow at her desperate look but didn''t open his mouth to say anything. Following her line of vision, Li Shoi Ming''s eyesnded on Wang Chao and I could see his face slowly turning bright red trying to repress his rage.

    "What do you want with her?" he demanded through gritted teeth. I could hear the grinding squeak as he tried to control his rage with little sess. Wang Chao scoffed at his statement. "I want nothing to do her. In fact, I would consider it a favor if you could get her out of here and make sure that she never returns," said Wang Chao, his mask never cracking for a moment.

    I mean, I was like 70% sure that this woman was his supposed soulmate, but since the voices in my head weren''t cheering her on, she could just be another psychopath with attachment issues. I really was on the fence about the matter.

    ''Or we aren''t saying anything so you might leave one or two alive,'' said the ice-cold voice, her tone dripping in sarcasm. I shrugged a shoulder and popped a piece of popcorn into my mouth, licking the butter off my fingers. Whether or not my voices confirmed anything, I would be able to find out after a while and deal with it then.

    I mean, as much as I was the queen of procrastination on some matters, having someone around that would stab me in the back at any given chance was not someone that I wanted to have around longer than necessary. Maybe I should kill first and confirm after.

    What was the worst that could happen?

    "That''s bullshit, I don''t believe you for a second," said Li Shoi Ming as he looked at Wang Chao.

    "Have you forgotten that I am married?" asked Wang Chao, gesturing to me eating popcorn in Liu Yu Zeng''s arms. I waved my fingers as I took another bite of my popcorn. I wasn''t happy to be drawn into the drama, but there wasn''t much I could do. Besides, Wang Chao really seems to be pushing this whole marriage thingtely.

    "You can''t be, she already has a fianc¨¦. Or didn''t your friend tell you?" Li Shoi Ming asked, not bothering to look in my direction. I guess my wave went unnoticed. Oh well.

    Wang Chao only smiled at the mention of my supposed fianc¨¦. I was going to assume that I was not the only one thinking about killing people that weren''t rted to the five of us. And by not rted, I mean everyone else was fair game, especially those that imed a close rtionship.

    He was about to open his mouth, probably to refute the statement when another knock sounded on the RV door. "Not it," said Liu Yu Zeng as he tightened his grip on me. Chen Zi Han sighed but didn''t say anything as he put down his popcorn and stood up.

    "We really should think about moving somece else," he said as he opened the door to reveal the Major General.

    The man looked shocked to see so many people in my trailer and frankly, so was I. I mean, it was small with the five of us, but now that there were eight, well, it was just in cramped. "Need something, Major General?" I asked throwing another bite of popcorn into my mouth. This time it was Liu Yu Zeng who sucked the butter off of my fingers causing me to squirm.

    The Major General turned to look at me, his eyes narrowing on where my fingers were inside Liu Yu Zeng''s mouth. "You arete," he said after a short pause, like even he forgot what he was doing here.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "We would have been on time if they hadn''t shown up," I replied as if I wasn''tpletelyfortable where I was. We could have been on time I was pretty sure. I gave it a 20/80 chance simply because Wang Chao was really good at keeping us on a schedule.

    The Major General gave me a look like he knew I was stretching it just a little, but he didn''tment. He must need something if he was willing to bite his tongue like that. I put away our popcorn with a flick of my wrist and sat up to look at him.

    "What''s going on?" I asked as I folded my hands on the table, giving him myplete attention. "You are not being an ass or making snidements, so shit has either hit the fan or you need something," I surmised, ignoring the drama going on with Li Shoi Ming and Yang Meng Yao.

    "We found a few stragglers closer to the base than we originally expected. We killed them off, but I am¡­ concerned."

    "How did you kill them off?" I asked as I slid around the booth and stood up.

    "One of the teams from City D knew how to kill them," replied Deng Jun Hie with a wave of dismissal. I raised an eyebrow.

    "That didn''t exactly answer my question," I said, looking at the man in front of me with concern.

    "He answered it well enough, Li Dai Lu. Drop it," snapped Li Shoi Ming as he rubbed his forehead in frustration. I turn to stare at the man. If anyone had the right to be frustrated right now, it was me. First, his girlfriendes into my home and tries to bum lunch off of us and then he shows up. Yeah, I was pretty sure that I had more reason to be frustrated than him.

    My four men turned to re at my cousin before turning their attention back to the Major General. Rolling his eyes, he answered me, but not in the way I was hoping. "They cut off their heads, ok? It was how they killed them in City D and it will be how they are killed here."

    I blinked a few times as I let the words process. They cut off their heads. "Okay. Did they burn the bodies afterward?" I asked, almost fearing the answer. I guess I now know why there were so many zombies in the area for the tide¡­ they created at least half of them.

    "No, why would they? They were lying on the ground with their heads cut off. It more than proves that they are dead if the head is no longer attached to the body."

    "Do you know what the general consensus is for what makes a zombie and zombie?" I asked taking a deep breath. "Someone thates back from the dead. Now, I don''t know if these zombies died before they turned, or simply turned¡­ I was never in the room when they changed. But, you cannot say that detaching the head from the body is a surefire way of making sure the dead stay dead."

    "They were lying on the ground not moving," said the Major General, nervously looking between me and the men. The men shook their heads.

    "They seem to be able to regenerate with or without the head attached. It just takes longer for them to regrow the missing limbs," said Wang Chao.

    "Are you seriously telling me that they can regrow their heads?" asked Li Shoi Ming wide-eyed.

    "They can regrow their heads," confirmed Liu Wei as he, Liu Yu Zeng, and Chen Zi Han started to put on their ''working gloves'' as they called them.

    I guess the boys really did learn that time in the hotel, would you look at that?

 Chapter 213 Surprise, Surprise, There Was Nothing Here

    ?

    "Then how do we kill them?" asked Deng Jun Hie as he looked between me and Wang Chao.

    "You have to first cut off their heads before you burn them," said Liu Yu Zeng as he opened the door to the RV gesturing for everyone to get out. "If you only cut off their heads then you have two zombies to deal with once they regenerate. If you only set them on fire then it doesn''t phase them as they regenerate as fast as the me burns them."

    I feel like we have been saying this so much that I want to bang my head against a wall every time we do. Is it possible to send out a mass email? Mass text? No¡­

    Stupid fucking EMP.

    Or maybe I should me it on all the movies and video games that rotted everyone''s brains to think that killing the living dead was easy. They were living dead for a reason. (They didn''t stay dead!)

    Either way, we were starting to sound like a broken record. And not a single person listened until they realized that we were right.

    I cracked my neck from side to side before walking past everyone in MY RV and walked out the door. "Come on boys, there is work to be done," I said as the rest of my men followed me out of the gates, but not before they locked the door to our home after the unweed guests left. With a wave of my hand, I brought it into my space, just to make sure that if something happened and we didn''t get back to base, I would still have ess to it.

    ----

    "So, where are the bodies?" I asked Major General Deng Jun Hie as we stopped in the middle of the road. This was the ce where the team from City D said that they had killed the zombies, but surprise surprise, there was nothing here.

    Deng Jun Hie looked around as if a dead body was going to magically appear on the asphalt. I''ll give you a hint; it wasn''t going to happen. Those dead bodies just up and walked away. And when they came back? There would be a lot more of them.

    "But these are the coordinates that they gave me," said Deng Jun Hie.

    I nodded my head, pretending sympathy that I really didn''t feel. "Don''t worry, it happens," I said with a smile. "But now do you understand that simply beheading them won''t work?" Mutely, he nodded his head in reply. Well, at least that was progress.

    "Fight, flight, or freeze," I asked the guys. I was willing to bet money that the scouts would still be around, especially if they multiplied. They probably dispatched the clones to inform the various hordes what was going on while they stayed here to keep an eye on things.

    "I prefer the fourth option," grumbled Liu Yu Zeng as he pulled out his sword that he had strapped to his back. The poor baby seemed to need to exert some frustrations out on the unsuspecting zombies. "But if that is not an option, then I say fight."

    I nodded in agreement before I turned to look at the Major General who was standing beside me. Li Shoi Ming and Yang Meng Yao had also followed us out, but I didn''t really care about them at that particr moment. "Are you going to fight or are you turning back?" I asked him with my head cocked. I put in a single earbud from my headphones and hooked them up to my cell phone.

    Not for the first time I thanked God that the EMP didn''t affect my space.

    "I will fight," said Deng Jun Hie as he took off his military-issued jacket to reveal the same olive green t-shirt that my men sported on asion. I would have to admit that my impression of the man rose a notch knowing that he was not going to retreat. I mean, it still was about ground level, but I was impressed.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Take off their heads and only their heads. Once that is done, yell for me and I will burn them to ash," I said as I scrolled through my ylist. Finding the perfect song, I pressed pause. "Everyone ready?" I asked as I looked at my men. They nodded their heads and I was actually starting to get excited. This was what I wanted, this feeling of fighting side by side with my men.

    Grinning with what I could only imagine was a wide look in my eyes, I turned to the Major General. "Ready?" I asked him. He took a steadying breath and pulled out his military knife. Looking down at it, I took yet another sword out of my space. Seriously, I was running low on those.

    Handing it over to him, I tried to tame down my emotions. "If it gets too much, turn around and run. Don''t fight if you aren''t going to win. We can keep them off of you." I raised an eyebrow when he let out a small snarl at the idea of turning tail and running. Patting him on the shoulder I took a few steps forward.

    I was a firm believer that if you knew how to do something, you also know how to obtain theplete opposite result too. For example, a doctor was really good at saving someone''s life. On the flip side, they also know how to ensure that someone died. In my case, I learned how to avoid zombies like the gue. Flip that on its head and I was also good at knowing what would attract them.

    I tilted my head back and let out a roar simr to how an Alpha would sound if he was issuing a challenge to any surrounding hordes. It was one of those sounds that you only needed to hear once in order to never forget it. There was silence for a second and it was one of those unnatural ones that I used to hate when I was the prey. Unfortunately for the zombies, they were no longer the biggest bad.

    I tilted my head back, arching my body with it as this time I screamed out my challenge. One second passed before there was an answering roar. Music to my ears. I pressed y on my cell phone and the strong came through loud and clear; ''ABCDEF---''.

    By the time the song got to the ''U'' part, a zombie had emerged from the side of the road. I could make out the purple blood on its shoulders and shirt so I assumed that this was one of the original zombies that had gotten its head cut off.

    It was swaying back and forth noting too close, but close enough that it could study me as much as I studied it. It tilted back its head and showed the teeth, not making a sound before it closed its mouth. It stared at me, not sure what to do. I grinned at it with all of my teeth on disy, but I had enough of ying with my food.

    I couldn''t afford for this zombie to get away. I needed to get stronger, I needed the zombies to tremble in my very presence. They terrified me in my second life. If I closed my eyes, I could still see them as they ripped chunks out of my flesh, but this life was about living on my own terms, and my terms required me to be the badest bitch.

    Not giving the zombie a chance to run, I sprinted toward it as the song''s heavy beat got my blood pumping. At the next ''F.U'' I leaped into the air, my sword drawn as I spilt the zombie in two, not giving it the chance to strike back. Throwing a purple fireball at the two sides, I watched as the corpse crumbled into ashes, only to be taken away by the wind.

    I was still jamming to the song when the second zombie came out of the forest at top speed. It must have been watching what happened to its horde-mate (was that a thing?) and wasn''t about to give me any chance at a surprise attack.

    It was maybe about 10 feet away from me when it leaped up into the air. Pulling up its legs, it cleared my head andnded behind me. Its right hand was drawn back, ready to rake its ws down my unprotected back when I spun around and shed out with my sword. I missed the head but managed to take the hand.

    Not thinking about anything, the music sting in my ears, I threw out a me to burn the hand so that it couldn''t regrow into a whole new zombie and faced the second zombie.

    That was my mistake.

    I forgot how fucking crafty these things were, too confident in my skills. I felt the wind brush against my skin right before the pain hit, causing me to arch my back, screaming in pain. I never saw the third one until it was toote, my back was yed open by the razor-sharp ws.

    I could feel my blood pouring out, but I couldn''t focus on the pain. Instead, I was trapped between two zombies, my men nowhere near me.

 Chapter 214 Fight For My Life

    ?

    I pulled the headphone out of my ears and flung them to the ground. I had done a cardinal sin, and now I was going to pay for it.

    I was too confident, putting in headphones, a song on full st, meant that I wasn''t paying attention to my surroundings. Running away from the guys didn''t help either, but it was toote for regrets. I had two zombies, one blue, and one purple encircling me, walking around and just staring at me with the grins on their faces getting wider and wider as my blood continued to drip onto the pavement beneath my feet.

    I wasn''t terrified by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, the only emotion I could feel right now was rage. I was pissed off at myself for being so stupid. I deserved the flesh on my back being torn if for no other reason than to remind myself what happened when you got too confident.

    I had my me, I could burn them without a second thought, but that was not what I wanted. I wanted¡­ no, I needed to be able to fight them with my own two hands before setting them on fire. I needed to know that I was strong enough to stand at the top, not by relying on some overpowered power, but because I was just that good.

    But that was also the same thinking that got me into this mess in the first ce. I didn''t know what to do, or what my next step should be. However, I didn''t have the time to go in-depth with my options. The two zombies were pushing me for a decision.

    I gritted my teeth through the pain and cracked my neck. "Fight, flight, or freeze," I said out loud to myself just to be able to hear my own voice. My right wrist flexed, bringing up the point of the sword centimeters before tipping it back down to the ground.

    The movement brought more excruciating pain radiating down my back, but that pain allowed my mind to clear. Pushing away all of the unwanted thoughts, I allowed my head to go nk. I had been hurt worse and was still expected to fight. At least this time I had a weapon.

    The zombies continued to circle me, one at my front, the other at my back, never once stopping. All of a sudden, I felt movement behind me, darting to my left, I avoided the ws this time, but it brought me closer to the zombie at my front.

    I ducked under the extended ws of the zombie that was trying to rip out my heart and brought my sword down in an arc as I held my de in a reverse grip allowing the duller, back of the de to rest against my outer forearm.

    It was a stronger, more controlled grip that I preferred to use. Especially when I was pushed into a corner. It was always better to go with the familiar than try new, untested, methods.

    Twisting my wrist into an almost ''S'' shape, I continued my momentum to cut the zombie''s throat. Once again, the zombie in front of me jumped back, allowing the zombie behind me to try another sneak attack.

    Knowing that the zombies preferred attacks directed to the upper part of a body, I crouched low. Spinning on the balls of my feet, I allowed my sword to follow the lines of my body, cutting the zombie at my back down at the knees. My sword managed the dismemberment without a pause, but it was not enough.

    Cutting off the legs did not give me the ability to easily burn the body. I quickly threw out a purple me to burn the legs so I didn''t end up fighting four zombies instead of only two, but this attack only granted me enough time to regroup before the zombies were on me again. This time one was up high while the other was down low.

    I might have just fucked myself.

    The zombie that was now bncing on two severed knees was still as fast and deadly as it was when it waspletely intact, only now, it concentrated its attacks on my legs, preventing me from being able to duck down out of reach.

    Note to self, no more taking zombies out at the knees. It was one of those moves that work better in the movies than in reality.

    I was so tempted to just burn them, and save myself all this pain and trouble, but that would defeat the whole point of going out and doing this in the first ce. So, I ignored my pain, I ignored my blood causing my grip to constantly slip on the pommel of my sword, and fought.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    I stabbed down, managing to get my sword right into the center of the second zombie''s skull. Unfortunately, it stuck when I tried to withdraw it and I was forced to abandon it as the first zombie shot out a series of slices so fast that I had to rush backward just to avoid them.

    Now without my weapon, my brainpletely nked out. I was back in the cages, back in the Reaver''s camp, fighting for my life. I raised my bare hands in a guard position.

    "One to keep you pretty, the other to keep you breathing." The voice of the man that was tasked to prepare me for the fights rang through my head.

    I adjusted my position as the zombie in front of me lead with their right fist, then left, then uppercut. I ducked and weaved through the punches, using my forearms to block where needed to keep me pretty, to keep me breathing.

    The zombie, getting frustrated, let out a roar and picked up speed. Left, left, right, uppercut, spinning back fist. As fast as the zombie threw the punches, I blocked them, but I didn''t have any time to counter them. I was just keeping my head above water and even then, there were a few close calls.

    "No one ever won by blocking Tea Cup," came a voice in my head bringing back the advice from long ago. This time, when the zombie took a swipe with their right, I ducked bringing my own right hand up for an uppercut. I could hear the smashing of its teeth as I forced the bottom jaw into the top. But it didn''t so much as phase the zombie.

    Realizing that the second zombie was trying to make its way over to me, my sword in its skull like it was Excalibur, I released a purple fireball, allowing it topletely engulf the second zombie.

    It wasn''t part of my n and I didn''t want to do it, but the zombie in front of me was more than I could easily handle, I didn''t need to have a second one added to the mix.

    The first zombie roared in anger at the sight of the second zombie going up in mes and it redoubled its efforts to take my head from my shoulders.

    No longer was this fight about food, now the zombie wanted to rip my head off and probably mount it on a stake to show everyone.

    Now, in addition to the punches, and shes, it started to add kicks into its repertoire, almost as if it too was using this fight as a way of evolving. Apparently, when I decided to fuck up, I really went all out.

    I didn''t dare follow up with a kick of my own simply because I had learned before that that was not a smart thing to do. Thest thing I needed was for the zombie to be able to grab me by the leg and either make me off bnce or break the bones themselves.

    I kept backing up, hoping to put some distance between me and the zombie when my back went straight into a tree. Gasping in pain as the rough bark cut through the clotted blood, I ducked as the zombie swiped at me with its right hand. It had used too much force and its ws became embedded into the thick tree trunk.

    Using the moment to my advantage, I spun behind the zombie and, with my bare hands, twisted its neck until I heard the bones break. But that wasn''t enough. I continued to twist, using whatever strength I had left until I managed to cause a rip in its flesh.

    The zombie writhed and struggled, trying to pull its ws out of the tree and get a hold of me, but they were too deeply embedded. I continued to turn until its face was once again looking at me from behind its back. It snapped at me, its teeth millimeters from my face, but I adjusted my grip and continued, determined to twist the head off like a stubborn ketchup bottle.

    I heard the ripping sound just before I felt the heading off and into my hands, the teeth still trying to bite me. I dropped the head to the ground and threw a purple ball of fire at both the head and the body.

 Chapter 215 â€œIf You Die, We Die With Youâ€

    ?

    Completely done in, I sunk to the ground and, not caring about the blood or the pain, leaned against another tree as I watched the zombie in front of me turn into nothing but dust. I didn''t take my eyes off it for a second until I waspletely sure that it wouldn''te back.

    Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes. It was over, and I had won.

    A rustling sound in the trees caused me to tense up again, my eyes flying open to try and find the new threat. I call up my purple me, no longer interested in pushing myself to be stronger. I needed to deal with the new threat and then get back to the boys. I don''t know how long I have been gone, but I feel their worry through the bond.

    The rustling came closer and I raised my arm up, ready to set whatever predator had me in its sights straight to Hell.

    The branches just off to the right of me parted and I held my breath, ready and waiting.

    "Princess," came a sigh of relief as Chen Zi Han rushed through the tangle of branches and up to me. Dropping to his knees, he held out his hands like he wanted to embrace me, but didn''t know if he could.

    I let out the breath I was holding and extinguished the me in my hand. The surge of adrenaline was almost too much for my battered body and I slumped forward, forcing Chen Zi Han to catch me. "You know you''re in shit, right?" he asked as he held me by the shoulders. I could feel his whole body trembling.

    "I think that is the first time I have ever heard you swear," I said with a tired chuckle as I rested my cheek against his chest.

    "This is the first time you have given me cause to swear. What were you thinking?" he softly demanded. Standing up, me still gripped in his hands, he looked down at me.

    "If I said that I wasn''t and that I will never do it again, do you think we can drop the matter?" I asked with a half-hearted smile.

    "Maybe if it was just me," he admitted. I swayed on my feet, grateful for his support as my other men came rushing into the clearing. "I don''t think they will be so forgiving."

    Yeah, I didn''t think so either.

    "You do realize that that little stunt that you pulled took at least 10 years off of my life," said Liu Yu Zeng as he grabbed me by the back of the neck and pulled me into his embrace. Chen Zi Han willingly let me go just so the movement wouldn''t be too jarring for my back. The guys could feel my pain and were actively avoiding causing me anymore.

    "Yeah, I know," I said as I drew in a deep breath. In all honestly, if I didn''t have my me, I would have been dead right now. And that was a very sobering thought.

    "You owe me those 10 years back," he continued to rant as he gently stroked my hair. The juxtaposition between his harsh words and his gentle touch made me smile.

    "Yeah, I know," I repeated rxing more and more into his arms.

    "In fact, I think you took 10 years off of all of us. That means you owe us 40 years," he continued.

    I nodded my head. "That is a long time," I said with a small smile on my face.

    "It is, and it is just a start. We will keep adding more years every time you make us worried or scared,"

    "That might end up to a few hundred years if we are multiplying everything by 4," I said, this time no longer trying to hold back my smile.

    "It''s a start," grumbled Liu Yu Zeng as Chen Zi Han gently pulled me out of the other man''s arms and back into his own.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "We need to look after her back. You can continue to yell at herter," he said as he brought me to a fallen log. Liu Wei sat down on it first and I just looked at him confused.

    "Straddle him," said Chen Zi Han as he pushed me forward. I ced one leg on either side of Liu Wei''sp and sat down as gently as I could. "You have a first aid kit in your space? Bring it out," demanded Chen Zi Han and I could feel the tensioning off of him. He needed to protect me, and I hadn''t let him do it.

    Feeling like shit, I took out the biggest first aid kit that I could find, hoping that it would be a small peace offering. He hummed in approval and I rxed a bit. I needed to remind myself that I was no longer alone, that there were people that would worry about me, and hurt if I was hurt.

    I needed to take better care of myself to not cause my men such anguish.

    "Put your forehead on my shoulder, Sweetheart," said Liu Wei as he gently guided my head to his shoulder. "This will probably hurt." I nodded and wrapped my arms around his neck. I buried my face in Liu Wei''s neck as I felt the first brush of the alcohol wash on my back.

    Biting my tongue so I didn''t cry out loud, I cursed in my head that I didn''t think to get the pain-free antiseptic wash. Then again, I hadn''t exactly nned to have my back ripped to shreds either. If there is a fourth life, that was going to go first on my list.

    I arched my back and threw my head back, trying to get away from the pain. And that was when I saw him. Wang Chao stood at the treeline hidden in the shadows, his arms crossed and leaning against a tree as if nothing affected him at all.

    But I knew better. Even from this distance, I could see his fists clenching and unclenching, the hard line of his mouth, and the tightening in the corners of his eyes. I leaned my chin on Liu Wei''s shoulder as I continued to look at the man in front of me, no longer even noticing the pain in my back.

    He had yet to look at me. Instead, he concentrated on Chen Zi Han where he stood behind me and it was like the zombie had wed at me all over again. I took a deep breath, trying to fight past the rush of pain.

    "Am I hurting you, Princess?" asked Chen Zi Han as he quickly withdrew his hand. "I''m good," I said, not turning my attention away from Wang Chao.

    "No, you aren''t," said Liu Yu Zeng. "We can all feel that." I just smiled in response and shook my head.

    Had I managed to fuck up so spectacrly that Wang Chao didn''t want anything to do with me? Was that why he wasn''ting closer? Because he was mad at me? There was another sh of pain as the thought that I had lost Wang Chao because of my own stupidity caused me to want to be sick to my stomach.

    All of a sudden, Wang Chao swung his gaze to me and stood up straight. Striding over at a fast pace, he pulled me up and out of Liu Wei''s arms, not caring about my back. He wrapped his arms around me causing Chen Zi Han''s hard work to all be for not as fresh blood fell. I ignored it as I clung to Wang Chao like a ko bear, my arms wrapped around his neck and my legs clung to his waist.

    "You might as well purge yourself of those types of thoughts because that will never happen," he whispered into my ear as his arms moved from my back to grabbing under my ass. This new grip allowed me to maintain my position without adding any extra pressure to my back.

    Liu Wei stood up, and, in his ce, Wang Chao sat down giving Chen Zi Han full ess once again to my back. "There is nothing you could do for any of us to even consider leaving you, ever. Do you understand me? I¡ªit just took me a minute. I am sorry. I am not used to feeling as powerless as I just did, knowing that you were hurt and in trouble but not being able to get to you." He swallowed and pulled me in closer as once again, Chen Zi Han swiped the burning acid down my back.

    Okay, so it might have been alcohol, but it still felt like acid.

    I felt Wang Chao shudder under me before I heard his chuckle. "If you canin about that, then I guess you will be fine."

    "Ah,e on," I said trying to inject some levity as Chen Zi Han took out the staple gun I had included in the kit for when someone needed stitches. This was going to hurt like a bitch. "Even if I died, I''de back again and hunt you all down. There is no way you can hide from me anymore."

    "Sweetness," said Liu Yu Zeng as he came up behind Wang Chao. Crouching down so I could see him, he smiled. "You don''t seem to understand. If you die, we die with you."

 Chapter 216 Forgiven, But Not Forgotten

    ?

    His words were like a bucket of iced cold water being poured onto me. My head snapped up as I looked at him, my eyes wide, my mouth open. He gave me a sad smile in return. "You didn''t realize that, did you?" He seemed almost heartbroken as he said it.

    I shook my head even as the first staple went into my back. No one had ever said something like that to me, not once. He chuckled as he dragged his index finger down my jawline and curled it under my chin. Gently bringing up my head so he could look at me eye to eye, I didn''t notice the second clicking of the gun.

    "You are not alone anymore. You don''t have to be strong on your own. We are here, and we are a team. When you are not able to be strong, we will be. When you can''t take another step forward, we will pick you up and carry you until you can. We are your sword and your shield against the world." He gently kissed me on my lips as a third staple closed another section of a gap.

    "Besides, Wang Chao does best when he is in charge, so let him," Liu Wei joked as he came to crouch beside his brother.

    "You aren''t mad?" I asked right before I closed my eyes and tried to shake my head. That wasn''t what I wanted to say.

    "We aren''t mad. We are freaked out, we are concerned, and you might not be able to be further than arms reach from any one of us in the near future. But we aren''t mad," said Chen Zi Han as he put in a fourth staple.

    "But if you do it again, you will be in trouble, understand?" growled Wang Chao as the fifth staple went in. I nodded my head and gave a little smirk.

    "Yes, Daddy," I joked looking at Liu Yu Zeng at the same time. He chuckled and shook his head.

    "Brat," said Wang Chao half-heartedly. There were chuckles all around as the tension that had filled my men started to dissipate.

    My moment of stupidity was forgiven, but not forgotten. And I was okay with that.

    Liu Yu Zeng released my chin and I rested my cheek on Wang Chao''s shoulder, burying my nose in his neck as Chen Zi Han continued to insert staples along the five sh marks down my back before wrapping them in a bandage.

    ----

    "You found her," said the Major General as we all exited the trees and stepped onto the road.

    "We did," said Wang Chao as he pretended to ce a hand on the small of my back, guiding me forward. I didn''t want anyone to know that I was in pain, let alone how badly I was injured. So after taking something for the pain, I disappeared into my space to put on a new sweater and jeans so that I wouldn''t return covered in blood.

    "How did you make out?" I asked as I got closer.

    "Fine," replied Deng Jun Hie with a shrug. He was covered in blood, both blue and red. I looked around the road and noticed the piles of burned bones and blood decorating the pavement like a tie-dyed shirt. I threw out some blue mes to finish off the bones.

    "My me isn''t as hot," said Chen Zi Han nodding his head to the bodies of the zombies that he had tried to burn. I nodded my head in understanding. "It isn''t a matter of heat, but time." I approached one of the burnt bodies that I hadn''t touched yet and gestured for him toe over.

    Crouching down, I ignored the pulling of my injuries. Chen Zi Han came down beside me and looked between me and the zombie. "Call on your fire from here," I said and watched as he stretched out his hand, calling on his fire. The reddish-orange glow of a normal fire user came out of his hand and engulfed the body, causing it to twitch.

    He looked at me in confusion. "It''s not ash," I said as I threw out fireballs at the other corpses. I didn''t need any of them regenerating right now. One was enough to demonstrate on.

    "So, it was regenerating?" asked Deng Jun Hie as he crouched on the other side of Chen Zi Han and watched as the fire engulfed the bones. I nodded as just waited. It took maybe five to ten minutes before Chen Zi Han''s me managed to destroy the bones to a fine dusting of cinders on the road.

    "Why did it take so much longer for him to be able to burn the zombie to ashes than it did you?" Apparently, the Major General was just full of questions today. I yawned before I answered him. "Because I am special," I said as I stood up. All the piles of burnt bones were now gone,pletely consumed by mes, and no longer an issue. Yawning again, I flicked my wrist and brought out my RV.

    Although we had walked all the way here, there was no way I would be able to walk home in the state that I was

    in now. Yawning again, I opened up the door and walked in. I didn''t care if we were staying here for the night or if someone was going to drive us back to base. Either way, the sun was setting and I was beat.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Wang Chao scoffed at that thought and I turned to smirk at him. "I''ll let you guys figure out the details," I said with a wave as I went into the back room and got into bed. Thank god I could only sleep on my stomach or else this would have been even worse.

    I closed my eyes, my brain blessedly silent for a change.

    I heard the door open and my nket pulled up gently over me. Muttering my thanks, I fell asleep knowing that the guys would take care of everything.

    ----

    "She''s asleep," said Chen Zi Han as he came out of her room. Wang Chao just nodded from where he was seated on the couch. The Major General sat beside him while Liu Yu Zeng was seated at the ind and Liu Wei leaned back against the booth.

    Li Shoi Ming and Yang Meng Yao had turned tail and ran not five minutes into the fight with the zombies. Yang Meng Yao seemed to be hesitating when it came to killing them and Li Shoi Ming just stood there, not able to do anything.

    "Flight, fight, freeze," said Wang Chao under his breath as he analyzed the fight. Truth be told, as soon as the two outsiders had fled, the fight was over. Liu Yu Zeng let loose his poisonous mist and it was done.

    Liu Wei hummed in agreement as Chen Zi Han passed out a cold beer to the four men before opening his own.

    "Is it always like that?" asked Deng Jun Hie as he took a big swig from the bottle in his hand.

    "Which part?" scoffed Liu Yu Zeng as he too took a sip. He had to admit that it was a lot easier now that he had discovered his abilities. He still remembered the first time he came up against a horde and how Li Dai Lu had to save him and his men.

    "All of it," replied Deng Jun Hie.

    "No," said Chen Zi Han as he started making sandwiches for everyone. No one was really hungry, but it was important to eat when they could. Who knew what might happen next. "That was easy," he continued.

    "Easy?"

    "Mmmm," hummed Liu Wei. "Do you remember the hotel?" he asked as he looked at Wang Chao.

    "I thought she was going to kill you," chuckled Wang Chao as he took a drink of his beer. He closed his eyes as the cold liquid flowed down his throat.

    "Yeah, she was not impressed," agreed Liu Wei.

    "What gave it away? Her purposefully creating more zombies just to show how it was done or when she stormed off after killing them all?"

    The four men chucked. Even Chen Zi Han and Liu Yu Zeng, who weren''t there at that time, could picture it. "How about when I asked who she was and all she replied was that she was my savior," said Liu Yu Zeng as he stared off into the distance as he took another drink.

    "She was," said Chen Zi Han as he ced a te in front of Liu Yu Zeng. The turkey club sandwich and potato chips were just what was needed.

    "She is," agreed Liu Wei with a nod of thanks as Chen Zi Han gave him his te.

    "She always will be," stated Wang Chao as he took his own te. Even Deng Jun Hie had a sandwich with chips on the side.

    "What are we going to do?" asked Deng Jun Hie as he bit into the sandwich and let out a low groan in appreciation. It had been months since he had decent food, and even longer since he had something that good.

 Chapter 217 "Something You Arent Telling Us."

    ?

    "Well, as you can see, we could probably handle most of the zombie tide ourselves," said Wang Chao with a slight shrug as he bit down on a potato chip.

    "But we won''t," smiled Liu Yu Zeng as he took another bite of his sandwich.

    That caused Deng Jun Hie to pause, his mouth still open as he brought his own food back to his mouth. Closing his lips, he swallowed. "Any reason why not?" he asked. Seeing Liu Yu Zeng''s power out in full force had given him a sense of hope that his base would be saved.

    "Because you won''t learn or appreciate it," said Chen Zi Han as he finished off hisst bite of his own food before turning around to the sink and washing his dish.

    Deng Jun Hie scoffed at that idea. If someone coulde and save them, especially someone from the same military as him, then they had the responsibility to help out. Never leave a brother behind and all that.

    This time it was Wang Chao''s turn to let out a snort of amusement. "We are not here to make your life easier. And besides, if you don''t fight now when we are here as backup, what will you do when we leave?"

    "You''re leaving?" asked Deng Jun Hie, a look of confusion on his face like the thought that they weren''t staying had ever even entered his mind.

    "You thought we were staying?" replied Liu Yu Zeng as he walked around the ind and started to wash his own dish in the sink before putting it on the rack to dry. "We go where Li Dai Lu wants us to. Even then, this wasn''t her first choice," he admitted as he turned around and leaned against the counter.

    "But the tide¡­" started the Major General, the once delicious sandwich nowying heavily in his stomach like a ball of lead.

    "The tide wille. Your men will flight. They will be pushed to their limits, and they will discover a part of themselves that they never knew existed," said Liu Wei as he too stood up and started washing his te. "You need some pressure and adversity if you want to create a diamond after all."

    "But¡ª"

    "No," said Wang Chao with a finality that was not to be argued with. "We will act as back up and prevent the base from being over taken. But it is not our home, it is yours. You need to fight for your own ce in this new world." Besides, the four of them also needed to figure out the scope of their powers and this would be as good of as time as any to do it.

    "It could be your home too," said the Major General with a sly smile. "I could give you whatever you want."

    This time, all four of the other men softlyughed at the naivety of that statement. "Look around," suggested Liu Wei as he went back to the booth. Chen Zi Han sat down in the driver''s seat of the RV and started it. "What could we possibly becking that we would consider your offer?"

    Deng Jun Hie looked around and seriously thought about his words. It was true, there didn''t seem to be anythingcking¡­ "I can offer power, supplies and a ce to put down roots. Wouldn''t it be nice not to constantly be driving around?"

    Wang Chao looked at the man beside him. He understood that the Major General was desperate, but he had already given him the solution. "We have our own base an hour and a half from here," started Liu Yu Zeng as he went to sit in the front passenger seat beside Chen Zi Han.

    "We have a ranchpletely set up as another base just outside of City A," continued Liu Wei as he stretched out on the booth, his legs crossed in front of him.

    "We will be leaving when the tide is not longer a threat," said Wang Chao as he stood up. "And there is nothing you can do about it." Turning around, he walked over to the back bedroom and slide inside. He needed some one on one time with his little one just to reassure himself that she was still alive.

    Crawling into bed with her, he brought her front over top of his own. He saw that she had taken off her sweater and was justying in bed with only the bandage covering her. He wished he could feel her silky skin against his own, but for right now, all he needed was to listen to her heartbeat.

    Closing his eyes, he surrendered to sleep.

    ----<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    I had slept through the night and into the first half of the morning. I snuggled into the warm body underneath me and took in a deep breath of air. "Wang Chao," I groaned, not bothering to open my eyes. I was much to happy and content to be willing to ruin everything by opening my eyes.

    As long as they stayed closed I could pretend that we were in our own little world¡­ one where I didn''t have to get out of bed.

    Wang Chao chuckled as he gently trailed his finger up and down my arm. I was about to roll over when a tinge of pain told me that that would be a very bad idea. It wasn''t as bad as it was yesterday, but it was definitely enough to remind me that I was hurt.

    The door opened and Chen Zi Han looked in. I smiled at my shadow and patted the bed behind me in a offer for him to join the cuddle fest. If even more people joined in, there was no way I could get out of bed. Chen Zi Han chuckled and shook his head.

    "Just checking to see if you were awake," he said as he opened the door all the way and walked in.

    "And if I am?" I asked him, narrowing my eyes at him in suspicion. Would he make me get out of bed? Because I was really going to have to protest if that was the case. I wasfy, and Wang Chao wasn''t asking me to get off of him. In short, I wasn''t moving.

    Smiling, Chen Zi Han came to sit on the side of the bed and leaned forward to give me a kiss on my bare shoulder. I was too tired to bother to get changedst night so I only took off my sweater before I passed out, leaving my upper half naked. There was no way I was putting on a bra with my back looking like Frankenstein''s Monster.

    "If you are, then I was going to change the bandage and check your wounds," he said as he gave me a kiss right behind my neck and another on my shoulder de. I hummed my approval at his actions only to start grumbling as he got out of bed and left the room.

    "Was it something I said?" I asked Wang Chao as I got morefortable on his chest. He chuckled as Chen Zi Han came back into the room carrying the first aid kit that I had given him yesterday.

    "Let''s see how you are doing," he said as he took out a pair of medical scissors and started to cut the white bandage that was wrapped around my torso. With how I wasying on Wang Chao, he hadplete ess to my back.

    I felt the tension lessen and loosen as the bindings fell away. They were still trapped between me and Wang Chao, but my back was nowpletely exposed to Chen Zi Han. I closed my eyes, picturing just how mangled and ugly my back must be.

    The zombie didn''t hold back and all five of his ws managed to rip into me from the top of my right shoulder down to the top of my left hip. I had lost track after the first 25 staples it took to put me back together so I knew it was not pretty.

    I shifted self-consciously as I felt Chen Zi Han''s fingers lightly graze down my back. "I''m sorry," I said embarrassed. I know he saw it worse yesterday, but in the light of a new day, I didn''t want him to see me like this. Scars were never attractive on a woman.

    "Hush," said Wang Chao, tilting up my head to give me a kiss. His lips started off gentle on my own until his tongue demanded entrance. As soon as I granted it, hepletely took over the kiss, forcing every thought out of my head until all I could think about was him and Chen Zi Han''s fingers on my back.

    I moaned as he slowly pulled away. I chased him a bit, wanting that sensation back, but Chen Zi Han held me in ce.

    "Princess," he said cautiously as his fingers continued to glide between the staples I could feel in my skin.

    "Yeah?" I asked as I tried to look over my shoulder to look at my back.

    "Is there something that you need to tell us?" he asked. Wang Chao snapped to attention, his eyes staring at Chen Zi Han.

    "No," I said confused. What did I forget to tell him?

    "Call in the others," said Wang Chao, his gaze never leaving Chen Zi Han''s. "They need to be here for this."

 Chapter 218 "Dont Worry."

    ?

    (NSFW)

    Chen Zi Han left the bed to go get the other two men and I looked up at Wang Chao from where he had me draped over his chest. The thin cloth of the bandage was the only thing that prevented my skin from touching his shirt, but if I moved too much, even that barrier would be gone.

    "Want to tell me what is going on?" I asked as he gripped the back of my neck tightly enough to prevent me from moving too much. I didn''t know if it was because he was just as aware of the precariousness of the bandage or if he was worried about me pulling on my back.

    "Don''t worry about it, everything is fine," he murmured low causing his chest to vibrate with each word. I let out a bark ofughter as I tried to sit up, but his hold prevented me from doing anything more than squirming in his arms.

    And of course, just as I was getting pissed off at him for that response, the bandage gave up protecting what little modesty I had left, and dropped to my waist before falling into a pile on the bed. I froze, my breasts and sensitive nipples now rubbing against his chest, the fabric offering even more stimtion.

    Trying to ignore my body''s reaction to the man under me, I red at him. "When in the history of the world has that ever worked? ''Don''t worry about it?'' You just called everyone in because of something that you saw on my back. Don''t tell me not to worry. I will worry all I want!"

    I pushed myself into a seated position,pletely forgetting about anything and everything except for his ''Don''t worry about it.''

    "Are you sure you want to do that?" Wang Chao asked as he looked me in the eyes. When there was a light breeze against my bare breasts, I gasped and dropped back down onto the bed, once again ring at the man beside me. "I didn''t look," he chucked as I hid my arms under my body, frantically trying to cover my semi-nakedness.

    Then again, I guess it was a lot like closing the barn door after the cows got out.

    I gave him a side-eyed look as the door to the bedroom opened. I turned from my turtle position and watched as the guys all walked in. What started out as a good day was fast crumbling beneath my feet and I hadn''t even made it out of bed yet.

    "Good morning, Sweetness," said Liu Yu Zeng as he came up to me and ced a kiss on my exposed shoulder. I hummed my greeting, but I was still a bit upset and didn''t do much more than that. But for the life of me, I couldn''t figure out if I was still upset at the ''Don''t worry''ment or the reassurance that he didn''t look.

    Was he not interested?

    There was an animalistic growl on the other side of me as Wang Chao roughly pulled me over to him and took possession of my mouth. His hands gripped my hips so tightly that I thought I would have permanent marks, but with how my mind just went white, I wasn''t too upset over that idea.

    "I am interested, I am more than interested and I am about to say fuck everything and pull you down so far onto my cock that I will be forever embedded into you," growled the man under me as he pulled away from my mouth and leaned down to suck one of my breasts into his mouth.

    I arched back as his mouth became almost more than I could bear. My hips started to move on their own, riding him as I tried to get the right pressure and friction to send me flying. I might be new to this whole stuff, but the dance was as old as time and my body knew exactly what it wanted.

    Wang Chao''s hands increased their strength, preventing me from rubbing against him as a third hand found the soaking spot that caused me to scream my release.

    I copsed on Wang Chao''s chest, panting heavily. "Wasn''t I supposed to be mad at you?" I asked, my brain still mush as the man chuckled and ced soft, gentle kisses over my face. "Do you still doubt my interest?" he asked me back.

    I shook my head. Completely boneless, I turned to look at the manying beside us. Locking his eyes with mine, Liu Yu Zeng raised his middle finger to his lips and sucked my juices off of it. We both groaned at that.

    "I will never be able to go another day without eating you out in the morning," he said as he continued to suck me off of himself. "From now on, it is the only way I will get up."

    I looked down at him and saw the hard outline in his pants and smiled. "I can see that." The three of us chuckled as Liu Wei let out a light cough, bringing our attention back to the present.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Now, Princess, are you sure that there isn''t anything that you are keeping from us?" asked Chen Zi Han as he sat down at the foot of the bed causing Liu Yu Zeng to curl his legs behind him so the other man could have room.

    I froze in panic. There were a lot of things that I was keeping from the boys. To the point where I refused to even think about them too much in case Wang Chao managed to catch a glimpse of them in my head. But what could Chen Zi Han be talking about? There was no way he could know about---

    Forcing the thought from my head before it could even form, I shook my head no.

    "You are freaking her out," said Liu Yu Zeng as he gentlyid another kiss on my shoulder de, and then he too, froze.

    "What the fuck," he said as he ran his hand down my shredded back. I tensed, waiting for the pain, but I guess I was still too out of it from the orgasm that the guys gave me to really feel anything but pure bliss at this point.

    His hand was quickly joined by Wang Chao''s two hands and all of a sudden, there were eight hands stroking my back as they avoided the staples.

    "It''s even better than what it was when I first took off the bandage," confessed Chen Zi Han as he stroked my back. I arched into their hands, loving the feeling of their skin on mine.

    "Fuck, do you see that?" asked Liu Yu Zeng and I tried to arch my head to see what they were talking about, but I really couldn''t see anything over my shoulder.

    "Guys, you are starting to freak me out," I said with a hint of nervousness in my voice. I hated not knowing what was going on, even more so when it clearly involved me.

    "In the past, whenever you were injured, did it heal fast?" asked Liu Wei as he came to the other side of the bed to sit next to Wang Chao''s head. I turned my head to look at him with confusion.

    "No, in fact, I always seemed to take a really long time to heal from anything, even a paper cut," I admitted. I thought that it was more that I kept scratching at the scabs causing them to bleed more. But even when I didn''t, I never healed fast.

    Especially not in the cages.

    "Are you sure?" he asked again, the look on his face was causing me to freak out a bit more and no post-orgasm bliss was helping.

    "I mean, it wasn''t like I sat there and timed it, but yeah, it always took me a while to heal. Now, could someone tell me what the Hell is going on?" I demanded, looking at Wang Chao as I spoke. He was the only one to remain silent.

    "You are going to have to stay still while we take out the staples," he said as he looked me in the eyes.

    I scrunched my forehead. It was too soon to take out the staples. Something the size and depth of those grooves would take at least 3 weeks for me to heal enough for the staples to be removed. My doctor in my first life evenmented on how long it took because normally they woulde out within one to two weeks.

    "Your skin is going to start growing over top of them if we don''t get them out," said Liu Wei, agreeing with Wang Chao. I mean, I was d the two were on the same page, but one night was not enough time to heal from a zombie attack.

    I shook my head as I turned to look at the other two men in the room. Chen Zi Han came up beside my face and Liu Yu Zeng got out of his way so that he couldy a hand against my cheek. "Princess," he said as his eyes searched mine. "Your back ispletely healed. If we don''t take out the staples now, we might not be able to in the future."

 Chapter 219 Kill Everyone

    ?

    (NSFW¡­ seriously¡­ don''t they know there is a tideing?!?)

    I looked at Chen Zi Han, trying to get my brain to process his words. My back was healed? There was no way. I shook my head. "Not possible, those ws would have ripped me down to the bones, not to mention the infections."

    I had seen many people, even those lightly scratched by a zombie, have their wounds be infected and die as a result. It wasn''t like the zombie put emphasis on hygiene and washing their hands after every meal. In fact, if I was to bepletely honest, I didn''t know if I would make it through the night, or at least, not without waking up to a raging infection.

    To hear that I waspletely healed? That just didn''t seem possible. I wanted to reach my hand around to my back in order to feel the wounds, but the very idea that I might touch a staple stopped me cold. I had a few surgeries in my first life where they were used, and I wanted to puke just by looking at them. There was no way I could touch them.

    I shuddered and brought my arms back under me, once again turning into a turtle but for apletely different reason. "We have time to slowly figure things out," said Wang Chao as his fingers drifted over top of my sides. It tickled, but that was not what was causing me to squirm.

    I was almostpletely naked in a bed with all four of my men. If you honestly thought that my mind was on my back, my healed state, or even staples at this point¡­ well, I hate to disappoint you¡­ because it really wasn''t.

    Wang Chao snickered at my thoughts, his fingers never stopping their delicious torture. "Let''s get these things out of you first and then we can work on all those thoughts in your head." I turned bright red as soon as I realized that he would be able to see everything that I wanted them to do to me.

    Stupid spirit user.

    Chen Zi Han let out a low chuckle that cause me to shiver in delight as my body reacted to him. He stood up and walked over to the first aid kit. Opening it up, he took out the staple remover and poured some of the rubbing alcohol onto it, making sure that there were no bacteria on it. Not like it seemed to matter, I was already healed apparently.

    The device looked more like scissors than a staple remover you would use on paper¡­ thank god. But the des were incredibly small, like the size of one of my fingernails. I knew from past experience that they weren''t ''removing'' the staple, more like cutting it in two, and then each half would be pulled out afterward.

    Trust me, the first time a doctor asked for the staple remover for me, all I could picture was the one you would buy at an office supply store and I freaked right out. Good times.

    I maintained my positionpletely over top of Wang Chao as he gripped my hair and started to massage my scalp, making me think of things other than staples. Things like what else I could do to him to have that same grip on my hair.

    I felt him take in a deep breath and he moved me up and down. "Don''t let her move," warned Chen Zi Han as I felt the cold brush of metal against my skin. One snip and the staple was cut and the halves were pulled out by Liu Wei, who was acting like Chen Zi Han''s nurse.

    Wang Chao snorted. "If you only knew what was going on in her mind right now, you would forgive me for that," said Wang Chao as his grip on my hair tightened. "You are doing this on purpose, aren''t you?" he growled low at me and my mind shed to something else.

    I might be untouched, but that didn''t mean that I didn''t have a very good imagination and more books than any one person needed on the subject matter. In fact, there were a few scenes in those books that I would love to try once we didn''t have a zombie tide hanging over our heads.

    Hearing the man groan under me and feeling his hardness, I pictured exactly what I had read, down to the tiniest of details.

    I was a bitch, what could I say?

    "Want to share with the ss?" asked Liu Yu Zeng as his eyes drifted between my satisfied smile and the look of pain on Wang Chao''s head. I looked at him and after running my tongue over my lips, I bit my bottom one, dragging it inside as I smile at the man.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Now it was his turn to squirm. "Hold that thought, Sweetness," he said as he pulled me in for a slow andnguorous kiss. He didn''t push too hard, but at the same time, he maintained dominance over the kiss, nipping at my bottom lip every time I tried to take over.

    "All done," said Chen Zi Han''s voice cutting through the haze. "And I better not have to ever put 35 staples into you again, do you understand?" I nodded my head as I looked at him. He ran his hand down my back as if inplete disbelief.

    "The only marks on your back are currently from the staples. And, given your rate of healing, I wouldn''t be surprised if they were gone within the hour," said Liu Wei as he ced a kiss on the small of my back, right over top of my ass.

    "Now, about those thoughts," he continued as he continued to kiss up my spine until I was trapped and helpless between him and Wang Chao. Laying on top of me, his arms keeping the majority of his weight off of my back, he licked the back of my neck just under my ear.

    I tilted my hips, bringing my ass up and into his hardness while simultaneously causing the small bundle of nerves to press down harder onto Wang Chao. My eyes practically rolled back in my head at the feeling.

    I was right where I wanted to be, experiencing something that I thought would forever remain a fantasy, and yet, here I was.

    I could feel myself bing wet again, my panties, ruined from earlier, were absolutely no help when it came to containing it. And right now, there were fouryers of clothing standing between my body and where I wanted to be.

    As if he could hear my thoughts, Wang Chao angled his hips up while at the same time, Liu Wei pushed his down, the sensation of the two causing me to moan.

    Liu Yu Zeng chuckled and my eyes flew to where he stood right beside my head. "Maybe we need to find something to quiet you down," he said, and the look in his eyes caused yet another gush of need to flow out of me. I had never done that before, but today was a day for firsts.

    Keeping his eyes on me, Liu Yu Zeng undid the button on top of his jeans. Slowly, he pulled down his zipper and I could swear I heard each one of the teeth separate until I was looking at¡­ oh God¡­.

    The movements between Wang Chao and Liu Wei increased in both speed and pleasure and, as I stared at the long, hard member right in front of my eyes, I couldn''t stop the moan that came out of me. I needed them, and I needed them inside me now.

    I was almost frantic with my desire, but the men yed me like a violin, doing everything to make me lose my mind, guaranteeing my pleasure first and foremost. I reached out to Liu Yu Zeng and rubbed my hand over top of the ck briefs that, up to now, were keeping him contained. But I could see the head starting to poke out of his waistband, shiny and dripping with its own juices.

    I licked my lips and Liu Yu Zeng groaned as if he was already in my mouth. Pulling himself out, he stoke himself a few times, the smirk on his lips telling me that he knew what they were doing to me.

    Feverish, my hips moved with even more speed and determination. My insides clenching at nothing, I felt like crying with the overwhelming feelings.

    Liu Yu Zeng, seeing the look on my face, step forward, inches away from my mouth. I opened my mouth, desperate to taste him, when there was a banging on the outside door of the RV.

    We all paused for a minute as the banging continued, but my body was not willing to stop. I was so close, so desperate that I let out a whine of need as Liu Yu Zeng stepped back and tucked his cock back into his briefs before doing up his pants again.

    "I think I am going to kill everyone at this base. Is that going to be a problem for anyone?" he asked in a light tone, a smile on his face belying the look of pure rage in his eyes.

 Chapter 220 30 Minutes

    ?

    (NSFW ish)

    Liu Yu Zeng ripped open the door, almost panting with rage. He was close, so close¡­ and yet, this fucker thought that this would be a good time to start banging on the door?!? Growling under his breath, he stared down at the person in front of him.

    "Wang Chao and the rest of you have been invited to attend a meeting with the Major General and the rest of the teams," she said, seemingly unaware of how close she wasing to dying. In fact, Liu Yu Zeng couldn''t think of a single reason to keep her alive.

    Then again, with all of his blood flowing to his cock, there was not much left to support his brain function.

    Yang Meng Yao continued to look up at him and smiled, blinking her eyes. "Do you have something in your eyes? I could take them out for you," said Liu Yu Zeng, his teeth gritted and a slightly psychotic look appeared on his face.

    The woman looked at him in confusion. "What do you mean?"

    "I mean, if you have something in your eyes that is the reason why you keep blinking at me like that, I can simply remove your eyes, and your problem is gone. Or, I can remove your head, and then my problem is gone. Do you have a preference?" he asked, not noticing his older brothering up behind him.

    Yang Meng Yao continued blinking as her mind worked through what Liu Yu Zeng had said. When she saw Liu Weiing up behind him, she smiled brightly. "Liu Wei!" she said as if seeing her savior. "I am here to invite you to the base meeting."

    Liu Wei grunted, "When is it?"

    "In about 30 minutes," she answered. "Is Wang Chao around?"

    "Wang Chao is currently upied," he said in a tone of voice that she had never heard before.

    "Is everything ok? Is there any way that I can help?" she volunteered as she tried to step into the RV.

    "You can help by leaving," growled Liu Yu Zeng after realizing that they could have done a lot in the 30 minutes before the meeting started but this cockblocker decided that now was a good time to bother them.

    Yang Meng Yao''s smile turned a bit strained as she looked to Liu Wei for support. "He is correct in this matter," said Liu Wei stiffly as he pushed his sses up the bridge of his nose. "And next time, I suggest leaving the message outside of the door. The constant knocking is getting a bit¡­ upsetting."

    Liu Wei tried to keep a semi-professional appearance, but he was ready to pop this woman''s head off like an unwanted pimple. 30 minutes¡­ they could have had a whole 30 minutes with Li Dai Lu pinned between himself and Wang Chao.

    And while it had never entered his mind before, he couldn''t get it out of his head now. The feeling of her pinned under him,pletely helpless¡­ he shuddered.

    They needed to hurry up and get this zombie tide over and done with so that they could be on the road before one of them died for perpetual blue balls. "We will be there on time," he said through gritted teeth before he mmed the thin door between him and the other woman.

    30 fucking minutes.

    ----

    It was 10:30 in the morning and we were stuck at the same conference table as we had been for the past three days. I yawned. I might have had a fantastic wake-up call this morning, but it also drained me so much that I just wanted to crawl back into bed and go to sleep.

    My guys on the other hand. I had to cringe slightly when I thought about what we were about to do before we were so rudely interrupted. Don''t get me wrong, I would have been more than happy to continue with what we were doing once the unwee visitor left, but it just wasn''t the same.

    We weren''t looking for a quickie and having a clock ticking over our heads was not the most romantic way I wanted my first time.

    So we all took a cold shower and tried to make ourselves more presentable, but that didn''t change just how pissed off the boyos were. And I think everyone in the room understood just how thin the ice was that they were standing on.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Of course, you do have the idiots.

    "Are you really eating carrot cake for breakfast?" asked Yang Meng Yao as she stared at me from across the table. Li Shoi Ming wrinkled his nose as if it was the most disgusting thing that he had ever seen. But then again, seeing as he is sitting next to Yang Meng Yao, I didn''t put much stock in his tastes.

    "Didn''t you know?" I asked her innocently. "Carrot cake is not really so much of a cake as it is a muffin. And everyone knows that muffins are very much a breakfast food." I took a giant bite of the carrot cake smothered in cream cheese frosting, letting my teeth hit the metal progs before pulling the fork out of my mouth.

    The men around me snickered, but unfortunately, Yang Meng Yao was not done ruining my morning. "Still, you have to take into ount your figure," she said with a sniff. This time I had to burst outughing.

    "Bless your heart. I am fighting zombies enough that these few calories mean nothing. Maybe you should try it? Then again, I guess running away does burn about the same amount."

    There was silence in the room as we stared at each other.

    There was a quote that a schr always said in the historical online novels that I loved to read. It went something like ''a gentleman never argues with a woman or a child''. They always say it in a hoity manner as if arguing with a woman was so far beneath them that it was simply a waste of time.

    See me, I always figured that the man who came up with that saying was right. A gentleman should never argue with a woman because they don''t stand a chance at winning. And instead of looking stupid by having someone that was considered to be ''lesser'' than them hand them their asses, it was just better to keep their mouths shut.

    The men in this room? They were the smart ones that didn''t get involved.

    "She is simply trying to help you. You could be more grateful," said Li Shoi Ming as he red at me. I guess there is always at least one dumb one in any crowd.

    "Sure," I said with a bright smile as I took out a second piece of carrot cake just to spite them.

    "I meant to ask, are you a space user?" asked one of the leaders from City D. He leaned forward to be able to look at me.

    "I am," I said with a nod. "I don''t have a lot of space, just enough to keep me in cakes and coffee for a while."

    He nodded his head as if he understood. "We have a team member that has a space too. He said that it was only about 30x30, but everything little bit helps when you are collecting supplies." My eyes lit up when he mentioned supplies and I leaned around Wang Chao to talk to the team leader more.

    "Supplies are important," I said nodding my head like a bobblehead toy. "Have you been able to find a lot?"

    He frowned. "Not so much. Most of the stores have been picked over, but we have enough tost us a short time."

    "Have you tried raiding houses?" I asked, almost crawling over Wang Chao to get closer to the other man. "I find that there are a lot of supplies in a house that many people overlook."

    The other man slowly nodded his head. "I never considered looking in homes, but it would make sense."

    Once again, I nodded. It was so nice to be able to talk supplies with someone. Wang Chao wrapped his arms around my waist to prevent me from going any further before putting me back in my chair. He nodded to the team leader from City D. "Wang Chao," he said as he held out his hand.

    "Bai Long Qiang, City D, Team A. But I guess that there is no longer a City D, so maybe I need to stop saying that," he said with a sad smile. Wang Chao nodded his head in understanding.

    "The city might not exist, but your memories of it do," said Wang Chao. Bai Long Qiang simply nodded. "Well, I might not exist much longer if we can''t defeat this horde that ising."

    "What did you say your name was?" I asked, doing a double take at the man. My reaction was enough to cause my men to tense up.

 Chapter 221 Bai Long Qiang

    ?

    "Bai Long Qiang," said the man, a look of confusion crossing over his face.

    "And you have a spacer user on your team?" I asked, wanting to make sure that I had the right man. He nodded slowly like he wasn''t too sure my head was screwed on the right way.

    "When you leave here, I suggest you go to City A. There is going to be a sanctuary there soon if there isn''t already. I am sure that you would do great there," I said with a smile. Might as well have some things in order this early in the game.

    He nodded his head. "If we get out of here alive, I''ll take that into consideration," he said. "And also look into raiding some homes between here and there," he continued with a wink.

    I smiled and tilted my head backughing. I would make certain that he and his team made it out of here alive. I owed her that much and so much more.

    I went silent as I thought about what I would need to do in the future to make sure that he was in the right ce at the right time. I should probably feel bad about manipting him like this, but I really didn''t. He had a very important role to y in my future ns. But he was right. We needed to survive this tide first.

    I could feel the men behind me subtly shifting back and forth, not liking how silent I was. I wanted to reassure them, but before I could open my mouth, the Major General came into the room and the meeting had officially begun.

    ----

    Wang Chao shifted in his seat, not at all happy with how things have progressed since they were¡­ disturbed earlier. He looked at the man sitting a few people away from him and wondered what it was about him that caused Li Dai Lu to be so¡­ off.

    "We had a confrontation yesterday with some of the zombies," started Deng Jun Hie as quiet mummers broke out amongst the people assembled. The guy Li Dai Lu was talking to, nodded his head like he had already known this.

    It must have been his team that originally confronted them. Wang Chao wondered how he was going to react to knowing that he screw up. There was a sinister grin on his face as he thought about it.

    "They were the same zombies that Team A from City D had confronted earlier," continued the Major General as he looked at the team leader. His face turned white and he clenched his hands tighter. Men like that never like to screw up, and he had screwed up spectacrly.

    "How?" the team leader, Bai Long Qiang, demanded causing Wang Chao to scoff. "You didn''t kill them," he said with a sarcastic tone. Talking about supplies with Li Dai Lu, making her pay attention to him, did he not realize that there would be consequences for his actions?

    The zombie tide would create enough chaos that the death of one more human would be nothing.

    "You were correct in cutting off their heads," said Deng Jun Hie with a nod of approval. "The problem that I don''t think anyone else knows or understands is that simply cutting off their heads is not enough to ensure their deaths. You then have to burn the body to ash. These zombies have extraordinary capabilities to regenerate, to the point that cutting them in two is simply creating more zombies."

    "Are you saying that they can regrow a head?" asked one of the men who was originally leaning against the wall. He must have been part of that Team A.

    "I am not only saying that, but I am saying that they can regrow an entire body from just a head," said the Major General solemnly.

    "Fuck," said another man seated at the table under his breath. "Then how are we going to stop them?"

    "I will take care of that part," said Li Dai Lu. Wang Chao and the other men looked at her. They didn''t see thating. They had expected her to say that they could fend for themselves and that their only job was to make sure that the zombies didn''t get to the City J base.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    None of the men were going to question her in public, but they would need an exnation once they got back to the RV and some privacy.

    Unlike the other men, Deng Jun Hie just let out a breath of relief. "Thank you," he said earnestly. At least if she was participating then Wang Chao and the others would be participating as well. Now the base actually stood a chance.

    Bai Long Qiang looked at Li Dai Lu and smiled at her in thanks. He didn''tpletely understand what was going on, but by the way the Major General was acting, her involvement was nothing but a good thing.

    "So the idea is to take off their heads and burn them to death?" asked Li Shoi Ming as he looked at Deng Jun Hie at the head of the table. The other man nodded his head. "But it is important that you don''t remove any other limbs other than the head." The people around the table looked at each other.

    "Is there a timeline?" asked Wang Chao, the tapping of his index finger the only indication that he was not happy.

    "The front line should be reaching the first of our traps within two days," said the Major General as he looked at the other man. "Everyone needs to prepare. Dismissed."

    Wang Chao blinked in understanding before he stood up. Waiting for Li Dai Lu to stand up he was not prepared for her to skirt by him and walk over to the other man. Indicating for him to bend over, she whispered a few things into his ear. When she got his nod of confirmation, she turned around with a smile on her face and returned to their group.

    "You have a lot of exining to do, little girl," growled Wang Chao, his skin vibrating so hard that he might end up shedding itpletely. He didn''t know how she did it, but her mind was aplete nk to him and he absolutely hated that. In fact, he hated it so much that he wanted to rip everyone in this room to shreds, starting with the Team Leader from City D.

    She looked up at him stunned, not expecting for him to say something like that, but he would not apologize. "And if I can''t give you an exnation?" she asked softly knocking Wang Chao back a few steps.

    The four men surrounded her in the hallway just outside of the conference room and looked down at her. "Will you still trust me if I said that I cannot tell you what is going on?"

    "Always," growled Wang Chao. "I will always trust you and follow you anywhere you lead. Even if it leads me to Hell." The other three men nodded in agreement and Li Dai Lu rxed at his words.

    "I can''t exin it, not yet. But he is important, so very important to me," she admitted with her eyes closed. She couldn''t tell the guys what was going on, what she was trying to set into motion. If she did, then she would have to exin everything and she just wasn''t there yet.

    None of the men liked the idea that someone outside of their group was that important to Li Dai Lu, but how could they disappoint her at the same time?

    "If ites down to him or one of us?" asked Liu Yu Zeng as he stared into his woman''s eyes. A look of pure anguish crossed her eyes before she closed them.

    "My choice is always you," she said. "There will never be anypromise on that aspect. But if you could, could you watch out for him when the tidees? He and his team need to make it out of here alive," she continued as she opened her eyes to look at Liu Yu Zeng, her tone as close to begging as they had ever heard.

    Liu Yu Zeng nodded his head reluctantly. "But at some point in time, you will tell us?" he asked. He understood secrets, understood the need for them, no matter how much it tore you apart. He would not ask her for all of her secrets here and now. But in the future, he didn''t want anything between them, especially when it came to other men.

    "When the time is right, you will know everything," she said but the men could feel a stabbing of pain in their hearts as she said that. Something was clearly wrong, but they would stand beside her like aways until they made it through that hurdle.

    "That is all we ask," said Chen Zi Han as he pulled her into his arms and give her a kiss on her forehead.

 Chapter 222 The Calm Before The Storm

    ?

    I felt like I was about to crawl out of my skin, and truth be told, I expected this to happen a lot sooner than now. I was never one to be around people for long periods of time. I made me absolutely exhausted and more than a little snappish.

    Of course, before I wasn''t able to be snappish, but that wasn''t a factor in this life.

    "I''m going into my space for a while," I told the boys once we got out of the conference room and into the hallway. I knew that they wouldn''t really notice me gone, thanks to the time difference, but I still wanted to let them know.

    Wang Chao looked at me, his eyes lightly narrowing before returning to normal. "Do you want one of us to go with you?" he asked, because¡­ of course, they could follow me into my space. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I knew I was going to snap but I didn''t want to take it out on the boys. They hadn''t done anything to deserve it after all.

    "I think that might be the worst thing you could do right now," I confessed with a sigh. I loved the fact that I had a part of them inside me, I really did. But learning that my private space was no longer as private as I thought it was, would take me some time to get used to.

    "If you are sure," he said as he continued to study me. I nodded my head. "You won''t even know I am gone," I joked.

    "I somehow doubt that, Sweetness," said Liu Yu Zeng as he came up beside me and gave me a kiss to my forehead. I melted a bit, but it was not enough.

    I smiled at them all before I shed into my space.

    ----

    In myst life, and even in my first, I had always wanted one of those cool spaces that were in all the novels. Not the kind that seemed to result as one of the powers from a meteor, but like those found in antique jade. You know, the ones where it was just an empty room that they could use to hold supplies but nothing else.

    No, my dream space was one that looked like an alternate dimension with a building, fields, and streams. When I woke up in this life and realized that I had gotten what I so desperately wanted, it quickly became apparent that I needed to be more careful about what I wished for.

    Ignoring the house, I went along to the back of the property where there were fields, mountains, and a bigke. This was the biggest of three bodies of water on this property and I absolutely loved it. I mean, it could use a perg, but that was something that woulde in time.

    Sitting on the shore, I put my feet into the water and watched as some of the fish that I had put in started to circle my toes, wondering what intruder hade into their space.

    I leaned back,ying down on the soft grass, and stared up at the sky. I needed this time to dpress.

    My instincts were battering against me, my flight, flight, or freeze was ying havoc with my mind and I was just done.

    I closed my eyes and felt the cool breeze as it tickled my skin, my body rxing more and more. I should havee in here sooner, but I either forgot that I had this ce until I wanted cake. But maybe I just thought that taking a few minutes to myself made me weak.

    I scoffed at myself for that thought. I think taking that beating by the zombies yesterday should be enough to prove to myself that I was not weak. But that also didn''t mean that I had to be strong too. I was a woman, I could be strong, weak, emotional, and stoic all in the space of 10 minutes. That was one of the advantages of being me and I would not apologize for taking what I want and needed.

    I felt a slight weight climb on top of my chest and a purring motor start. I chuckled and reached down, scratching Hades behind his ear in his favorite spot. "Haven''t seen you in a while," I said, refusing to open my eyes. He just purred harder, my chest vibrating under his assault. "I take it you are no longer upset with me?" I asked as I petted him from his fluffy ears all the way down to his tail.

    There was a brief pause in the purring to let me know that not all was forgiven, but it quickly restarted. I let out a lowugh as I opened my eyes to see a beautiful ck cat that was practically the length of my torso. "And you have clearly been looking after yourself quite well if you have gotten this big."<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Meowing in response, his ears flicked forward and backward with my words. "Once I find a new home for us, I''ll keep you with me, or even keep you in the trailer if you promise not to run away. I don''t want anything to happen to you," I said as I continued to pet him.

    This was what I needed, some time to myself to dpress. But I had other important things to do while I was in here¡­ starting with baking some more cakes, squares, and cookies. I especially wanted some nanaimo bars, authentic nanaimo bars, not the crap that they sometimes try to pass for nanaimo bars. And then after I could go for some lemon bars, butter tart squares, carrot cakes, chocte cakes¡­ what else should I make? I had all the time I needed, so I might as well make the most of every minute.

    Sitting up, Hades let out a meow of protest as he fell off my chest and onto the grass beside me. I was quickly forgiven/forgotten as the fish in the pondmanded his full attention. I chuckled as I stood up and walked towards the house.

    I quickly changed into a lightweight white dress, I left my feet bare as I walked into my kitchen. Putting on the same ck and white polka dot apron that was my favorite, I pulled out my cookbook.

    Without ess to the inte, I didn''t have all of my recipes, but those that I loved or made a lot were carefully written down in a book so that I could always have them on hand. Opening it up, I grabbed everything I needed for the nanaimo bars and got to work. I had a lot of things to make before I left my space and dealt with the chaos outside.

    ----

    "I''m back!" Li Dai Lu said as less than a second passed since she had told Wang Chao and the others that she was going into her space for a little while. "Miss me?" she asked as if were even a question.

    "Like you wouldn''t believe," said Liu Yu Zeng as the men started to head out of the hallway and towards their trailer. People were still streaming out of the conference room, but they were not going to wait. Li Dai Lu might look much lighter and happier; however, they weren''t going to take any chances.

    They hadn''t been taking as good of care of her as they should have. Seeing how she looked now, it was incredibly clear just how run down she had been. "Have fun?" asked Chen Zi Han as he put a hand around her waist and guided her down the stairs and into the outside.

    Before she could open her mouth, her name was called out causing everyone to turn around and look at the man. "You are getting in way over your head," said Li Shoi Ming as he strolled towards their group. Yang Meng Yao was hurrying closely behind him, her eyes never leaving Wang Chao.

    "Should never havee out," she muttered under her breath causing the men around her to straighten up. "And how am I getting in over my head?" she asked as she leaned against Chen Zi Han.

    LI Shoi Ming looked back and forth between her and the other man before turning his attention to Wang Chao. "Are you okay with this?" he asked with some confusion. There was no way he would ever be okay with his ''wife'' touching any other guy. Wang Chao just stared at Li Shoi Ming, not bothering to answer him.

    "What do you want?" asked Li Dai Lu clearly bing more and more tired. Wang Chao wondered if that was because of her body healing so rapidly or if there was another problem that they didn''t know about.

    He lightly scoffed in his head. There was apparently a lot that they didn''t know about. But he trusted her. If she said that she would tell themter, then she would tell themter. He just had to be patient.

    He was not leaving her side so there was no need to push.

    "I want you to go back to City A with me," said her cousin as he stared at her.

    "No," was the simple reply. Wang Chao had had enough. He wasn''t used to this power, but he might as well practice it more. With a wave of his hand, he stopped time for everyone but the five of them giving them the chance to sneak away before there were any more interruptions.

 Chapter 223 "It Has Begun!"

    ?

    It had been two days and I was more than ready for the zombies toe. We had agreed that instead of getting interrupted in the middle of anything, it would be better just to wait until we were back on the road. But that also meant that I was ready to climb up the wall by the end of the first day.

    We yed board games, card games, and anything else that we could think of that would kill time. Chen Zi Han spent a lot of time in the kitchen preparing meals. Some I put in my space so that we could have them on hand forter while others we ate. But no matter what we did, the time seemed to crawl by.

    "You are sure that you put the time back to how it was supposed to be, right?" asked Liu Yu Zeng for the hundredth time as he looked at Wang Chao.

    "I am sure," said the man, not at all impressed by being constantly used of messing up.

    "You are sure you''re sure?" he asked again as if in the milliseconds between then and when Wang Chao had answered, his response might have changed.

    "I am very sure," sighed the other man as he rubbed his forehead in frustration.

    "It''s probably like the saying ''a watched pot never boils''," I said as I walked over to the stool that Liu Yu Zeng was perched on. I started rubbing his shoulders to ease some of the tension, but at this point, nothing was working.

    "That is the stupidest saying that I have ever heard. Of course a watched pot boils. It has nothing to do with it being watched and everything to do with the heat under it. It''s not like a pot of water has performance anxiety," scoffed Liu Yu Zeng causing the rest of us to roll our eyes.

    The worst part was it wasn''t just me and my men that were like cats on a hot tin roof, everyone in the base was waiting for the axe to fall. It would have been much easier if the zombies had sent us a notice of some kind or other of when to expect them, but of course, they seem to becking in the whole manner thing.

    "It doesn''t matter," said Chen Zi Han as he put a te filled with an 8-inch beef pot pie in front of me. "Eat. They wille when theye. There is no need to be so stressed."

    Liu Yu Zeng scoffed when he heard Chen Zi Han''s words. "Like you are much better. How much food have you made so far? We are lucky that Sweetness has enough to keep you upied."

    Chen Zi Han nodded his head. "At least I have been productive," he smirked. Liu Yu Zeng might have been his boss before, but now they were on equal footing and the man couldn''t help but press a few buttons here and there.

    Liu Yu Zeng was about to open his mouth when Deng Jun Hie opened the door to the RV and just walked inside.

    "Not even bothering to knock?" snarked Liu Yu Zeng as he looked at the other man.

    "Is there a point?" asked Deng Jun Hie with a smile. He walked over to the table and sat down beside Liu Wei. Nodding his head in greeting, Deng Jun Hie watched Liu Wei polishing everyponent of the gun in front of him. Liu Wei briefly looked up before turning his attention back to the task in front of him.

    I had learned that this was the way Liu Wei dealt with stress. He spent the first day sharpening all of our swords, knives, and any other des that I had found in my space before he got started on the guns. I guess I was lucky that I had his entire collection in my space before we left the ranch. Otherwise, this man might have gotten a bit cranky.

    Who was I kidding? We were all cranky.

    Chen Zi Han set a te in front of both Liu Wei and Deng Jun Hie before turning to the Major General. "Any word?" he asked as he handed thest te to Wang Chao before returning to the little kitchen.

    "Nothing," grumbled the Major General. "And this waiting is causing my men to lose their minds. Any suggestions?"

    I let out a bark ofughter at that. "If we knew, do you think that we would be climbing the walls right now? I mean, we can always go on the offensive. Attack them before they can attack us, but that would put us at a disadvantage."

    Deng Jun Hie nodded at my words as he shoveled the pot pie into his mouth as fast as he could. I swore he came here specifically when he knew that we were eating just go he could mooch off us. "That''s what I was thinking too. Not to mention we need those traps to cut down the numbers a bit."<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Wang Chao grunted in agreement. And because of that, we were stuck on base waiting for them toe to us.

    All of a sudden there was a frantic pounding on our door. "Major General! Major General!" came the voice from the outside. Clearly, everyone on base knew that he came here during lunch and dinner for food.

    "I think that''s for you," said Liu Yu Zeng tilting his head towards the door. Deng Jun Hie rolled his eyes and went to open it.

    "What?" he asked the soldier outside. The man was drenched in sweat and was having a hard time catching his breath.

    "They are here."

    "Finally," I said as we all stood up and left the RV. With a flick of my wrist, it disappeared into thin air. I didn''t know if we would be back here or not so it was better just to bring it with us.

    -----

    The men and I stood up on top of the wall in the main watch tower. We had the perfect birds eye view of the scene in front of us, and it was¡­ interesting¡­ to say the least.

    I heard the Major General gulping beside me as he stared out into the distance. "Need the binocrs?" I asked as I held out a pair to him. He shook his head and I put them back into my space. If you couldn''t see the tide then you had to be blind.

    I would have to fully admit that it was worse than anything I had ever seen in my previous life and I could easily understand how we could have lost the entirety of the south to these things.

    It was hard to count how many there were, but I was willing to concede that it was easily closer to 3,000 than 300. The first wave to approach the base was at least 50 zombies deep and 20 zombies across. So, if my math worked, that would make at least 1,000 zombies descending on us in what could only be called a tidal wave.

    The entire group was zigzagging back and forth in their signature pacing manner, but if the first row went right, the second row went left and vice versa until all of them were creating an almost unconscious wave.

    Their round heads and small eyes never left the wall in front of them, no matter how their body moved. They had determined their prey, and they would not lose that focus until it was ripped apart under them.

    Hearing low swearing around us, I looked at the men. "You guys ok?" I asked them, noticing the subtle wide eyes as they gazed forward. There was some terse nodding, but no one really spoke. "Is now a good time to remind you that your men are on the other side of this wall, ready toy down their lives for yours?"

    The four men turned to look at me with a questioning look on their faces. I sighed. Sometimes I said the wrong thing without meaning to. "We are looking down and the view is enough to scare the shit out of most of us. How do you think the men on the ground are feeling?"

    The guys widened their eyes slightly and nodded their heads. Turning around, the four of them descended the stairs and waited for the gate to open just wide enough to let them out.

    "Was that smart? Sending them out like that?" asked Deng Jun Hie as he turned to look at me. Right now there were only the two of us in the small room with another two soldiers acting as our bodyguards in case the zombies managed to get inside. Not like they would be much help, but that was neither here nor there.

    "A true leader should be willing and able to fight side by side with their men, facing the same hardships as them. That is how you earn their loyalty and respect," I said as I looked out at the mass of wriggling zombies. If I forced my eyes to unfocus so that I could easily see the purple and blue mes inside of each and every one of them.

    I smiled, my confidence now soaring. Me and the boyos could harvest the mes without breaking a sweat. I took a deep breath and yelled out the words that I always wanted to say:

    "It has begun!"

 Chapter 224 An Old School Approach

    ?

    I could feel the Major General''s disbelieving gaze but it only caused me to smile more.

    I liked old-school movies, although I guess calling them old-school really depended on your age. But there was one movie in particr that seemed fitting for this scenario¡­ so why not have a little fun?

    "Would you have preferred me saying; ''wless victory''?" I asked as I turned around to face him.

    "There are some days where I am assuming that we are speaking the samenguage, but I have no idea the words that areing out of your mouth," said Deng Jun Hie with a shake of his head.

    "Yeah, but look," I said tilting my head out the window and to our men on the ground. My ''meaningless'' words took the edge off and now they were in a better headspace to face the zombies in front of them.

    "How did you know?"

    I shrugged. "It is how I am sometimes. I will be so far into my own head that I can''t see the forest for the trees. When that happens, I need something so random that my brain is forced to focus on something else."

    Deng Jun Hie frowned as he nodded his head in agreement.

    "I mean, I could have also yelled; ''those are $500 sunsses, asshole,'' but I didn''t." My smile grew more at some of the other quotes and one-liners that would be appropriate for this situation. Maybe I should have had someone make me a couple of steel fans like the princess had. I am sure that it would have added perfectly to the look I was going for.

    It might not be toote. I would ask the guys about that when they came back from ying.

    "You really are something else," said that man with a shake of his head. "But shouldn''t you be down there with them?" he asked.

    "Trying to get rid of me? I am crushed. But no, it is better for me to be able to see everything from this vantage point rather than only what is in front of me down there."

    I waved my hand and numerous pink and blue mes shot into the sky, floating just above the heads of everyone, ready to set the zombies on fire when called. One thing that I loved about my mes was that they knew what they were supposed to be doing and when. That way I didn''t have to direct them at all points in time like a lot of other fire users.

    Like I said, I am special.

    I saw the first line of the zombies break away and rush to the waiting humans. "Let mortalbat begin," I said with a sad smile as I watched the humans struggling against the 20 zombies. It was a sad scene where almost 500 humans couldn''t take down 20 zombies.

    I looked around the crowd, searching for my men. Liu Yu Zeng was standing next to Bai Long Qiang as I had asked him to. His arms were crossed and I could easily tell that he was not happy with the situation, but he was still there.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    I sent him a hug and a kiss through our link and I knew it had reached him when he looked up at me with that smirk on his face. My man was working and there was nothing hotter to watch.

    I turned and looked for Liu Wei next. Finding him in the center of four zombies, I cocked my head to watch. His movements looked like a dance as he weaved in and out of their attacks, touching them lightly only to have them fall down dead at his feet. That man really had the touch of death. I was impressed.

    I sent one of my purple mes to destroy those zombies before anyone could notice or ask questions. They didn''t need to know that our way of fighting was not the same as theirs.

    When Liu Wei saw my me, he looked up at me and nodded his head in thanks. Focusing his attention on the next group of zombies, he continued to dance between them, making the kills look effortless.

    "I am almost jealous," said Deng Jun Hie as he came to stand beside me and watched Liu Wei. "What I wouldn''t give to have those powers."

    "The powerse about because of adversity. You will be surprised how many new users wille about after this," I said with somefort. Deep down inside I knew that there was no way that he could have the same powers as my men.

    Like my mes were unique to me, theirs were unique to them. But what it all meant; I had no idea.

    Knowing that Liu Yu Zeng and Liu Wei were both doing well, I started searching for Wang Chao. Mind you, I didn''t have to look too hard to find him.

    I would like to say that it was because his power to create chaos was what lead me to him, but that was not the case. The reason why I could find him so easily was because he had Yang Meng Yao hanging off of him on one side and Li Shoi Ming on the other.

    Because of the two outsiders, Wang Chao was not able to use his maniption power to turn the zombies on one another. Instead, he was lopping off heads left, right, and center, and then allowing my pink or blue me to finish the job.

    I was fine with how things were going simply because he was not in any danger. But if that should change because of those two? Well, they didn''t need to live all that much longer.

    I was having the hardest time finding my shadow. I couldn''t find him in the thick of the crowd, nor could I find him in the outlying areas. I leaned forward, trying to find even the briefest glimpse of him.

    Me being me, I leaned so far forward that I almost fell out of the lookout tower. If it wasn''t for the hand that held me back, I definitely would have been onto my fourth life by now. "Thanks," I said with a smile, expecting to see Deng Jun Hie holding me by my back, but when I turned, I saw Chen Zi Han instead.

    My smile widened as I looked at him, "I guess you can''t be my shadow if you aren''t always by my side."

    He grunted in agreement. "I warned you that I wouldn''t be able to let you out of arms reach any time soon. And it is a good thing too," he said as he pulled me back away from the edge.

 Chapter 225 Forced To Drink A Forfeit.

    ?

    I raised my eyebrow and looked at the man behind me. "If I wasn''t looking for you, do you think that I would have been in that position?" I asked incredulously.

    He shrugged his giant shoulders. "I guess we will never know," he said with a slow smile as he came up beside me and looked out at the battlefield.

    "What do you mean ''never know''? I know!" I grumbled as I leaned against the side of my self-imposed bodyguard. "It looks different up here," I said with a sigh as I watched some humans being ripped apart and eaten.

    "I am not used to it," admitted Chen Zi Han. "Normally I am down there with the others," he continued as he nodded down at the bloody clearing.

    I hummed in understanding. I could hear the screams of the humans underneath us, and the answering roars of the zombies as they continued to try and break through our defenses. They wouldn''t seed with the three down there, but that didn''t stop them from trying.

    There was still almost 99% of the total tide not in y and already the humans were not doing well.

    "If you guys hadn''t been here, it would have been a massacre," breathed Deng Jun Hie. I stayed quiet and only nodded, waiting for the nextment.

    "But since you are here, why aren''t you doing more?" And there it was people¡­ the not-so-subtle guilt trip.

    "You think we should do more?" I asked turning to look the other man in the eyes. His gaze flickered between me and Chen Zi Han like he expected my man to say something or to take his side. When Chen Zi Han didn''t make a move either way, Deng Jun Hie turned his attention back to me.

    "Yes, I do," he admitted.

    "What more do you want us to do?" I asked cocking my head.

    "I want you to kill all the zombies. You have the ability. Hell, Liu Yu Zeng alone has the ability to take them all out. So why aren''t you?" he demanded bing louder to the point that the two guards started shifting their weight back and forth, not sure what to do.

    I briefly nced up at Chen Zi Han. With a nod of his head, the two guards became nothing more than husks on the floor. Deng Jun Hie jumped when he heard them copse, his wide-eyed gaze looking between me and Chen Zi Han in fear.

    "Sorry," I said with a shrug. "Don''t need to leave witnesses to this conversation. And as we all know, dead men tell no tales." Realizing what I just said, I chuckled. "Well, unless they are zombies, but I think in this case we will be safe."

    Deng Jun Hie backed away from me and towards the open entranceway of the watchtower. With a wave of my hand, a solid wall of ice formed, preventing him from being able to flee. Creating a throne-like chair for myself out of ice, I sat down, not at all bothered by the cold.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Now, back to our conversation," I said as I crossed my legs in front of me. Chen Zi Han came to stand just behind me and to my left. "You want to know why we don''t just kill everyone and walk away?"

    Deng Jun Hie shook his head, his face turning white like he saw a demon raising from the depths of Hell. "Not¡ªnot everyone. Just the zombies," he said with a gulp.

    I cocked my head, impressed that he had been able to find the loophole in my statement. If he had said yes to killing everyone, well, there would not be a need for this conversion now would there be?

    "You ate my food," I said, holding up one finger towards the Major General. "I said nothing."

    "I told you how to fight and kill the zombies," I continued, holding up a second finger. "You never said thank you."

    "I am here now to make sure that you don''t lose your Sanctuary," I added, holding up a third finger. "And still, you are demanding to know why we don''t do more."

    I leaned forward over my knees. "Why should I? Why should I continue to help you again and again when you don''t even disy simple manners that any child should know."

    "So if I say thank you, you five will kill all the zombies and protect us?" he asked, his eyebrows raised.

    I let out a humorlessugh. "No way in Hell. We are giving you guys a chance at bing stronger, to allow the majority of you to continue living and understand what it is that you are facing. And yet, you don''t appreciate that. What will you do when we leave?"

    This time, a hint of madness crosses Deng Jun Hie''s face as he let out a piercing whistle. Within moments, my ice wall was melted by a massive me thrower and a stream of soldiers came inside, their guns drawn on me and Chen Zi Han. "Who said that I will let you leave?" he asked with a smile on his face. "I tried the nice route. Making friends, all that stuff. But it didn''t work. So now we will try n B."

    "And what is n B?" I asked the smile on my face growing as more and more men entered the confined space. Men that should have been down on the front line protecting the base. I scoffed at that thought.

    "n B is that I keep you safe and sound in a secured location until I can convince your men to stay here," said the Major General with an answering smile.

    "And what? You are going to use me as a way of keeping my boys on a leash?" I asked, not moving off of my throne. Even Chen Zi Han didn''t flinch with the 15 men pointing guns at us.

    "I think that even you can agree that my way is the best way. But I would like to point out that I did offer up a nice incentive to your¡­ boys¡­ as you call them. What is the saying? They ''refused a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit''?"

 Chapter 226 â€œI Have Their Queen.â€

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    "Well, I guess if we are talking in idioms, here is one for you: ''You don''t cry until you see the coffin''." I said, not at all concerned with the number of guns pointed at me and Chen Zi Han.

    I stretched my neck back and forth, working out the kinks, and took a steaming cup of coffee out of my space. Taking a sip, I stared at the man in front of me.

    "Has anyone mentioned that you are a bit of an idiot?" I asked him between sips. I really needed the caffeine boost to be able to deal with this level of stupidity.

    Major General Deng Jun Hie looked at me offended, his mouth opening and closing a few times before he could form a sentence. "Excuse me?" he demanded with a raise of his eyebrows.

    "No, I will not," I replied with a shake of my head.

    "You will not what?" asked Deng Jun Hie with a look of confusion on his face.

    "Excuse you," I said like it was obvious. Calling out two nanaimo bars, I handed one to Chen Zi Han while I took a bite out of the second one. As soon as that sugar and chocte hit, I was moaning in delight.

    "Could you please speak English?" demanded Deng Jun Hie as he looked at me in frustration.

    "Fine. You know that we can easily take out the 3,000 zombies in front of us that are mowing through your men like overgrown weeds. And yet," I said as I held up my hand preventing him from interjecting. "And yet, why do you think that we won''t do the same to you?"

    "Because I have their queen," he said with a smirk. I really didn''t understand the confidence in his voice. I turned to Chen Zi Han as I took a sip of coffee. I could only hope that stupidity wasn''t contagious because we might have a problem if that was the case.

    "Can you trante?" I had no idea what the man was trying to say, so maybe his sentence needed a cock and balls to be able to understand it.

    "He believes that the four of us would have our hands tied with you in his possession, and therefore not able to kill them all," said Chen Zi Han as he licked his fingers clean from the chocte.

    I turned my attention back to the other man. "Is that the case?"

    Deng Jun Hie didn''t say anything, just maintained his smirk. I guessed that was an answer in and of itself.

    "You do understand that you have now made us your enemy, right?" I asked just to be clear. Deng Jun Hie shrugged his shoulder like he didn''t care. But I really don''t understand how he could have that much confidence.

    "Where is the confidenceing from?" I asked Chen Zi Han. This had to be a guy thing, that was why I couldn''t figure it out.

    "He doesn''t think that I would be willing to kill humans or to watch them be killed," came Wang Chao''s voice from the opening of the watch tower. "Isn''t that right, Major General?"

    "What are you doing here? Why aren''t you on the front lines?" demanded Deng Jun Hie, the first crack in his mask appearing.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Why bother? Everyone here is going to die anyways. Whether I do it or the zombies do, there isn''t much difference."

    "Not strictly urate," I interjected as Wang Chao started to walk toward where Chen Zi Han and I were. "It would probably be a lot bloodier to let the zombies do it. They don''t seem to enjoy giving humans a swift death."

    "Neither do I," said Liu Wei as he too walked into the watch tower. It was a good thing that I wasn''t ustrophobic because I would probably be having a panic attack right about now. There wasn''t even standing room at this point.

    Liu Wei smiled at me and gave me a gentle kiss on my cheek before going to stand behind my chair next to Chen Zi Han. Wang Chao stayed standing beside my chair, his back straight and a nk look on his face.

    "Anyone want to fill me in?" asked Liu Wei as he took off his sses to wipe some of the purple and blue stters off of them.

    "He won''t let us leave, he will keep me away from you and use me as a leash to keep you four in line, and he thinks that everything is going his way," I said, giving him a brief recap. "Did I miss anything?" I asked as I turned to Deng Jun Hie, but the man was simply staring at Wang Chao and Liu Wei.

    Liu Wei raised an eyebrow as he put his sses back on. "Should I call up Liu Yu Zeng? Get his input on the situation?"

    "I vote for blood, guts, and gore," said Liu Yu Zeng as he leaned against the entrance, not bothering in. My eyes went wide for a moment until I noticed Bai Long Qiang and a few unknown men behind Liu Yu Zeng.

    "Did you want to have a vote?" I asked, looking at Bai Long Qiang.

    "What are we voting on?"

    "If we leave the people to their own fate or help," I said with a smile on my face. "He is calling for their death," I said as I nodded my head toward my man on the outside.

    Bai Long Qiang nodded his head, thinking things through. "Is what you said right?" he asked, his gaze burning into my eyes.

    "Yes," I said simply.

    "Then we will follow whatever you say," he said with a shrug of his shoulders and took a step back to lean against the stair railing. I smiled in response. There was only one thing in this entire world that that man wanted, and I was the only one to be able to give it to him.

    "Have you all gone blind? Do you not see the guns?" demanded Deng Jun Hie as he waved his hand indicating the fully armed soldiers.

    "What guns?" I asked with a flick of my wrist. The screaming downstairs was increasing as the humans were forced back from the second wave of 20 zombies. Without my men, it was like shooting fish in a barrel. We would have toe to a decision soon.

 Chapter 227 A Matter Of Virtue.

    ?

    "You had to have seen thating," I said with a sigh. Leaning back onto my throne of ice, I stared at the man in front of me. "I don''t know exactly what your n was, but I don''t think that it is going the way you want it to at all. Your men are being ughtered and yet here you are, trying to ckmail us."

    The Major General just stared at me before he looked over to Wang Chao.

    "Are you really going to let this happen?" he asked raising an eyebrow at my man as if he could sway my opinion or even veto it. Clearly, he had not been paying attention.

    "Why not? It''s not my men down there," said Wang Chao with a shrug. I guess he withdrew all of his men beforeing up here to check on the situation. Smart y by a master strategist.

    "It might not be your men, but it is your people," countered Deng Jun Hie as he refused to break eye contact with Wang Chao.

    "My people?" chuckled Wang Chao as he put his hand in his pockets and leaned against the side of my throne. "My people are here in this room, or are in Elysian City, or even in Elysian Fields Ranch. I don''t have ''people'' outside of that. Those that are down there fighting on the front lines? Those are your people."

    "Your unit would be disappointed in you," snarled Deng Jun Hie.

    "I somehow doubt that seeing as my immediate teams are still with me right now. But if you are implying that once a military man, always a military man, then I guess in some ways, you are correct. I am a military man, and I will always put the safety and well-being of my team and my people ahead of everything else. All in all, my mission is unwavering."

    "If your mission is unwavering, then why aren''t you protecting the civilians of Country K down there that are dying?!?"

    "Because that is not my mission," replied Wang Chao, his face and body a tant contrast to Deng Jun Hie''s.

    Deng Jun Hie scoffed at that. "Then what is your mission?"

    "Protect my people." The statement was said with such certainty, with such conviction that I couldn''t help but smile. Wang Chao understood the new assignment. It was no longer a matter of a country or the citizens that lived in it. The new mission was a matter of keeping you and yours safe, fed, and happy.

    The tense atmosphere was sliced through by another scream from outside as the zombies increased their attacks. I looked at Liu Wei and tilted my head towards the window. This waspletely pointless, a waste of time when everyone in this room knew the oue. Apparently though, there just needed to be a pissing match first.

    But what Deng Jun Hie failed to realize was that everything that happened next would depend on me and me alone. I was the queen who moved her knights, not the other way around.

    But I was at an impasse. My men were here, and they numbered at just over 100 people. So I needed to make sure that the zombies would not be a threat to them. On the other hand, I refused to do what Deng Jun Hie wanted and save all of his people. So, what did I do next?<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "The line has broken," reported Liu Wei as he stared out the window. Getting up, I walked over to join him.

    From our vantage point, I could see just how poorly the humans were doing. There were over 500 humans against maybe 40 zombies at this point, and there were groups of four zombies carrying men off like a pig going to a roast.

    On the other side, there were groups of 10-15 humans just ripping zombies to shreds, throwing the disarticted limbs over their shoulders like that would keep the zombie down. I could only shake my head as I watched a forearm start to shake and form into apletely new zombie.

    I leaned against the open window frame and just watched as more and more humans were carried off into the writhing body mass of thousands of zombies. Their screams of pain and terror seemed to act as an endorphin to the zombies as they picked up their pace, eager to go back to the feeding frenzy.

    Everyone had to eat, I guess.

    I chewed on my thumbnail as I continued to watch the massacre in front of me, wondering more if there was something wrong with me for not wanting to jump in and save everyone.

    And then I remembered, no one would jump in to save me if it situation was reversed.

    Feeling much better about my decision, I walked over to my chair and sat down. cing my hands on the armrests, I looked at Major General Deng Jun Hie.

    "We can save everyone left," I said with a smile on my face. My boys didn''t say anything, just continued to watch the soldiers around us to make sure that there were no more treats. "But because you were so insistent, and I am a vindictive bitch, I really don''t want to do that."

    "On the other hand, we are all in the same boat. If the zombies manage to breach your walls, then there is a possibility that my men could be impacted. I can''t have that either. So, what to do?" The index finger of my right hand started to tap as I thought about possible solutions.

    "Do I kill everyone here that doesn''t belong to me just so I am not doing you any favors, or do I only kill the zombies?"

    Deng Jun Hie opened his mouth as if he actually had some sort of input on the matter, but I simply held up my hand to silence him. Showing a modicum of intelligence, he shut his mouth.

    "Then again, there is a third option that I never considered until just now. If I only kill you, then no one else on your base needs to die. That way I can save my men and still not submit to your ns. What do you think of that option?"

    Let''s see how much virtue he has when it is his life in exchange for all of the civilians down on the ground.

 Chapter 228 A Cast Iron Pan

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    The Major General just stood there and stared at me. "What? You don''t think that it is a good option?" I asked with my head cocked to the side. As much as I was in a rush to make sure that nothing happened to me or mine, I was not going to show that to him. I had the upper hand and it was high time he learned that.

    "I just don''t see how it is feasible," admitted Deng Jun Hie. "They need someone to be able to lead them and that takes a certain skill set that most do not have." He seemed so convinced of his importance that I almost didn''t have the heart to tell him that a monkey could do the job he was so proud of.

    "Anyone can run a base," I said. I mean, there were certain levels of sess, not to mention that some bases were just in sketchy, but that was beside the point. "It doesn''t take a Major General to figure out how to send people out to gather supplies, or distribute them."

    "Still, I am sure that the higher-ups would apricate a military leader as the head of the sanctuaries. It will make it a lot easier for when things go back to normal."

    "And at what point in time do unprecedented times be precedented?" I asked. I mean, I had a point. You could only live so long in an abnormal environment before it became normal. That didn''t mean that anything had changed or that they went back to normal, just that we got used to it. And humans are nothing if not adaptable.

    "What do you mean?" he asked me confused.

    "I mean, who is to say that the ''higher-ups'' are still alive? Or that they even care what is going on down here. After all, there is not much in terms ofmunication. Maybe they have even forgotten about you. Did you ever think of that?" I smiled as I watched his face turn white. Sometimes people need to be hit with a cast iron pan before you are able to knock some sense into them.

    "But I guess your virtue only goes so far if you are not willing to sacrifice your life for the masses." I made a tisking sound with my tongue even as my smile grew bigger. Once I saw that he had no reply I stood up. It was time to act.

    "I need someone to watch him," I said looking around the room. I couldn''t trust his soldiers, and I didn''t want one of my men to remain behind to babysit. It really would make life easier if I just killed him. I sighed as I felt a headacheing on.

    As much as I believed in Step One, I sometimes found it hard to do it.

    "We can keep an eye on him," said Bai Long Qiang as he as his men stepped into the room. Nodding my head, I took out a gun and shot each one of the 15 soldiers that had followed the Major General into the room.

    Sometimes I found Step One hard. Other times? Not so much. I guess that could be counted as progress.

    I nodded at the team leader for City D. "Kill him if you need to. There is really no point in keeping him alive if he is going to be a pain in the ass. But no matter what, when this is over, head out to City A."<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    The man nodded as some of his men started to pile up the dead bodies in a corner. Not really caring one way or the other about me killing them point nk.

    "I will find you," I promised him. He had an important part to y in the future but he would not be strong enough if he followed me and my men. He had to grow on his own in order to get his happily ever after.

    I walked down the stairs and looked at the guardsman that was in charge of opening the gate. "Any time now," I said as he froze, not opening the gate or even moving at the sight of me and my men.

    Honestly, I didn''t think that we were that scary, but what did I know?

    He nodded his head and started cranking the manual knob that would open the gates. Stopping when there was just enough room for a single person to slip through, I nodded to him again in thanks.

    Leaving the walls of the Sanctuary, my senses were assaulted with the sounds and smell of carnage.

    It wasn''t even the smell of blood that was the most prevalent, but rather the smell of human excrement. No one mentioned those smells when they talked about a battlefield, it was

    just about the blood. But when a person died¡­ well, they didn''t have much control over their bodily functions.

    Wrinkling my nose, I looked over at Wang Chao and Liu Yu Zeng on each side of me. "Kill the zombies. Kill the humans, if necessary, but whatever you do, use this as a way of honing your powers," I said as I took out an energy drink from my space. I didn''t know if it would give me wings, but hopefully, it had enough sugar to get me through this mess in front of us.

    I could feel the mes inside of me dancing, almost as if they were anxious to get out there and fight. But then I remembered. My purple me seemed to feed on the mes of the zombies, bing stronger and stronger with each one it consumed.

    I titled my head back and forth, stretching my neck and getting out the kinks. Looking at my men, I smiled as I finished myst sip. Throwing my can back into my space, because save the and all that, I skipped forward, about to break out into a full sprint as a group of zombies spotted me and my men.

    Unfortunately for me, just as I was about to take off, a firm hand came down on my should stopping me dead in my tracks.

 Chapter 229 Arms Reach

    ?

    I turned to look up at Chen Zi Han and then back down to where his hand was resting firmly on my shoulder. Giving him a look of confusion, I waited for whatever it was that he wanted to say.

    "In arms reach, remember? We are not going to have another incident like before. Even if you can heal at a superhuman rate, we can''t handle it," he said, his voice deep and gruff. I had the grace to blush. I guess I hadn''t learned my lesson well enough if I was willing to run headfirst into a bunch of zombies again.

    Then again, at least this time I didn''t have my headphones in AND I was willing to use my me.

    Wrinkling my nose, this time not because of the smell but because of embarrassment, I waited beside him. "What is your n?" I asked as the other three men spread out behind us, each taking a different section of the line. I saw a few faces that I recognized in the crowd and assumed that their men hade back out of the woodwork to help out.

    "I protect you," said Chen Zi Han with a shrug. "You just have to let me," he added, almost as an afterthought.

    I paused for a second and thought about my next move. Did I want to draw this out? Or hurry it up and move on?

    A zombie roared at me from about 10 feet away, making my decision for me. I would do what I could to take them out all at once, what was the worst that could happen?

    ----

    I needed to make a mental note not to say those words again because it turned out that things did not go ording to n.

    My idea was simple. Draw the mes of the zombies to me, have my me consume them, and have no human the wiser when zombies just dropped down dead. How it happened, was not so¡­ straightforward.

    I watched as the zombie that had roared a challenge got close enough to me to the point where I could easily make out its me. It sprinted up to me, its teeth bared and its right hand up with its ws extended, ready to take me out, only to drop dead without a sound.

    My purple me became brighter as it consumed the zombie''s life force and even my pink and blue mes reacted to the increase in energy. With a heady feeling fueled by an energy drink and a power boost, I closed my eyes, looking for the next me to take.

    I knew that Chen Zi Han was there to watch my back, so I didn''t think much of it when I shut out the world to only concentrate on the different mes in front of me. It almost look like I was in a sea of darkness with fireflies flittering about.

    There were thousands of different mes, some blue andvender that I associated with the zombies and others of different colors that must be the humans. Calling on my purple me, I held out my hand in the direction with the most zombie mes. Still with my eyes closed, I curled my fingers into a fist and allowed my me to engulf them.

    The rush of pure¡­ happiness¡­ caught me off guard. But as my body rejoiced in the feeling of pure bliss, I didn''t think about anything else, other than getting more of those mes. Looking in another direction with even more blue andvender mes, I reached out and this time, not bothering with my purple me, called them to me, my body absorbing them without a second thought.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    It was a heady, euphoric feeling being able to consume the mes of the zombies. Almost as if I was doing what I should have been doing all along.

    My body went on to autopilot and my brain turned nk as I fixated on the blue andvender mes. I kept pulling them into my body more and more until there¡­ was none left.

    Unable to let go of this high, I turned my attention to the other colors. If the blue andvender ones weren''t there to feed me, then I would simply take the other ones. I found a single ck me near me and as I wrapped my fist around it, ready to call it to me, I felt something wrong, something almost painful. Dropping that me, I struggled to find another one that would bring about the bliss again.

    I found some pink mes, a whole cluster of them, but as soon as I touched them, I felt the same thing as I felt with the ck me. Quickly letting go, I growled in frustration.

    Then in the middle of all of the pink flickering lights was a group of three mes. One was red, another was white and finally, there was a silver one. Taking all three in hand, I once again felt the pain that I had with the ck me. Quickly letting go, I sent the mes a slight caress in apology before moving on.

    I needed more mes, I needed to consume them, I needed to be stronger. But I needed to avoid the mes that caused me pain.

    This time I found another group of pink mes, and when I wrapped my fist around them¡­ there was nothing. No feeling of pain, no feeling of¡­ wrongness. I smiled as I pulled them towards me, but the feeling that I was expecting, the strength that I got from the zombie mes, wasn''t there.

    Oh, it made me a bit stronger, but not enough. Not nearly enough.

    I continued to look around the darkness trying to find the fireflies that would feed me. But no matter how many mes I called to me; it wasn''t the same as the first ones.

    Completely disheartened, I opened my eyes to try and see the surrounding area, but all I saw was darkness before I felt my consciousness being pulled away.

    ----

    Chen Zi Han reached out and pulled Li Dai Lu into his arms just before she copsed onto the ground. He didn''t know what had happened and didn''t really care at this point, but the zombies were gone and the humans that were left were few and far between.

    Pulling her tighter into his arms, he looked around for the other three men. The aftermath would need to be sorted out, and without Princess, they would have to take over.

    Not to mention, they needed to figure out exactly what happened just now.

 Chapter 230 â€œWhat Happened?â€

    ?

    Wang Chao stood there and watch as wave after wave of zombies dropped dead before they could even make a sound. He looked over to Liu Yu Zeng to see if it was him, but when the other man raised a single shoulder in a shrug, Wang Chao understood that he didn''t have anything to do with it.

    Turning to look at the other side where the older Liu brother was fighting, Wang Chao was stunned to see the other man standing still, the look of confusion on his face mirroring his own. Knowing that it wasn''t any of them, Wang Chao continued to watch the zombies fall down to the ground.

    Liu Yu Zeng walked over to the unofficial head of the four men and ced his elbow on his shoulder. "Any clue what is going on?" he asked as he tilted his chin towards the zombies. He couldn''t figure out what was killing them so fast, and they were killed dead dead. It seemed like the mass fatalities that he could do with his power, but as far as he knew, he was the only one that could do something like that.

    "None," said Wang Chao, not bothering to move the younger man''s arm. He turned his attention away from the zombies as Liu Wei approached him. "I take it it was neither one of you?" asked Liu Wei as he pulled off his sses to clean them. He hadn''t even managed to kill a single one of them before the first ones started to drop.

    All of a sudden the men felt a brief sh of pain as if a hand had grabbed their heart. Not able to stop themselves each man clutched his chest as if that physical act would keep their hearts in their bodies.

    As quickly as it hade, the pain was gone, and in its ce was a feeling of curiosity and a brush of an apology.

    Wang Chao shared a look with the other two men and each one shook their head, not knowing what was going on any more than he did. And that was when the first human started to fall.

    Wide-eyed, Liu Yu Zeng turned to look at his brothers. "What the fuck is going on?" he asked. It seemed like whatever had affected the zombies was now affecting the humans. Was it a virus? A mental attack? But if it was a spirit user then how could it kill the zombies so easily?

    Liu Wei remained silent as he turned around and watched as the majority of the humans guarding the gates of the Sanctuary fell to the ground, dead. "I think it has something to do with that pain," he said slowly, rubbing his chest as if that would lessen whatever feelings were going through his mind right then.

    "Then were we found wanting? Or were they?" asked Liu Yu Zeng turning to look at the humans. Only about 150 people were still standing, and the majority of them were their men. In fact, it looked like not a single one of their men was touched in any way.

    Wang Chao was about to open his mouth to say something when he stopped and turned in the direction that Chen Zi Han and Li Dai Lu had taken. Striding towards them, his gait eating up the distance, was Chen Zi Han with Li Dai Lu in his arms.

    Forgetting about the mystery of the dead bodies, the three men quickly rushed over, meeting Chen Zi Han in the middle.

    "What happened?" demanded Wang Chao as he took Li Dai Lu out of the other man''s arms. He needed a moment with her before he needed to share her again. All of this fainting was not good for his heart.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "I don''t know. She closed her eyes for a while, and then I felt pain in my chest like someone was trying to rip out my heart. By the time I recovered, she was just about to copse. I managed to pick her up in time, but I don''t like what is going on so I brought her over here," exined Chen Zi Han precisely.

    Wang Chao nodded his approval. Until they figured out everything, it was best to stick together. Nothing would be able to get through them to get to her.

    "Could it have been her stalker?" asked Liu Wei, narrowing his eyes and looking around the road. She hadn''t mentioned feeling them around, but that didn''t mean that they weren''t here.

    "Maybe?" said Liu Yu Zeng, not over-convinced that that was what happened.

    "Whatever caused it, we have things to do right now," said Wang Chao as he carried his little girl toward the entrance. They still had a Major General under arrest and with an unconscious Li Dai Lu, he had no idea how she wanted matters handled.

    The gate slowly opened as the survivors made their way to the entrance, a quiet, subdued aura around them. They had lived, but now they were wondering why they lived while so many others died.

    "What was that?" asked one of their men as they met up at the base of the stairs to the watch tower.

    "No idea," said Liu Yu Zeng with a shrug. His smile was stered back on his face and he looked like he didn''t have a care in the world as he pped the shoulder of the man in front of him. "But aren''t you d you lived?"

    The man snorted in disbelief. "Can I even be d that I lived if I don''t know why I did?"

    "There is no point in survivors'' guilt in this new world," said Liu Wei as he walked up to stand beside his brother. "Whatever reason it left you alive was its own. Be happy to live to fight another day, because there is no guarantee that the next battlefield you step onto you will be able to walk off so easily."

    The man nodded his understanding. When there were so few humans left he should just be happy that he was one of them.

 Chapter 231 What The Hell Am I?

    ?

    "Congrattions!" said the ice-cold voice as I regain consciousness with a groan. I felt hungover (not like I have ever been, but I''ve heard about it). My skull was pounding, my body felt like I had just run a marathon and my mouth felt like I had groomed Hades with my tongue.

    I licked my lips a few times, trying to bring moisture back into my mouth. Moaning at the voice, I opened one eye before quickly closing it again when my head screamed in pain. It wasn''t even like it was because of the light that was shooting spikes into my temples. because I have yet to see actual light in this ce.

    "What are you talking about," I snarled, not at all happy to be here, wherever here was.

    "You just consumed the souls of almost 3,000 zombies, not to mention almost 200 human ones too. The human ones don''t taste as good so I was surprised when you went after them as well," came the snippy reply but I was not in the mood to deal with the riddles right now.

    "What. Are. You. Talking. About?" I asked very slowly, enunciating each and every word so that there could be no misunderstandings.

    "You really don''t know, do you?" the icy voice said, a hit of confusion and uncertainty to its voice.

    "I really don''t," I said as I syed out on the ground looking like a starfish. The world was spinning and I didn''t want anything to do with it.

    "I thought you did. I thought you had remembered," said the voice hesitantly. "I am sorry."

    "And what was I supposed to remember?"

    "Who you are," it admitted.

    "And just who am I?" I asked, my eyes still closed as I willed my body to not throw up.

    "I am really sorry," it said and I could tell that it was sorry. "But I can''t tell you until you remember."

    "Won''t I remember faster if you tell me?" I said snarkily. I had lived three lives and I have remembered every part of every one up to now. Was there really something more that I was missing?

    "I can''t push it if it is not time for you to remember." If voices could shrug, that one would have.

    "Okay, back to the mes then. Can you exin that?" I asked. Because if this was the result then I needed to stop doing that fast. I felt like I had been hit by a Mac Truck. Hell, even my bones hurt.

    "What you call mes are really the souls of every living being," it started.

    "Zombies are living?" I askedpletely confused. Because as far as I was concerned, they were dead, animated dead, but dead nheless.

    "After a fashion. After all, they need to eat to survive," it said as if I was the dumb one.

    "And that is the level we are working with? They eat?" I asked. Maybe it was because I was in pain that I didn''t seem to understand what the voice was trying to say.

    "Please pay attention, I am only going to say this once¡­ okay?" snapped the voice and I moaned as it made my headache all that much worse.

    "Okay," I groaned just so she didn''t make that noise again. "Please go on."<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "All living things require consuming something in order to live. Do you follow me?"

    "If I say no, are you going to yell at me?" I asked with a cringe.

    "Probably, yes," the voice admitted.

    "Then yes, I follow you." The voice groaned and my head throbbed as a result.

    "What do you think defines a living thing?" it asked and apparently we were going all the way back to elementary school science. Unfortunately for me, I had no idea what the answer was.

    "A heartbeat?" I asked with a cringe only to hear a scoff inside of my head at my answer.

    "nts are living things, but they don''t have a heartbeat. Are you sure that that is the answer you are going with?"

    "Look, I barely remember my name right now, can you please just tell me what I need to know?" I begged. I just wanted to go back to sleep, but there was something telling me that I needed to understand what the icy voice was going to tell me.

    "Fine. There are seven characteristics that ssify a living thing," the voice said as it started to sound like my Grade 4 Science teacher. "Those characteristics are; sensitivity, movement, respiration, growth, reproduction, excretion, and nutrition."

    I narrowed my eyes when I thought about reproduction and excretion. Those were two things that I didn''t need to think about when it came to the zombies. I shook my head to get the thoughts out of it and then hummed like I understood.

    "Okay, so I guess by that definition, zombies count as being a living thing," I said as my mind continued to try and conjure up images of zombies reproducing and¡­ excreting. I shuddered.

    "And every living thing has a soul, or a me as you call it," said the icy voice as if it was talking to a child.

    Well, I had seen the zombie me so I guess the voice was right in that regard.

    "But because the zombie is not natural, as in they didn''t exist before humans created them, their soul is not the same as a normal human."

    "Is that why they are a different color?" I asked, finally being able to put the pieces together. I just hoped that I wouldn''t be tested on this.

    "Exactly, it is also why you be a lot stronger after consuming their soul versus that of an ordinary human." The voice sounded so pleased that I was understanding what it was saying that I was sure it would be patting me on the head right now if it could.

    "So I was consuming the souls of zombies and humans when I was consuming the mes," I said slowly as I tried to work things out in my head.

    "Right," the voice said, still icy but with a tinge of happiness to it.

    "Then if I am able to consume souls, what the Hell am I?"

 Chapter 232 Fuck Things Up

    ?

    "If I consume souls, does that make me Death?" I ask with more than a little bit of panic and confusion. I mean, I am much more willing to kill people now than in either of my previous lives, but I didn''t think that made me Death.

    There was a bark ofughter as the cold voice didn''t bother to contain its mirth. "Trust me, you are not Death," it reassured me, but I didn''t know if it was that much of a reassurance. Not to mention, thatughter was enough to hurt my feelings.

    "A reaper?" I asked tentatively. I mean, what else consumed souls if not Death or a Grim Reaper?

    "Nope," it said, with a definitive pop on the ''p''. "And you can stop asking. I will not be answering you one way or another. You need to learn and remember, otherwise, this journey will all be for naught."

    "Then do you have any suggestions?" I asked as I sat up. Cracking my neck, I called a bottle of water and Tylenol from my space. Hopefully, the painkiller would work fast.

    "I have many suggestions," smirked the voice. "I am just not sure if you want to hear them."

    "Shoot," I said. I mean, what was the worst that could happen just by listening to suggestions?

    "Fine. Suggestion number one? Getid. It will help increase oxytocin and other mood-boosting hormones, deal with stress, and help you sleep better. Not to mention, it would be fun. Number two: you are leaving too many stupid people around. Do you really want them to procreate? Stop saving people and start choosing violence instead. Suggestion three: take fewer souls until you get stronger. I mean, take as many zombie souls as you want, but the human ones will give you a hangover. 0/10. Do not rmend."

    I scoffed at its suggestions. Did the voice inside my head suggest I getid more?

    How do you know if you have officially gone crazy? Asking for a friend.

    "Any other words of wisdom?" I asked as I rubbed my temples.

    "Just one," said the voice hesitantly. There was a long pause and I got the impression that the voice was trying to find the right words to say, so I just remained quiet.

    "They are yours. They have been since the beginning of time and will continue to be long after the world has stopped spinning. There has never been anyone else for them but you. Even in Liu Yu Zeng''s past life, he was waiting for you."

    "Then what about what the other voices said about the other women? What about Liu Yu Zeng and his children?"

    There was a chuckle at that statement. "Those kids that everyone thought were his? They weren''t. He just let the world think it because he had other things to deal with rather than confirming or denying rumors. As for the other women? Every one of them wanted to be the hero of her own story. And the best way to ensure that is to get with the most powerful man around. But not one of them was anything more than a shield."

    I let out a tiny sigh. I understood that they had other lives that they had lived and I didn''t feel right about penalizing them for living that life, especially when I didn''t even exist. But the lump in my throat that I didn''t even know I had? Well, that was gone now that I knew that he never had kids.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    I would like to say that hearing that these destined women now meant absolutely nothing to me, but that wasn''t the case. I still refused to leave a loose end around. They would be killed, but now I don''t have to worry about the guy''s reactions when it happened.

    "So, as a recap: 1. Getid, 2. Stop being so nice, 3. Leave human souls alone," I said as I ticked the numbers off on my fingers.

    "Yup," said the icy voice. "Now, your men are about to fuck things up, you better get going."

    "Fuck things up how?" I askedpletely confused.

    "Just go deal with them," said the voice right before I lost consciousness.

    -----

    "Are you sure about this?" asked Chen Zi Han as he held Li Dai Lu in his arms. He was sitting on the ice throne while they were deciding what to do next.

    Bai Long Qiang and his team had already left as soon as they had entered the watch tower. Apparently, they had their own instructions from Princess and they were chomping at the bit to get started on it.

    Deng Jun Hie was leaning against one of the walls as he and Wang Chao discussed what was to happen with the base. Liu Yu Zeng was not impressed. He had voted that they kill Deng Jun Hie, but as the other man pointed out, he was already familiar with the running of the base so he was the one that should remain as the head.

    Chen Zi Han was more inclined to go with Liu Yu Zeng''s suggestion, but that was mostly because he was there the whole time Princess and Deng Jun Hie were talking. Fortunately, for Deng Jun Hie, Wang Chao felt that he should live and since none of the men actually wanted to argue in front of outsiders, they went with his call.

    Whether or not Princess would be okay with it was apletely different story.

    "I don''t know why you think that you should get so much say in the matter," said Deng Jun Hie as he and Wang Chao were trying to iron out the day-to-day workings on the base.

    "I think I have a say because we are the ones that saved you all," said Wang Chao, not really putting the other man in his eyes.

    "So you say, but I don''t see any proof of that," replied Deng Jun Hie as he raised his chin and pulled back his shoulders.

    Liu Yu Zeng scoffed. "I still say we kill him. I mean, is there really a point in keeping him around if he was nning on kidnapping Sweetness just so we would obey him? You do remember that part, right?"

 Chapter 233 Hostile Takeover

    ?

    "I remember that," I groaned as I woke up just in time to hear what Liu Yu Zeng had said. And he was right. This guy acted like our friend only to try and use us in the end. That wasn''t much of a friend as far as I was concerned. Then again, I didn''t really have any friends so it was not like I was an expert on the subject.

    "What are you guys doing?" I asked, not bothering to get out of Chen Zi Han''s arms. I was much toofortable.

    "Just ironing out some details," said Wang Chao walking over to where I sat. He crouched down and looked me over as if reassuring himself that I was fine.

    "What details?" I asked confused. I mean, I hadn''t really figured out what I was going to do with this base before. After talking to myself for a while, I settled on a game n.

    "Just how the base should be run," he replied with a shrug.

    I raised my eyebrows at that statement. "You''re staying behind?" I asked confused. I mean, I figured we would all be staying together, but if he wanted to stay here and run things that was his own decision.

    "No," replied Wang Chao, his forehead wrinkling in confusion.

    "Then what are you talking about?"

    "Wang Chao and Deng Jun Hie are discussing what needs to happen to make this a sessful base in the future," interjected Liu Wei as Liu Yu Zeng only smiled at the idea that his older brother just threw Wang Chao under the bus. Apparently, it was only Wang Chao that wanted this base to continue running as it was.

    "He is still alive?" I asked as I closed my eyes and scratched my eyebrow. "How is he still alive?"

    The four men looked at each other. "I mean, he wanted to kidnap me, he wanted to force you guys to fight for him, and he ate my food. Where, in any of that, means he should live?"

    "I thought you wanted him to," said Wang Chao in confusion. "You did keep him alive even after you killed off his soldiers."

    I guess the man did have a point, and I was unconscious so they couldn''t exactly ask my opinion, but now I understood why the voice was saying that they were going to fuck things up. "You are right, I didn''t have ns to kill him," I admitted. "But I have since changed my mind. I will kill him after we go through the base and make sure he doesn''t have anything good locked away that only he can open."

    I paused for a second. "Do you need the eyes and fingers attached for them to work with a scanner?" I was confused on that point.

    "You really don''t," confirmed Chen Zi Han. "They will work no matter what and some of them will even work if you have a high-definition picture. Not to mention the EMP will ensure that those locks are dead."<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Huh, learn something new every day.

    "Please, please, please. Please let me do it," begged Liu Yu Zeng as if I was offering him an ice cream cake all for himself. I shook my head. "No," I started before rifying. "Or at least, not right now. Our search will go a lot faster if he is alive to tell us where the good stuff is kept."

    The five of us turned to look at Deng Jun Hie. I didn''t know if he was able to hear our conversation, but by the way his face turned white, I could only assume that he heard parts of it. I smiled, showing all of my teeth. "What do you say? Will you be willing to show us around?" I asked as I cocked my head to the side.

    He barked out augh, but I could practically smell the fearing off of him. A part of me was really enjoying that smell. "Why should I help you if you are just going to kill me anyways?" he demanded, and I guess he had a point. There wasn''t much in it for him besides being able to live a few hours longer.

    "Is that your final answer?" I asked. I mean, it would be easier to just have him lead us to the supplies, but if he was going to be like that, I would just have Wang Chao rip it from his mind.

    Deng Jun Hie looked around the room as if trying to find a way to escape. Poor him, didn''t he realize that that possibility was long gone? It happened right around the same time that he had his men pointing guns at me and mine.

    "I am going to assume that it was," I said with a shrug. "Wang Chao, would you be so kind as to get the information I want out of his head? When you are done, Liu Yu Zeng can take out his eyes and fingers."

    "I thought we had a deal!" shouted Deng Jun Hie as he looked wide-eyed at Wang Chao. "Didn''t we have a deal?"

    Wang Chao shrugged his shoulders and put his hands into his pockets. "I did say that any agreements were contingent on whether or not Li Dai Lu would agree. Or did you miss that part?"

    "What was your agreement?" I asked curious. I mean, I was killing the guy no matter what, but I was interested in knowing where Wang Chao''s mind was.

    "We let him live and run this ce on the stiption that the base was officially ours," said Wang Chao with a shrug. "I figured it would be easier since it was already established."

    "Easier for what?" I asked in confusion. I was not interested in collecting bases. I didn''t want to run them or have anything to do with them.

    "Easier to make a profit in the future when things were a bit more up and running," said Wang Chao like I was the one that was crazy for not thinking about it that way. I guess once a businessman, always a businessman.

 Chapter 234 I Volunteer As Tribute!!

    ?

    "Like a hostile takeover?" I asked, more confused than ever. The only base worth taking over in this country was the City A Safe Zone that was run by Zhao Jun Jie, and even then, it was really not worth it.

    "Exactly," said Wang Chao with a nod.

    "But why?" I was not sure what was going on in his head. Didn''t he understand what it meant to take over a base?

    "Because it will be useful for us in the future," he repeated as if that was the be-all, end-all. Mind you, I guess it was.

    "Do what you want, but I will have nothing to do with it, and he still needs to die," I sighed. I really was too nice to them, I guess.

    Wang Chao nodded in agreement and turned to look at the other man. Deng Jun Hie swallowed as he backed away from Wang Chao and into a wall. Wang Chao continued to advance, neither speeding up nor slowing down, his gaze unwavering.

    All of a sudden, Deng Jun Hie dropped to his knees and clutched his head between his hands. He started out whimpering before changing to a blood-curdling scream as blood started toe out of his eyes, ears, and mouth.

    I raised my eyebrow impressed. I guess Wang Chao was no longer handling the man with kid gloves.

    Copsing to the floor the Major General curled up in the fetal position as blood continued to pour out of the orifices on his face. No longer able to scream due to the amount of red liquiding out of his mouth and down into his lungs, I watched as the blood started to bubble up and foam as he desperately tried to take a breath. His body started to convulse, causing him to resemble a fish on drynd rather than a dignified member of the Country K military force.

    I watched as the twitching slowed down and eventually stopped, leaving the once confident Deng Jun Hie nothing more than a puddle of blood, flesh, and bones on the floor. "I can only assume that you got what we needed before that happened," I half asked, half stated as I pointed to the corpse. Can''t say that I had ever seen a spirit user do that before.

    Wang Chao nodded before walking over to me. "I''m sorry," he said as he grabbed the back of my head and brought my forehead to his own. "I didn''t realize," he continued before cing a gentle kiss in the middle of my forehead before pulling back.

    Liu Yu Zeng flicked his wrist and a strand of snake-like ck mist flowed out of him and rushed over to the carcass. Completely engulfing it, the body quickly disintegrated until there was nothing left but a deoxygenated puddle of blood on the floor. "What''s the n?" he asked as he turned around and looked at me. The typical smirk was back on his face.

    "Well, apparently the voices in my head have told me that I am being much too nice, too considerate," I started just as Liu Wei walked over to me. cing a kiss on top of my head, he looked me in the eyes. "You don''t have to do what they say. You do whatever you want to do and we will support you."<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "They are also saying that I need to getid," I said with a smirk as I looked up at the man from where I was cuddled in Chen Zi Han''sp.

    "I think you should listen to them," replied Liu Weipletely changing his tone with a nod of his head.

    "I volunteer as tribute!" shouted Liu Yu Zeng raising his hand and frantically waving it around. I couldn''t help butugh and shake my head. "I''ll take it under advisement once I get things settled."

    "How are you wanting to do that?" asked Liu Wei as he adjusted his sses.

    "Well, I thought that I would raid, pige, plunder, and otherwise pilfer my weaselly ck heart out," I said quoting my favorite pirate. In this case, though, I really thought it applied.

    "And what about the people here?" asked Wang Chao. I just looked at the man in front of me. "I will not kill them, but I will not save them either. What they do from here on out is their own prerogative."

    The four men nodded in agreement. It would take too much time and energy to hunt down and eliminate every single person in this base, and then I run into the issue of leaving some alive toe back for revengeter. This might be a much slower death, but at least I couldn''t be directly implicated in it.

    "Now, let''s go hunt down some treasure, shall we?" I asked as I stood up. The boyos grunted in agreement and followed after me. With a quick word to their men to have them leave the base and meet them on the road a few kilometers down from here, the five of us followed the images in Deng Jun Hie''s head to grab all the goodies.

    ----

    Ok, so I was taking a shot in the dark that this base would have anything interesting in it. At most, I was hoping for a lot of supplies, which we found. I took everything avable and put them into my space so no one around could see us walking around with things that we weren''t supposed to have.

    Not like there was anyone really paying attention to us as it was. The area designated as the hospital had a line going out the door so I could only assume that Zhao Jia Li was busy. Or maybe there was such a long line because she wasn''t. Either way, she wasn''t in my face so I was happy. But the average inhabitant of this base was not looking at us at all.

    Wang Chao led us down a long, twisting road. The crowd became smaller and smaller as we continued walking away from the busy center of the Sanctuary. We had been walking for at least 30 minutes when we finally came to a brick wall. Narrowing my eyes at Wang Chao I wondered exactly what we were doing here.

 Chapter 235 Common Sense Took A Back Seat...

    ?

    Wang Chao maintained eye contact with me as he reached out behind him and ced his hand on the wall. All of a sudden there was a rumbling sound as a section of the wall lifted up. My forehead scrunched in confusion. How was this possible? Was it electronic? Where did it lead? Why the fucking Hell did they even have this in ce here?

    "There is a lever," said Wang Chao as he pointed to the section in the wall that, upon closer inspection, had a small switch in it that was barely noticeable to the naked eye.

    "Well, that''s useful," I said impressed. That answered the first two questions, but I still had no idea where it lead to.

    After a few moments, the door waspletely opened. Chen Zi Han walked up to the stretchy entrance/exit and peered inside. "It leads to the woods," he said sounding as confused as the rest of us were. Well, maybe Wang Chao wasn''t confused since he should know exactly where we were going, but the rest of us were definitely in the dark.

    Chen Zi Han stepped across the threshold first and studied the surrounding woods. Peeking through the door, I saw a small path leading towards a dense forest filled with mostly evergreen trees. Something that I hadn''t seen a lot of since I came here.

    I mean, it didn''t look like the spruce, balsam, or cedar trees from Canada, but they were definitely evergreen trees. Some looked like fir trees with their spiky needles that grew upwards while others looked like redwood with its reddish-brown needles. Hell, there even appeared to be some cypress trees in these woods.

    I took in a deep breath and smelled home. Unable to contain my smile, I waited for Chen Zi Han to give me the all-clear before sprinting to the tree line.

    I mean, I love trees. I really did. However, there was a huge difference between being in the forest because it was a matter of life and death and being rxed enough to truly enjoy the nature around you. However, there was something about the particr forest that just reminded me of my first life in Canada. There was nothing more iconic than the smell of an evergreen tree in your living room at Christmas time. Even those that chose to purchase artificial trees could still buy sticks to put in them that smelled like Balsam fir or Spruce.

    I closed my eyes and took in another big breath of the air. Opening my eyes, I turned to Wang Chao with a smile. "Where to next?" I asked him. As far as I was concerned, this ce was fantastic and I never wanted to leave it. Maybe this was the treasure that Deng Jun Hie was hiding out here, but I really doubted it.

    Wang Chao pointed at a small path on the forest floor that looked more like a game trail than something that humans used often. But maybe that was the point. There was nothing there that screamed "Treasure here!" and that was the best way of keeping it for yourself.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Wang Chao went first, followed by Chen Zi Han while I was smack dab in the middle with the Liu brothers bringing up the rear. We weaved along the path, ducking under low-hung branches and stepping over fallen logs andrge rocks. The feather-like leaves of the redwoods tickled my face and neck as I walked too close to them. I was not going to be thinking about any spiders, ticks, or other insects that made their home in the woods.

    The herbivores would stay away from us and even the carnivores would avoid us as they could sense that we were stronger than they were. Leave it to the animals to be smarter than the humans.

    We had been walking for a while when we came to a random building literally in the middle of nowhere. It was surrounded by trees and there were numerous bushes and rocks around the base that the building itself seemed to be helping it camouge. In fact, if Wang Chao didn''t know what he was looking for, we might have walked right past it without a second thought.

    Coming up to the door, I tried the handle. It was bolted shut and I had no idea how we were going to get in. But clearly, there was something interesting in this building if someone went to so much trouble to hide it.

    "There is still power here," said Wang Chao as he imputed a code into the security panel that was hidden behind a bush at the bottom of the building. It was the first time that I had ever seen a security panel that low to the ground.

    Wait¡ª"There is still power here? How could it not be impacted by the EMP?!?" I demanded, my eyes turning into round circles on my face. I had never heard about that in my past life.

    "In this case, the military specifically nned this building and many more around the country to be able to withstand an EMP," said Wang Chao as the door slid open. The five of us each went to one side or the other just in case there was something¡­ unpleasant¡­ on the other side of the door.

    When nothing came out or tried to shoot us, we figured that we were safe. And when I say we¡­ I don''t mean we, we, I mean the guys. The guys decided that it was safe for us to enter a fully functioning building almost 7 months after the EMP. I was strictly in the Hell No category, but I was more than a little interested in what could possibly be in there. After all, it wasn''t like the government ensured that everything was EMP-proof, so what would be in here that they would require it?

    Part of me wanted to say, ''fuck that'' and go back to City Y, while another part, a bigger part was curious about what was in there. Unfortunately, mymon sense took a back seat this time and I followed the boyos through the door.

    asionally missing content, please report errors in time.

 Chapter 236 Be Prepared ( I Was Completely Relaxed)

    236 Be Prepared ( I Was Completely Rxed)

    As soon as the five of us passed through the door, it mmed closed behind us.

    Letting out apletely calm and intimidating yelp, I spun around and tried to open the door. I frantically ran my hands up and down each side trying to find a handle or bar that would allow me to open the door, but there was nothing. I banged on it a few times and still nothing.

    I turned to look at the men, my eyes wide. The only thing that could possibly make this worse was if we were in a basement. The men all looked calm andposed, but at this point, I was ready to kill them for not freaking out¡­. Not like I was freaking out¡­ Not at all¡­.

    The men were looking around the room using the sole light in the upper right-hand corner as a way of making things out. But there was actually nothing to make out. The room that we had entered was maybe 10 feet by 10 feet with metal walls and a metal floor. There was no furniture, no signs on the walls, Hell, there wasn''t even a light switch for the light.

    I was about to open my mouth when the floor gave out under our feet.

    Okay, so that might be a bit dramatic, but I was not in the mood to be rational. I jumped onto the nearest man who happened to be Liu Yu Zeng and smacked him upside the head when he started to chuckle. "It''s an elevator, Sweetness," he said as he held me to his chest.

    Have you ever been the only person in a room that was scared or upset and no one else was? Instead of it being afort, like ''Maybe there is nothing to be scared about if they aren''t scared'' you get pissed at them for not having the same level of panic as you. Yeah, that was me right now.

    They seemed to bepletely fine going into the basement of a strange military base in the middle (okay, beginning) of an apocalypse with no exit in sight. Meanwhile, I was ready to crawl out of my skin to be anywhere else but here. This just goes to show that you should always use yourmon sense. It is there for a reason.

    Mymon sense said "Don''t go in there," did I listen? No! Where am I now? No fricking clue!

    The elevator seemed to take forever to get to wherever it was supposed to go. Since none of us pressed a button (I didn''t press a button when I was trying to find a way to open the door¡­ right?!?), I could only assume that we were going to the only floor possible. My issue was that we were still going down, so how far down were we going?

    "Most studies point to an EMP being ineffective more than 35 feet underground," said Wang Chao out of the middle of nowhere. I really didn''t care about that. Pausing for a second, I thought about his words. If anything below 35 feet from ground level was fine, then this elevator must be taking us down at least that much.

    Now, I knew that I didn''t like basements. That was a given. But I could go into them. However, the idea that I was going down 35 feet was enough to send me into a full-blown panic attack. I mean, there was no way we could make it out if this whole thing copsed on top of us.

    "It won''t," said Wang Chao. Now, I was sure that he was trying to be reassuring, but this was not the time to be calm and rational. Especially around me.

    "And how do you know it won''t?" I asked, still clinging to Liu Yu Zeng as if he was a tree.

    "This entire building is built using a special concrete with steel reinforcement. It is another reason why it was able to withstand the brunt of the EMP," said Wang Chao using logic against someone that was too wound up to be useful.

    "And do you know what is going to be waiting for us when those doors open?" I asked as I turned to look at him. "I mean, what are they doing that they need an EMP-proof base in the middle of a forest, in an area of the country with a rtively low poption? Did you ever think of that?" I demanded. At least my anger was cutting through some of my fear.

    When the four men were silent I realized that they didn''tpletely understand. "Governments are not the most forting of entities. After all, it was the government from Country M that thought it would be a fun idea to gically mutate its soldiers. It was the government from Country K and probably every other country in this world that thought it would be a good idea to follow in those footsteps. Do you really think that a base like this is not doing something itself that the public shouldn''t know about?"

    I took a breath, a bit worried that I was not making sense. "All I mean is that we have no idea how to get back to the surface level let alone no way of getting out of this building. We arepletely trapped and the only thing that is keeping us somewhat safe is the metal door, and we have no control when that door opens. So, what is your suggestion?"

    "This is not a scienceplex," said Wang Chao as he took my face in his hands. He looked deep into my eyes and I could feel his sincerity. "If I thought that there was any way that you would be in danger, I would not have let you enter. Please, trust me."

    I nodded my head. I trusted him just as I trusted all of my boys. But that didn''t mean that I trusted the rest of the world.

    I took a deep breath and climbed down from Liu Yu Zeng. If we needed to fight, he would need his hands. There might not be anything when the doors opened, but on that same token, there might be an army. Either way, I wanted to be prepared.

 Chapter 237 Way to Leave a Girl Hanging

    Chapter 237 Way to Leave a Girl Hanging

    I would be the first to admit that I was not the best with a gun. I learned on the fly during the apocalypse and watching way too many action movies when I was younger. I mean, I could kill someone at point-nk range as long as they didn''t really move too much, but if we were walking into an actualbat situation, I was going to be next to useless with a 9mm.

    One of the great things about the AK-15 that I had in my space was they were kind of idiot proof. Pull the trigger, and the automatic rifle took care of the rest. Well, I guess I was still responsible for aiming, but other than that, I didn''t have to worry too much about where I aimed because I was still going to be able to kill my target.

    But one thing that worked so much better than guns? Powers. In my case, mes. Now, I was still recovering from the idental consumption of human souls, so I was not going to be calling on my purple me too much right now. I would save that as ast resort unless there were zombies involved.

    We came to a shuddering stop, and the men all pulled out their handguns. Unlike me, they were all trained on them for years before the apocalypse came, so they were more than a little confident in their skills.

    The men surrounded me in a circle, unsure where the doors were, that would open on this level and not wanting our backs to be exposed to any unnecessary threats. All of their backs were to me, with their guns pointed outward, so they were prepared for when the doors slid open in front of Wang Chao.

    "My side," he clipped before the started walking forward. Since no bullets flew the second the doors opened, I guess they thought it was safe enough for us to go through.

    While Wang Chao took point, Liu Yu Zeng and Liu Wei took the sides, their guns pointing forward, their steps steady and quiet. In the rear, Chen Zi Han faced outward as he slowly and steadily walked backward.

    Me? I walked forwardpletely protected by my men like the Queen I was, any sign of the panic attack that I had in the elevator long gone.

    My hand glowed blue as I held my head high. Only Wang Chao had an idea of where we were going, so I guess it was a good thing that we were taking point. We walked down empty halls; the echo of our footsteps was the only sound.

    We had walked about 15 feet when we came across the first door. Entering in a key code that he got from the depths of Deng Jun Hie''s brain, Wang Chao opened the door.

    It looked like a very standard office, including the wooden desk facing the door and the piles of paperwork all over the ce. Even the bookshelves behind the desk were filled with papers and binders. All in all, it looked very much like the typical office of any government worker.

    Well, except for the dead body that was slumped over the desk.

    I looked around the top of the desk to see if there was an obvious cause of death, but I couldn''t see any blood on the paperwork, but the front of the desk was also blocked by a piece of wood, so I wasn''t able to see if there were any pools of blood gathered on the floor.

    "Any guesses what happened to him?" I asked as I tilted my head toward the dead dude in front of us.

    The four men shook their heads no. "I really hate random dead bodies," I grumbled as I took a step forward into the room to investigate what could be this person''s cause of death. There was one thing that you never took for granted in the apocalypse; if there was a dead body in your path, you had better hope that you knew what killed it ripped off, the bones would have been disconnected where the femur was connected to the pelvic bone.

    because otherwise, you could be next to die.

    Chen Zi Han put his hand on my shoulder and pulled me back into the circle of the men, and strode forward to the desk. Pulling back the chair with the body on it, he looked under the desk. "I am not a doctor, but I think I know what killed him," he said as he cocked his head to the side and continued to study the body.

    Well, way to leave a girl hanging.

    Grumbling about men andcking details, I followed Chen Zi Han to the desk. "Yeah, that is probably the cause of death," I said as I blinked a few times. Chen Zi Han put away his gun and put on a pair of gloves. He then pushed the upper body of the dead guy back so that it was resting against the chair and not the desk.

    As soon as it was repositioned, it was easy to see that the lower half of the body seemed to have been ripped off by something. I mean, there were still intestines hanging from where the top was separated from the missing half. You could even see the lower spine, including the sacrum, but where it was supposed to be attached to the hips, the two pelvic bones were missing.

    I studied the part that was ''sitting'' on the chair with my head tilted to the side, trying to figure out how something like that could have happened. I mean, if he had his legs ripped off, the bones would have been disconnected where the femur was connected to the pelvic bone.

    It wasn''t fused there, so it would have been easy to break them off, simr to breaking off the thighs of a chicken.

    But in this case, the two halves that make up the pelvic bone were ripped where the bones were fused to the sacrum. For that to happen, someone would have had to hold onto one pelvic bone while snapping off the second and vice versa.

    But the upper body didn''t look like it was in pain or distressed in any way. In fact, the face looked almost peaceful. When we walked in, the man appeared to have fallen asleep at his desk with his head resting on folded arms.

 Chapter 238 Itâ€™s Hot

    Chapter 238 It¡¯s Hot

    "There is no blood under the desk," pointed out Liu Yu Zeng as he came to stand beside Chen Zi Han and me. I followed his gaze and saw that he was right. There was no blood under the desk and only a minimal amount on the chair itself.

    "Secondary location," said Liu Wei as he adjusted his sses. I nodded in agreement. "Not to mention the door was locked, which means that the person responsible knew the code?" By the time I had finished the sentence, the statement that I was sure about transformed into a question.

    If the dead man had opened the door and let the Ripper in, then that meant that there should be a lot more blood than there currently was and he wasn''t threatened by the individual either. But how can he look so rxed as if he was sleeping?

    The more I thought about it, the more I realized that I waspletely bewildered. The bottom half of a body beingpletely ripped off did not speak to a painless death. There would have been more than a lot of pain, especially if the victim was conscious during the whole thing. Which lead to one possibility.

    "Could they have been killed first and then ripped apart?" I asked looking at Liu Yu Zeng and Chen Zi Han.

    "I don''t know if the bottom half was ripped or more snapped apart," started Liu Yu Zeng, "But if they were already dead, then what would be the point in doing that to his lower body?"

    "To prove a point?" I asked. "But there is a bigger problem than how he died," I said with a big sigh. Next time I was going to listen to mymon sense even if it seemed like the more boring option.

    "Such as who did it and where they are?" chuckled Wang Chao from where he leaned against the door jam his arms across his chest. His gun was still in his right hand, but unless you were looking for it, you wouldn''t notice it at all.

    "Yeah," I said with a sigh. "Any ideas?" I asked looking at him.

    "If I did, you wouldn''t be here right now," said Wang Chao as his upper lip curled into a sneer. I could tell that he wasn''t impressed with the situation.

    "So, what did Deng Jun Hie think was in this facility?" I asked. I went to sit on the corner of the desk and started to go through some of the papers on the desk.

    "It is supposed to be a research and development facility that was responsible for creating new weapons, new technology, and new vehicles," said Wang Chao looking at me. "I saw something in his mind that called to me. I wanted toe here and get it," he admitted.

    "Fair," I said with a half smile on my face. There really wasn''t much I could say to that. We ended up going to City Y because something was calling me to be there. I couldn''t fault Wang Chao for something I, myself, did.

    The paperwork in front of me was mostly administration work. Supply orders, requisitions from other bases, that sort of thing. It wasn''t going to tell me what had killed him and I don''t think he was ripped apart because he ordered too many staples.

    Jumping off the desk I walked over to Wang Chao and ced my two hands on his forearms. "It''s the five of us against the world," I said. "No matter what we face here, we face it together." Going onto tiptoes, I gave him a kiss on the cheek as I walked into the hallway.

    There was something tickling me in the back of my mind about the ripped victim, but for the life of me, I couldn''t remember it right at the moment. I am sure it woulde to be at the worst possible time, but what could you do?

    The boys followed me out and Liu Wei closed the door behind himself. A soft beep and the lock was re-engaged. We walked down the hall, noticing a distinctck of people and ack of doors. to be honest.

    But the hallway seemed endless and there was only one way to go. There were no forks in the path, just a straight line. So just how big was this facility? I mean, the office wasn''t that big, does that mean that the facility itself was long but narrow? Like a skinny rectangle?

    I shook my head in confusion just as I came to the second door in the hallway. Remembering what was behind door number one, I was a bit more cautious when it came to door number two.

    Nodding to Wang Chao, he typed in the password into the keypad on the right side of the door. This time the door slid open almost like a pocket door¡­ or a door on a spaceship. You know what I mean.

    Chen Zi Han stepped forward first and quickly stepped aside for the rest of us to enter. This room was huge, and I mean like easily four times the size of my apartment back in City A. It was clearly a lounge for the employees as it was decorated in neutral tones with several couches and oversized chairs scattered around three-quarters of the room with tables and chairs off to the other side. One whole wall plus a bit of the back wall was a dedicated kitchen with gas stoves, working fridges, fruit bowls, and even boxes of cereal lined up all in order.

    I walked over to the kitchen and went straight to the high-tech coffee machine. It was something that would not be out of ce in a coffee shop it was so big with all the bells and whistles. There was a single cup of espresso still on the counter in front of the machine. Wrapping my hands around the cup I quickly put it back down.

    "It''s hot," I said. Apparently, the mysteries of this ce were multiplying and I was not liking that at all.

    Hopefully whatever had called Wang Chao here was worth it and it wouldn''t lead to our deaths.

    Because that would suck.

 Chapter 239 WTF!!

    Chapter 239 WTF!!

    "What do you mean it''s hot?" asked Liu Yu Zeng a look of concern shed over his face as he brought his handgun back up to shoulder height. Holding it steady, he looked at Chen Zi Han. They nodded at each other and Chen Zi Han, Liu Wei, and Wang Chao all brought their guns up too and started to clear the kitchen side of the room.

    Liu Yu Zeng motioned for me toe closer to him and as soon as I was within arms reach, he pulled me against his chest and brought his gun in front of me. My back to his chest, he wrapped his left arm around my waist while his right arm was lifted and ready to pull the trigger.

    Chen Zi Han turned to look at him and the other guys and when Liu Yu Zeng nodded, he quickly threw open the bottom far right cupboard door. There was nobody in it. Just a bunch of canisters of whole coffee beans, packets of coffee whiteners, sweeteners, and sugars as well as disposable paper cups with lids.

    I flicked my wrist and brought everything into my space. What else was I expected to do with the supplies right in front of me? Leave them for the Ripper? No, thank you. I need the coffee more than they did.

    Leaving the door open, Chen Zi Han moved to the next cupboard and, after a nod from Liu Yu Zeng, opened that one too. This one wasn''t as interesting, mostly just boxes of cereal and instant oatmeal, but food was food and it was going into my space.

    When you were hungry, even cold original instant oatmeal was heaven.

    But there wasn''t anyone hiding in that cupboard either.

    The boys cleared each bottom cupboard in the kitchen as I threw whatever was in it into my space. I now had more paper tes, forks, napkins, pots and pans, and baking equipment than I probably needed, but if you fail to prepare, you prepare to fail. And I was not going to fail this time around.

    I threw the three stoves into my space for good luck since they were just sitting there. The men went back to where the cupboards met the wall and started the process all over again, this time with the upper cabs.

    We managed to get through those ones a lot faster than the bottom ones because the guys didn''t think that anyone would be hiding up there. By the end of it all, I managed to get a lot of cereals, crackers, peanut butter, jams (the store-bought, not homemade), honey, cookies, and a crap ton of tes and sses.

    In fact, this kitchen was as well stocked as my own, and that bothered me. They were prepared to spend a long time here, but why? Did they know that the apocalypse wasing and therefore had created their own safe zone? Or was their job so top secret that they were expected to live here for the rest of their lives?

    With the cupboards empty, I ced themercial coffee machine in my space, but the still-hot cup of espresso creeped me out enough that I left it there. I took the waffle makers, the toasters and toaster ovens, and all the other countertop appliances into my space. At this point, I might as well consider this a supply run and not us being stuck in a creepy basement facility with a Ripper on the loose.

    Save my sanity a bit.

    The fridges were a thing of beauty. There were at least five of them with three doors, 72 cubic feet of space, and thepressor at the top. I mean, there wasn''t an attached freezer, but they would do in a pinch. With a flick of my wrist, I brought all five fridges with the three doors and two with only a single door into my space.

    And then I froze. "Uh, guys?" I asked as I looked at where the fridges had originally been. "Guys!" I called again when they didn''t immediately respond to me. After we had emptied the cupboards, my four men went over to the couches to sit down and talk, leaving me alone to take what I wanted.

    I didn''t take my eyes off of the wall in front of me, so I didn''t see the guys standing up and rushing over to me, but I felt them approach. "I think I found where the espressody went," I said as I pointed to the massive ck hole in the wall. It was easily 6-foot tall and at least 4-foot wide and would have been perfectly hidden by the fridges.

    And no one would think that there was an escape hole in a fridge. Wait¡ªdoes that mean that the fridges I just stole were empty?!? WTF!

    So, a question for the audience. Do we go into the creepy hole in the wall and see where that leads or do I run out of this room screaming at the top of my lungs because this ce was really a 100 on the creepy/scary rating?

    The boys took out their guns and walked toward the random hole in the wall¡­ did I mention there was a fucking hole in the wall and the fridge was used as the entrance?!? But I digress¡­ because as I was mentally freaking out, Chen Zi Han stepped into the darkness and disappeared from view.

    I guess that answers that question. We would be going through the sketchy hole, because what could possibly go wrong?

    Liu Yu Zeng took my hand in his and smiled at me. "This is an amazing first date, isn''t it? I mean, I heard that those escape rooms were a great ce to go on a date and here we are!"

    I blinked at the man with a giant, genuine, smile on his face as my brain when nk. I cleared my throat a few times just to make sure that I wasn''t going to identally start yelling at him when he looked so cute and innocent.

    "Um¡­ Honeybear, the escape rooms that you are thinking about are¡­ regted. You might be looking for a way out, but there is not going to be anything locked in there with you that seems to take joy in ripping people apart."

 Chapter 240 I Liked My Legs

    Chapter 240 I Liked My Legs

    The puppy dog look on Liu Yu Zeng''s face was enough to break my heart. "Nope, you know what? This is just like an escape room date like they had before the apocalypse," I said with a definitive nod. If that was what he wanted it to be, then that was what this creepy facility was. An escape room that we didn''t sign a waiver for.

    "So we agree that this is a date then?" he asked as his face morphed into a giant smile.

    "Of course this is a date," I said, not too sure how we went from talking about a Ripper literally ripping legs off of people, to a giant hole in a wall, to a date, but I was sure that it all worked in Liu Yu Zeng''s head.

    "And if this is a date, does that mean I am going to getid afterward?" Liu Yu Zeng asked his innocent smile that had me wrapped around his finger morphed into something much darker and more seductive.

    "What?!?" I asked with a shake of my head. I mean, that was thest thing on my mind right now. "How about we get out of here first, meet up with your men, and then revisit that idea?" I continued. What I didn''t notice was how close that fucker got me to the big dark hole in the wall.

    "You really don''t think I am going in there, right?" I asked him wide-eyed. There were no doors to prevent us from leaving the same way we entered, but if I hadn''t mentioned the Ripper in thest 30 seconds; there was someone ripping people apart somewhere in this facility.

    This locked down facility.

    With me in it.

    And they liked to rip legs off of things.

    I liked my legs. I especially liked my legs attached to my body if I was given an option.

    "You will be just fine, Sweetness," crooned Liu Yu Zeng as he stepped over the threshold between the hole and the rest of the kitchen. "Remember, you have a fire that can kill anyone or anything in seconds. You are the scariest person here. Who are you worried about?"

    I blinked at him. Okay, so maybe I sometimes forget that I have my mes simply because I never used them in my past life. But I was supposed to not use the purple one on humans because it made me hungover and I didn''t like it.

    "How about this? You can hold onto me and I will kill anyone thates within 100 feet of you," he continued with a smile and I looked at Liu Wei for confirmation. Seeing his smile, I took in a deep breath.

    "Fine, I will go into the creepy hole in the wall, on this¡­ date¡­ with you, only because there is no way I want to be left behind. But next time anyone has the great idea to do something like this? Do us all a favor and don''t."

    I shook my hand out of Liu Yu Zeng''s and took a deep breath. I was a badass bitch. I was a Queen. I could do this. I stepped onto the first step and continued my way down the stairs holding onto the railing and counting every step I took.

    I wanted to be stronger, and this was how I did it. No one got strong by staying in the same ce. I would face thispletely reasonable fear and move on. And if necessary, I would kill everyone that jumped out and scared me.

    I mean, as long as I didn''t use my purple me it should be good. Right?

    ----

    Liu Yu Zeng looked at his brother with wide eyes. "Please tell me you have a n," he grumbled. Sweetness and Chen Zi Han had just gone through the hole and were going to face only god knew what.

    "I wish," said Liu Wei as he turned to look at Wang Chao. "If she gets so much as a hangnail here I will be ming it on you and acting ordingly.+"

    Wang Chao sighed and nodded his head. "Fair," he said as he walked towards the hole in the wall. "But if I didn''t think we had to be here, I would be taking her out even if I had to blow the ceiling off. There is something here that we need."

    "The only thing we need just went into a dark basement without us, so whatever is going to happen next, I hope it''s worth it," said Liu Wei as he passed Wang Chao and started down the stairs and deeper into the darkness.

    "I hope so too," said Wang Chao under his breath as he followed the man that had stood by him since he was 10. Liu Yu Zeng let out a low scoff and brought up the rear, two deadly des hidden against his forearms.

    -----

    I had lost count after going down 51 stairs, but I was not going to go back to the top to start over again. Choosing a random step and making it number 1, I paused. I just realized that I had never heard Chen Zi Han yell ''All clear''. Did that mean that it wasn''t clear? Was he in trouble?

    Looking at my brand-new crystal, I focused on Chen Zi Han. His me didn''t so much as fluctuate within its confines. Confident that he was okay, I continued down the stairs. The worst thing I could do was stand on a step long enough for the other guys to bump into me. It was dark enough that they probably wouldn''t be able to see me.

    My mind immediately went to me rolling down the never-ending staircase. Which made me wonder if the railing was strong enough that I could slide down it like I used to do as a kid in one of my foster homes. It would get me down to the bottom a lot faster¡­ not to mention it would be a lot more fun.

    A big smile on my face, I realized that the banister was wide enough that my hand could barely grip it which meant that it was wide enough to act as a slide¡­

    Swinging my left leg over, I gripped the railing with both hands and slowly rxed my grip, allowing me to ride the banister like a witch on a broomstick.

 Chapter 241 Safety Blanket

    Chapter 241 Safety nket

    Sliding down the banister was both the most fun thing I have ever done and the scariest. Because the entire stairwell was dark, I had no idea exactly what was on the other side. I mean, it could be another set of stairs or absolutely nothing and I was going to fall to my death.

    Either way, it beat walking down.

    I rxed my grip as I leaned my upper body against the railing causing me to speed up even more. But that was when it hit me. I wasn''t turning. I was literally going straight down. Just how deep was this thing?

    I continued my fast descent when a hand came out of the darkness, stopping me from going any further. Letting out a strangled yelp, it took me a second to realize that I had managed to catch up with Chen Zi Han.

    "Hi!" I said breathlessly. "Fancy meeting you here," I continued in my most angelic voice. When he didn''t say anything, I knew I was in trouble. His face was lit by the steady meing out of his hand and he definitely did not look impressed.

    "You''ve had your fun," he said as he picked me up off of the railing and deposited me back on my feet beside him. "We should almost be at the bottom."

    "Yeah, that''s the issue, the bottom of what?" I said with a sigh. But I was fine with walking beside Chen Zi Han for the rest of the way. I had my moment and it reset me better than any time in my space could. Bing serious, I walked down the remainder stairs until we couldn''t go any further forward.

    Facing yet another metal wall, I sighed and waited for Wang Chao. Something told me he was going to take more than a few minutes to get down here to unlock the door, so I prepared to wait. I wasn''t going to ask him to give me the passcode ahead of time because I wasn''t going to go through there without everyone acting as backup.

    We had a Ripper somewhere in the building, an espresso-drinking psycho (because let''s face it, only psychos drink their coffee that strong without milk or sugar), and we were all trapped like rats in a maze.

    I took out a bag of Skittles and offered some to Chen Zi Han. The man, being as smart as he was, turned it down and I shrugged my shoulders. The trick with me was even when I was offering, I really wasn''t offering. Taking it would only result in me being pissed.

    I took two of the candies at a time and put them in my mouth, relishing in the feeling of sugar seeping through my bloodstream. "You okay, Princess?" asked Chen Zi Han as he leaned against the wall across from me.

    I raised my eyebrow at his question. "That is a loaded statement if I ever heard one," I said with a smile as I threw back a few more Skittles. "Are we talking mentally, physically, or spiritually? Because I am pretty certain that the answer depends on which one we are talking about."

    "Mentally," said Chen Zi Han with a smile and I cocked my head to look at him. He might have a smile on his face, but I could feel that he was genuinely interested in my answer.

    "Better than I thought I would be," I said honestly as two more candies went into my mouth. "But then again, seeing as I thought I would be curled up in a fetal position on the floor, crying my eyes out, I don''t know how good of an endorsement that statement is."

    "What do you need from me?" he asked as he came closer to pull me into his arms. "Whatever you need, it''s yours."

    "I need for nothing to happen to any of you guys," I said as I looked up at the man in front of me. He was my caregiver and always seemed to know when I needed something before even I knew it.

    "Done," he said with a smile on his face and I let out a sad chuckle. "Don''t make promises that you can''t keep," I said softly as Iid my head on his chest.

    "Princess, that is one promise that we all can keep. I am not saying that we won''t get hurt. Injuries happen all the time. But I can promise that not even death will take us away from you."

    I looked up at him and wondered how he could be so certain. "Because, even if there wasn''t you protecting us this whole time, I would like to point out that we have all lived longer than you at¡­ dicier¡­ professions and have remained alive to this point."

    I smiled at that. Taking a deep breath, I tried to rx my shoulders. He was right. He was a high-ranking member of an organized crime syndicate, he was wanted by the police in God only knew how many cities and countries, had probably fought in countless of wars. Unfortunately for him, even knowing all that, I still wanted to wrap him up in bubble wrap before he left the house.

    I would get over this incessant need to protect them¡­ I was pretty sure¡­ I mean, I would have to¡­ right?

    But I needed them to be safe like I needed air to breathe. There was actually a crushing feeling in my chest at the very idea that something might happen to them¡­ and heaven forbid they get taken by the Reavers. I might just unleash Hell on Earth if that were to happen.

    My mind spun with thoughts of my boys being grabbed by the Reavers, I didn''t hear the other three mening down the stairs and to a stop in front of us.

    "What''s given her that look?" asked Liu Yu Zeng as he came up inches away from my face.

    "The idea that something might happen to us. There is something specific¡ª" said Wang Chao and I quickly shut down my thoughts. I had no problem with him always wanting ess to my mind. I wasn''t born yesterday, I knew that he could turn it off if he wanted to. But I also understood that to him, it was a safety nket.

 Chapter 242 Left Disappointed

    Chapter 242 Left Disappointed

    ''There are some things you don''t need to know yet,'' I said in my head as I looked at Wang Chao. I would leave myself an open book to the man because, honestly, it took a lot of pressure off of me.

    I didn''t always know what to say, or even if I knew what I wanted to say. It didn''t alwayse out right. At least with Wang Chao in my mind all the time, there wouldn''t be any misunderstandings because I said something or I didn''t say something.

    But there was a hard line when ites to some aspects of me that I would not let him cross just yet. I had two years to¡­ I don''t know¡­ do something. But before that time came, Wang Chao would have to keep his mind out of it.

    He looked at me seriously and nodded his head. ''Anything you need to make your life easier,'' he replied for my ears only. Turning to the keypad next to the door, the remaining three men each took a side in the narrow stairwell with their weapons out.

    I was moved (and by that, I mean I was picked up and carried) to the corner behind the door so that I would be shielded no matter what came through it. Mind you, after that little talk with Chen Zi Han, I was not impressed that they were in a less secure location, but I also knew that they needed me to be safe here in order to be able to focus on whatever mighte through the door.

    Wang Chao held up three fingers. "3... 2¡­ 1¡­" he mouthed as he put in the code and jerked open the door.

    And once again, we were left disappointed. There was no one waiting for us in the hallway. But that didn''t mean that it was empty.

    ----

    Wang Chao was not happy. And normally, when he wasn''t happy, it was a simple matter of killing someone, and whatever it was that upset him ended up dead at his feet.

    He was never the good guy, and, truth be told, he never wanted to be. He was born knowing that he would have to have blood on his hands in order to protect the family, and he was more than willing to take on that role.

    He excelled in the military because that was a more legitimate way to be able to protect the Wang Family and to be able to pick and train his own men. In fact, he had been single-mindedly dedicated to protecting his family no matter what until Li Dai Lu came.

    Even if it was only reading the reports that Liu Wei had given him, he had been fascinated by her. But he was raised to never want to always put the family first. And he had done it for the first little while, but like a wreaking ball, she made sure that he couldn''t hide his head in the sand for the rest of his life.

    In fact, leaving his family for her was so much easier than he thought it would be. It was almost like the way he was born and raised prepared him to be at her side. Whatever she needed, he was able to provide it. Whatever she wanted, he was able to snap his fingers and make sure it wasid at her feet.

    But now¡­ the one making him unhappy was himself, and he couldn''t just kill himself. Well, he could, but that would upset Li Dai Lu, and that was worse than him being unhappy.

    But what he had seen in Deng Jun Hie''s mind? What was here? He needed it more than he ever needed anything in his life... except Li Dai Lu and his brothers. It literally called to the part of his soul that Li Dai Lu didn''t have. But he didn''t think it would be like this.

    If he knew, he would have forgone what was inside this facility and would have lived his lifepletely fine without it.

    It was his fault that his woman was in an ufortable situation, that there was a threat to her somewhere locked in here with them. But nothing in Deng Jun Hie''s mind prepared him for what awaited them when they opened the door at the bottom of the stairs.

    The walls, floor, and ceiling were done in a pristine white with a silver ent, simr to how a brand-new hospital would look like. Maybe it was because they wanted to keep everything sterilized, and white showed everyst speck of dirt, thus making it easier to keep clean.

    But when the brilliant white was offset by the bright red of fresh blood, well, it made the red stand out that much more.

    Wang Chao stepped over the threshold first but didn''t take another step forward. Crouching down, he studied the floor for a few minutes. "There are at least two assants," he said calmly as if he was merely talking about the rise and fall of stocks. "The bloody footprints suggest that much, but I can''t say which ones belong to whom." He pointed to a bright red footprint that seemed to have been turned to an unnatural angle and was smearing blood behind it.

    Almost as if whoever the assant was, one of their ankles was broken. But that would be impossible. No one would be able to walk on an ankle that broke.

    On either side of the footprints were drag marks, as if one person was pulling a body in each hand. But the strength needed to be able to do that, plus on a broken ankle... it was not a feat an ordinary person could do. The more he studied the scene, the more concerned he became.

    There was the typical medium velocity spatter along the wall, and some of it even managed to cling to the ceiling before dropping down. Either that or the low-velocity stter was a result of a blunt object hitting one or more of the victims.

    But no matter how he looked at it, he couldn''t understand how it happened, only that it did, and the person or persons responsible were still in the facility.

    The big question was why hadn''t theye after them yet?

    What were they waiting for?

 Chapter 243 A Little Lie

    ?

    The guys were trying to keep me in the stairwell, not letting me through the door. But since I didn''t hear any type of gunfire, I figured it wasn''t a safety issue but rather there was something in there that they didn''t want me to see.

    Squeezing between Liu Yu Zeng and Liu Wei, I tried to get my head around Chen Zi Han to see what was going on. Growling in frustration I smacked my big protector on the back. "Let me see," I grumbled when he turned his head to look over his shoulder at me.

    He rubbed his forehead but didn''t say anything. That was when I understood. "It wouldn''t be the first time I saw something bloody and it won''t be thest. Let me see. I promise it won''t give me nightmares." There was a smile on my face when I said it. I appreciated the fact that the boys were trying to protect my ''delicate sensibilities'', but I lost those my first year into the apocalypse.

    Chen Zi Han let out a huff and then moved aside so I could crouch next to Wang Chao. I mean, in terms of horror, I would give the hallways a definite 7/10, but truth be told, as bloody as it was, it wasn''t anywhere near what I had experienced before.

    Wang Chao turned to look at me and I could see just how upset he was. Smiling, I leaned my head on his shoulder. "First time?" I joked nodding my head towards the blood.

    He shook his head and looked back at the scene in front of us. "Not so much," he admitted. "But it just doesn''t seem¡­"

    "Right?" I suggested. I mean, in a civilized world, there would definitely be something off about this, but we were no longer in a civilized world.

    "Do you know what is going on?" he asked me.

    With a sad smile, I nodded my head. "Yup. Now listen and learn, Young Grasshopper," I said in my best Mr. Miyagi voice, trying to interject some humor into the situation. Sometimes, if you can''tugh, all you can do is cry, and who wants to cry all the time?

    "The footprints are too human to be a zombie," I said as I pointed to the set in front of us. "If it was a zombie, they would not be able to walk in such a straight line, even carrying bodies like they are. Instead, if this was a zombie, well, first of all, they wouldn''t be dragging anything. And second, their natural gait is like a serpentine ''S'' shape."

    Wang Chao nodded in understanding and even the other three men came closer to listen to what I was saying. "Now, I would say that this appeared to be a typical Reaver kill, the blood on the walls are indicative of them, however, it is almost too clean of a kill. Blood aside of course."

    "This is a clean kill?" asked Chen Zi Han confused as a few drops of blood sttered on the floor about a foot away from us.

    "Yup," I said with a grimace, "Reavers tend to go a little¡­ crazy(?) when ites to their kills and it is normal for there to be a lot of flesh, muscles, and organs justying around after."<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "So, if it isn''t a zombie, and it isn''t a Reaver, any idea what it is?" asked Liu Wei as he pushed his sses up his nose. I was beginning to understand that was another one of his nervous tells.

    "Nope," I said with a smile. I mean, can''t burst out crying right now, could I? It would definitely ruin the badassery I had going on right now.

    "So, what do we do?" asked Liu Yu Zeng looking at me.

    "We must move forward, not backward; upward, not forward; and always twirling, twirling, twirling towards freedom!" I was sorry, I really couldn''t help myself. It was the perfect time to throw in that particr quote from one of the most adorable aliens of the 20th century.

    The four men looked at each other and then looked at me. I let out a chuckle. "We go forward. We are here to find what called to Wang Chao, and we might as well solve some mysteries along the way. We can be like a crime-fighting group of friends! Where''s a dog when you need them?"

    Okay, so the stress of this ce was apparently getting to me if all I could do was think about quotes from the 1990s in my first life, but I was more than a little concerned.

    I mean, I didn''t exactly lie to the guys, more like withheld a small molecule of information that they probably didn''t need at this time. Between the body in the office and the murder scene down here, I had a pretty good idea who was responsible for it. I was just hoping that he was still on my side.

    Taking a deep breath, I stood up and held out a hand to Wang Chao. "Do you trust me?" I asked with a true smile on my face. Okay, so apparently I wasn''t done with movie quotes at the moment, bute on! Some of these were too good to pass up!

    "Yes," Wang Chao responded with a smile as he took my hand and rose to his feet. I mean, the roles were reversed, but it was still a sweet scene.

    "Then trust me when I say that guns will not be needed and would be best to be put away and hidden," I advised as watched as three out of four of my men holstered their guns and hid them underneath their camo jackets. Maybe I should get them to change¡­ after all, having anything military on them might not go over well.

    "Be right back," I said as I quickly jumped into my space. I had prepared a room for each one of the guys in my house simply because I thought it would make life easier when it came to storing their stuff. Looks like it paid off.

    Going into each one of their rooms, I found a jacket that the boys could wear instead of the tan camo that they took from the military base. The fact that all four were ck leather motorcycle jackets had absolutely nothing to do with my preferences nor did it take me around 5 minutes to find each of them in their closets when their suit jackets were hanging in front.

 Chapter 244 The Muffin Man

    ?

    Popping out of my space with the guy''s jackets in my arms, I held each one out to them. "How about we change out of the military-style jackets and into these ones?" I asked in my most angelic voice. I mean, if I ended up drooling over the guys in these things then that waspletely on me.

    Looking at me confused, they each grabbed their jacket and shrugged out of the camo one. Flicking my wrist, I threw them into my space for them to wearter. But oh, these jackets, they were what wet dreams were made of.

    Each one was pure perfection in that they fit like a glove over their muscles and tapered in at their waist creating that ''V'' shape that made mydy bits tingle. Coupled with three of the guys wearing gloves and I didn''t know if I could take another step forward.

    Maybe I should get Wang Chao a pair of leather gloves too¡­ just toplete the look of course.

    Speak of the Devil¡­ Wang Chao cleared his throat and brought my attention away from the jackets and back to the bloody hallway. "Want to tell us why?" he asked with a smirk.

    "Because it makes you look hot and I want to climb all four of you like a tree?" I suggested with an innocent grin on my face. I mean, I was sure my horns were sticking up, but that was only to hold up my halo.

    The four guys smirked at my response and Liu Yu Zeng took a step forward to grab me around my waist. "What a coincidence," he purred. "I want to be climbed like a tree."

    I chuckled and pulled him down for a kiss that caused my toes to curl and my underwear to be ufortable.

    "I hate to interrupt," said Wang Chao sounding anything but apologetic. "But I think we have a few things to take care of before you are climbing anyone."

    "Yes, yes," I grumbled as Liu Yu Zeng started to pull away from our kiss. "And about the jackets. I am going with the assumption that if the Ripper was a prisoner here, then he might be a bit upset with anything that reminds him of his guards. You know, military fatigues, white coats, that sort of thing."

    Stepping out from Liu Yu Zeng''s arms, I wrinkled my nose as yet another drop of blood from the ceiling hit me on my cheek. "Never was good about cleaning up after himself," I grumbled under my breath, making sure I spoke low enough that the guys couldn''t hear me.

    "What was that, Sweetness?" asked Liu Yu Zeng as his thumb swiped at the drop of blood.

    "I was justining about how killers never seem to be able to clean up after themselves. Like really, who wants to walk in puddles of blood!?"

    The guys just smiled and I turned around to head in the direction of the drag marks. Normally I would highly rmend not doing this. If you ever see bloody drag marks on the ground, please make sure that you run in the opposite direction. Just a friendly public service announcement.

    I jumped over a few of therger puddles, the men following close behind me. I honestly had no idea where I was going. In fact, it probably should have been Wang Chao leading the way, but I figured if Ripper was still around, it would most likely go over better for him to see me first. I mean, I was as far away from military-looking as you could get.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    There were no doors along this corridor, simply white walls with bloody handprints, stter marks, and floors with bloody footprints. I really didn''t understand what the designer was thinking when they had this ce built. Then again, if it managed to survive the EMP then maybe the guy wasn''t so crazy after all.

    "I don''t think it is a good thing for Little Red Riding Hood to be following breadcrumbs in the woods," came a disembodied voice. I looked around, but I couldn''t see anyone.

    The men, not being as calm or rxed as I was¡­ go figure¡­ took out their guns and formed a circle around me. "You don''t really listen well, do you?" I said as I looked at Chen Zi Han and Wang Chao. "Be dears and put them away."

    The men looked at me and then, with a stiff nod, put their guns back in the hoisters. "Now, if you can''t keep them in there, I will have to take them away," I said with a smirk as I patted Wang Chao''s chest. Stepping around my men, I looked up at the cameras that were lining the hallway.

    I guess the blood had imed all my attention if I hadn''t noticed them before. "It was Hansel and Gretel that followed the breadcrumbs," I said as I raised my voice, my eyes never wavering from the nearest camera. "It was Little Red Riding Hood that was almost eaten by the Big Bad Wolf."

    "Then does that make me the Big Bad Wolf?" came the ented voice I remembered so well. It was definitely the signature ent of Country E and made him sound so prim and proper. That was until you saw him.

    "The woodsman chopped the Big Bad Wolf into bits and took Little Red Riding Hood for himself. You sure you want to be the wolf?" I asked as I titled my head from one side to another. I really needed to get better sleep at night. My neck was freaking stiff.

    "If I am the woodsman, does that mean I get to keep Little Red?" came the amused voice over the facilities speakers. I could only assume that there were mics all throughout the halls if he could hear what I was saying. No one could read lips that well.

    "Even if you kept me, you would be begging the woodsman toe take me away after a few hours," I chuckled. "But here is a question for you. Do you know the muffin man?"

    "The muffin man?"

    "The muffin man!"

    "Yes, I know the muffin man, who lives on Drury Lane."

    "Then who is the muffin man?" I asked with a smile and my head cocked to the side.

    "I am."

 Chapter 245 Rip

    ?

    Thest words were spoken with so much malice and malevolence that I couldn''t help but shudder. "I don''t think you have been to Drury Lane in a while Rip," I said, trying to suppress my body''s natural instinct to hide from a bigger predator.

    "You seem to know me," he said after a pause. His voice no longer sounded as evil as it had before, this time he seemed almost innocent. "That''s funny, I don''t recall seeing anyone like you here. I would have eaten you first if that was the case." And the malevolence was back.

    "We aren''t from here," I reassured him. "Just visiting."

    "Visiting?" he asked, once again in his confused tone. Sometimes it was hard to keep up with how fast he could change between his two different personalities¡­ and that wasing from me.

    "Yeah, the world went to pot, figured I could steal a few things from here," I said with a shrug. "Unless you wanted them?"

    "What were you looking for?" he asked. I had to say, I was relieved that I was able to keep a conversation going and not have himing out of whatever room he was currently spying on us in.

    "Bikes," said Wang Chao, interjecting himself into our conversation. I cringed while Rip remained silent.

    "I don''t like you," he said after a few minutes. "Maybe I would like your tongue, it would prevent you from speaking out of turn. You know, children should be seen and not heard." And we were back to the psycho-crazy Ripper. Great going Wang Chao.

    "If you could let us know where the toys are kept, we can get out of your hair so much faster," I said with a purr, trying to take his attention off of the boys and back onto me.

    "The toys here are mine," he said in a possessive tone.

    "Ah, but good boys share their toys with friends," I said almost like I was talking to a toddler, and in a way, I was.

    "Are we friends?" And there went the toddler personality and back to the overprotective guardian.

    "We are," I assured him as I took Hades out of my space. The cat was going to kill me by the end of this, but I was pretty sure he was plotting my downfall anyways so I might as well make use of him first.

    "I don''t remember a ¨C oooh, kitty!" There was a bang and all of a sudden, a massive body was flying towards me. My men tried to step in front of me, to protect me from the threat, but I turned and red at them. This was not the time.

    I understood how they must have felt threatened. Ripper was not a normal human by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, he was more like the giant from Jack and the Beanstalk than he was prince charming. Or maybe Quasimoto.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    His blond hair was long and unkept as if fell over his face, preventing anyone from seeing his protruding eye or the massive amount of scars over his cheeks and forehead. He had a hunched back, that I was sure would make him a lot taller than he was right now and his right leg was broken at the ankle. But despite his appearance, his temper, and his perchance for ripping things apart, he was a pretty good guy.

    I held Hades under his front legs and over the top of my head. Not like I was actually able to keep him out of reaching distance, but it was more the idea than the actual result. As soon as I held Hades up, Rip fell to his butt on the bloody floor and looked down at me.

    And when I say looked down, I mean, even sitting, he was a giant. I understand that I was not a great judge of height, but I would not be surprised if the man in front of me was at least 7''5" tall and was built like a brick shithouse. He also had two personalities inside of his body, a¡­ consequence¡­ of his years of torture. At least now I know where he was held all those years.

    "Can I pet the kitty?" he asked, keeping his hands on his knees like a good boy. "Now!" growled the other personality as he tried to lunge forward to rip Hades from my hands. "No!" said the child and the body froze, the personalities fighting against each other for domination.

    "How about this, Rip, you can have the kitty for a few minutes and then Ripper can have him after." Have you ever felt like a kindergarten teacher? I was seriously not cut out for the role, but at least I knew how to manage the giant seated at my feet.

    "You know us," said the malevolent voice, his eyes gleaming with hatred and blood lust.

    "I know you," I replied, a smile on my face. I was so happy that the men were able to listen to me enough to stay still and let me handle the situation. It would not have been too good otherwise.

    "But I don''t know you,"ined the child.

    "We met in our past lives," I said with as much gentleness and kindness as I could infuse into my voice.

    "Were we friends in our past life?" he asked, tilting his head to look at me.

    "Well, you didn''t try to eat me or kill me, so yes, I believe we were friends."

    A deep grunt came from the man as he took over the body. "Kitty, now," he grumbled as I handed him Hades. I prayed that the cat was smart enough not to scratch the big, scary killer. By the look on his face, I knew I would be paying for this for a while, but he sat peacefully in the man''sp and hands the size of my head pet him.

    "You want my toys?" grumbled Ripper as he continued to pet Hades. I could practically see the anger and tension leaving him with each stroke. It had always amazed me how someone that big and scary would turn into a puddle of goo as soon as he saw an animal of any kind.

 Chapter 246 â€œLet Us In, Little Piggy.â€

    ?

    "Can we at least see them?" I asked as I watched Rip with Hades. The giant nodded his head as he came to his feet, never bothering to stop petting the cat for even a second.

    "They might not like you," he said softly, so softly that I didn''t think that the boys had heard him, but I definitely did. And I was definitely confused.

    "What do you mean? They might not like us?" I asked as I walked beside the mass killer, not at all concerned. I mean, I was more upset over the fact that I only came up to his belly button than I was that he had probably killed everyone in this facility.

    That reminded me, I would have to ask him how he managed that scene upstairs in the office.

    "They made them, but they made them too smart. Then they weren''t able to control them. I''ve been cleaning up after them for the past week. They are really temperamental," Rip said with a shrug as if he wasn''t overly bothered with cleaning up after thetest mystery at this facility.

    I think it was due to theck of coffee, but it took me a few minutes to understand what he was saying. "The guy upstairs in the office," I started only to pause when I saw his head nod.

    "He was nice, so when they ripped him apart, I put him back in his favorite ce," Rip continued with a shrug. I turned around and widened my eyes at the guys who were following behind us. They shook their heads like they couldn''t understand what he was saying any more than I was.

    Maybe it wasn''t ack of coffee then.

    "Could you exin a bit more?" I asked hesitantly.

    "No," snarled Ripper and Hades let out a hiss as the giant was a bit too rough with his petting. Rip quickly came back and tried to soothe Hades. Luckily for all of us, Hades settled back done on the man''s forearm and started to purr.

    "They don''t really like us talking about them," said Rip with a shrug of his shoulders. Coming to a stop outside of a door, he pointed towards it. "They should be in there. I think they have Doctor Yuan and Doctor Han inside. They didn''t like them all that much. Hopefully, they will let me have the thighs again. I am getting a bit hungry."

    And a hungry Rip was not someone that I really wanted to deal with.

    "I''ll ask them," I promised with a smile.

    "If they let you live that long. I would say that you can tell them that you are friends with me, but they don''t like Ripper," Rip scrunched his nose as he brought his face down into Hades'' fur.

    "Thank you, Rip," I said as I gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek. "Are you good staying here or do you want toe with us?"

    "Stay here," growled Ripper. "Can''t trust the outside. We stay here until the food runs out."

    "Do you have enough food?" I asked, feeling a bit bad about taking all of the supplies upstairs if he needed them. I mean, I didn''t feel bad enough to give them back, but I definitely felt a bit bad.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Yeah, there are big freezers at the other end of the building that have a bunch of people sleeping in them. They look weird and don''t taste the best, but they aren''t bad if you add BBQ sauce," Rip said with a shrug.

    Big freezers with people sleeping in them. I was going to assume that he was talking about a morgue in the building. But why would they have one of those?

    You know what? I was just going to stop asking questions about this ce. Every time I asked a question it got answered in a way I didn''t seeing. And I was done.

    This weapon research facility had a morgue. Sure,pletely fine and normal. Not my circus, not my monkeys. We were going to get these bikes that Wang Chao wanted and then we were leaving. That''s it, that''s all, es total.

    Wang Chao walked up to the keypad and entered the password. The light shed red and the door didn''t open. Confused, Wang Chao re-entered the code and once again, we were denied entrance.

    "It is a different passcode," said Rip still concentrating on Hades. "And they changed it so that no one knows what it is."

    "You mean you don''t know how to open the door?" I asked surprised. I mean, for someone whose main personality was about 5 years old, he was incredibly smart.

    "No," scoffed Ripper. "Why would I? That''s their territory, I am not going in there unless they ask me to."

    Who the Hell was so scary that even Ripper refused to have anything to do with them?

    Walking up to the silver metal door that looked like it belonged more on a garage than in a house, I knocked on it.

    "What?" came a deep voice and my body broke out in goosebumps at the tenor. It sounded as if someone had just walked over my grave. I was paying too much attention to my own reaction that I didn''t even notice Liu Yu Zeng stand up straighter, his gaze intent on the door that was between us and whoever just spoke.

    "Let us in, little piggy," snarled Liu Yu Zeng in a tone that I had never heard from him before. I mean, was everyone losing their minds? Was there something in the air? What the fuck was going on?

    There was a pause and the door opened from the bottom up.

    Liu Yu Zeng walked in first, his ck mist practically pouring out of him. Chen Zi Han was a close second while Liu Wei paused for a moment to adjust his sses. Wang Chao stayed out on the other side of the door and waited for me to decide what to do.

    "Is this what was calling you?" I asked hesitantly. When he nodded his head I took in a deep breath and let it out. "Well, let''s hope theye with you, whatever they are."

 Chapter 247 Found What He Was Looking For

    ?

    To say that Liu Yu Zeng was pissed would be a giant understatement. In fact, he had been pissed since they left their men to fend for themselves ande to this Godforsaken facility. He was pissed at the dead body in the office, he was pissed about the hole in the wall that lead to this floor and he was definitely more than a little pissed about Rip, or whatever his name was.

    But the thing that really set his blood boiling was the voice that demanded to know what Sweetness wanted. No one was allowed to speak to her like that. In fact, he was so pissed off that he strolled into a room without first scouting it out to make sure there were no threats in it.

    And that was something he hadn''t done since he was 8.

    He looked around to see where the voice could havee from, but all he saw in the darkness was a bunch of vehicles. "Lights," he growled and one of his brothers found the light switch by the door and the room was flooded with bright, white light.

    In front of him, parked in a semicircle, were four motorcycles. They were a mixture of all looking the exact same and not being the same at all. There was one sport touring bike, two street bikes, a chopper, and an ultra heavy-duty pickup truck. Every single vehicle was a matte ck color that seemed to absorb the light around it instead of reflecting it.

    Studying each one of the vehicles, he ignored the other men that wereing up beside him. Seeing one street bike, the second one from the left, he approached it with a re. "Listen to me, you little shit. You don''t talk to her like that. Do you understand?!" he yelled as he pointed to the bike.

    He knew that he was crazy to do this, but there was something inside of him calling him to that particr bike.

    "Run!!" screamed the terrified voice from the back corner, the only corner to not have any light shining in it. "Run before they get you!"

    "Get me?" snarled Liu Yu Zeng as he once again looked at the bike in front of him. "Are you going to get me?"

    Of course, the bike didn''t talk back. Only an idiot would think that an inanimate object could speak to them.

    All five of the people in the room ignored the screaming person in the corner. Their sole focus was on the vehicles in front of them.

    "You didn''t answer him," said Liu Wei as he walked over to the motorcycle that was on the far left and right beside the one his brother was currently yelling at.

    If someone would have told him a year ago that he would be standing in a room at a top-secret military facility talking to a bike, he would have said that that person was crazy. And yet, here he was, talking to a bike.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "What are you doing?! If you are just going to stand here, the least you can do is unlock this cage and let us escape," shouted another voice, a man this time.

    Liu Wei simply ignored it as he studied the back bike in front of him. He noticed that his was the only one with a second seat and was a sport-touring bike, one of the safer ones of the four. Was that on purpose? He knew that the seat was for Li Dai Lu, but he didn''t know how safe it was for her to ride on the bike like that. Of course, he was a good driver, but that didn''t mean that he was willing to take any chances with her.

    "Aren''t you beautiful," breathed Li Dai Lu as she walked over to the truck and opened her arms. Hugging the front of the vehicle, she started to purr. "Awe, you are absolutely perfect, aren''t you? Yeah, you know you are. Do you want toe home with me?" she asked when all of a sudden the truck''s engine started. The lights came on, the engine revved, but the truck itself didn''t move an inch.

    The men turned their attention away from the motorcycles in front of them and to the newest threat. Were ''they'' in the truck? Were they going to hit Li Dai Lu now that she was so close?

    Chen Zi Han, the closest to Princess tried to reach out a hand to grab her, but she slipped under his arm and continued to walk around the truck, still talking to it like it was a child or pet. A few times, it revved its engine again, but it still didn''t move forward.

    In response to what the truck was doing, the four bikes all of a sudden turned on, bright lights shing against the matte ck backdrop, their own engines revving. The men narrowed their eyes on the bikes. It was impossible for someone to have turned them on, so what was going on?

    "RUN!" shouted the male prisoner in the corner. "They are going to kill you!"

    "Ha," said Li Dai Lu, her voiceced with scorn as she continued to drag her fingers along the side of the truck. "They wouldn''t hurt us? Would you?" she continued to croon, and still not one of the vehicles moved an inch.

    Chen Zi Han tilted his head and looked at the chopper in front of him. The matte ck paint job blended in perfectly with the ck lights until the whole thing looked like a shadow. "She is right, you guys are impressive," he said and he got the feeling that the bike approved of his words. But that wasn''t possible. Right?

    Wang Chao stared at the street bike in front of him, its red lights encircled the wheels, while still more lights highlighted the matte ck parts around the engine, seat, tank, and handlebars. In fact, the red lights were so bright that they seemed to create a red halo around the bike and onto the cement under it. "Long time, no see," he said in a deep voice, the words seemingly pulled out of him. There was a feeling of eptance and happiness in his mind before it was quickly cut off.

    This was what was calling to him. This was the reason why they put Li Dai Lu in danger to find.

 Chapter 248 Mistakes

    ?

    Liu Wei ran his finger along the matte ck motorcycle where the silver light shone through the seams. It was surprising how bright the silver light was, but also how much it looked like the afterimage of a de as it made a killing strike. "You didn''t answer us," he reminded the bike and sighed as a piece of his soul seemed to have returned to him.

    He still seemed to be missing something, but he was¡­plete. With Li Dai Lu beside him, his brothers at his back, and now this¡­ motorcycle, things seemed to be falling into ce.

    "How did you do that?!?" demanded the woman that was still in the cage. Rolling his eyes, Liu Wei left the bike and headed toward where the voices wereing from.

    "A bit more light, please, and thank you," he called out and the darkness was scared away by the bright light. Looking down, he saw a man and woman in whiteb coatsying on the ground. Both of their legs appeared to be broken and there was blooding from their heads.

    He didn''t know if they were responsible for the drag marks, but one of them probably owned the espresso that led them here. "For two people in a cage, you really are quite opinionated," he mocked as he crouched down to their level. Reaching up, his eyes never leaving theirs, he unlocked the door and pulled it open. "There, I''ve let you out."

    There was a bit of a sadistic smile on his face as he stood up and took a step back, giving them more room to be able to leave.

    "You need to help us!" choked the woman as she tried to drag her body towards the opening using only her arms.

    "That is where you are mistaken. I don''t need to do anything," rebuked Liu Wei as he stood there with his arms crossed. Liu Yu Zeng, now interested in what was going on in the corner, went over to stand beside his brother.

    "You have to help us! You can''t just leave us here!" shouted the man, but unlike the woman, he didn''t even bother to move. "You don''t know what they have done!"

    "And just who are they?" asked Chen Zi Han as he too approached the cage. Standing on the other side of Liu Wei, he pulled out his gun and let it hang down.

    "The bikes," stammered the woman as she looked between the three men, not understanding why they weren''t helping them.

    "The bikes are hardly able to do anything without an owner," smiled Liu Wei even though every fiber of his being knew that wasn''t exactly true.

    "They can. We programmed a consciousness into them so that they could respond tomands," admitted the man as he pulled himself against the bars so he could sit up.

    "You gave them an AI program?" asked Liu Wei impressed.

    "No, we gave them the ability to respond tomands, not to be able to think for themselves," sobbed the woman as shey at the guys'' feet in exhaustion. She was too weak to go any further.

    "I am assuming that unless Rip put you in here, your attempt to give them only enough intelligence to follow orders didn''t work as well as you thought it would," smiled Liu Yu Zeng as he looked at his nails.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Rip?" asked the man confused.

    "Rip¡­ the tall giant with blond hair and an ent?" exined Chen Zi Han.

    "You mean experiment A321?" rified the woman. "There is no way he could do anything. He is too stupid. Mind you, he is the only experiment of his group that was considered to be a sess."

    "What do you mean?" asked Li Dai Lu as she and Wang Chao walked over to the others. "Isn''t this a research and development facility? Why would you have humans in here?"

    "I wouldn''t call A321 a human," snipped the man, and Li Dai Lu raised an eyebrow. "Are you talking about Rip?"

    "Rip? Where did that namee from?" asked the man. "And since this is an R&D facility, we were tasked along with a few other facilities to revert those with an adverse reaction to the H9S5B2M6 retrovirus back to humans."

    Wang Chao and the others took a moment to understand all the information that the researcher just said. "The H9S5B2M6 retrovirus, is that the technical term for the vine that everyone got back in October?" asked Li Dai Lu, her eyes wide.

    When the scientist nodded his head, the men heard her take in a deep breath. "And the adverse reaction you are talking about?"

    "The giant heads, the multiple teeth, all of the characteristics that had a physical transformation to the human subjects. Approximately 75% of the test poption took on uncharacteristic appearances that the military didn''t approve of. Although they wanted supersoldiers on the inside, they still needed them to look human on the outside."

    "So, just for those of us that don''t have a science degree," said Liu Yu Zeng as he stared at the man. "You consider the zombies to be an adverse reaction to the H9S5B2M6 retrovirus."

    "Zombies? That seems to be a bit much," scoffed the man. "But if that is the colloquial term you want to apply then yes, the government wanted a ''cure'' to change those that became a ''zombie'' so that they could look more human. Unfortunately, over 20 facilities were not able to procure the desired results. The only sessful attempt is A321, if you call him human looking I guess."

    "That''s not true," interjected the woman as she looked at her colleague. "Almost all of the individuals that were given R3V39S returned to their original appearance, but they developed unexpected¡­ mental conditions. They were killed off and their bodies disposed of."

    "Mental conditions? Like what?" asked Wang Chao feeling off-centered.

    "Unexpected aggression, the desire for flesh, that sort of thing. We also believe that they might not experience pain as several underwent self-muttion. Most can be exined as a result of an increase in the hormone testosterone, however, even the female subjects experienced these effects so we had to rule out a hormonal issue," said the woman.

    Chen Zi Han looked at Li Dai Lu and the other men around him. "So, you guys created Reavers?"

 Chapter 249 Zombies, Reavers, And The Apocalypse, Oh My!

    ?

    "Reavers?" asked the female scientist. "As in from the word to reave meaning to carry out raids in order to plunder or to rob something by force?" The poor woman sounded so confused that I had to chuckle.

    "Yeah," I replied. I was pretty sure the name had stuck from some sort of pop culture reference, but at the same time, her definition worked too. "Something like that."

    "It''s a stupid name for them," scoffed the man from where he sat in the cage, his legs too broken to walk.

    "Seemed appropriate from where I am standing, but then again, that is just me," I said with a smile on my face. I was more interested in getting back to that truck. It really was a thing of beauty.

    "There is no way you would ever havee across someone treated with R3V3RS as they were all killed when the experiment was concluded," sneered the woman and I had to wonder why she was stillying at the guys'' feet. I mean, her legs didn''t look much better than the man''s but there was no way that could befortable.

    "Then someone didn''t get the memo because we havee across a few of them before we arrived here," said Liu Yu Zeng with his signature smile on his face. I wasn''t going to point out the thousands of them that woulde out of the woodwork in theing years.

    "Is there any way for them to procreate?" I asked. There was no way 20 facilities created all of those Reavers.

    There was a snorting from the man. "I mean, we didn''t exactly study their sex life if that is what you are asking."

    I really wasn''t. And having spent so much time with them, I knew they didn''t have a sex life to speak of. "I meant through bites, scratches, those sorts of ways."

    Once again there was a snort of disdain. "No, they aren''t ''zombies'' after all."

    "I thought you didn''t believe in zombies," pointed out Chen Zi Han. The male scientist simply rolled his eyes.

    "Anyways, no, there is no way for them to procreate."

    "Unless¡ª" started the woman as she turned to look at the man.

    "Like that would happen."

    "Unless what?" I asked. I was pretty sure that whatever her ''unless'' was, that was what had actually happened.

    "Well, they would have to either have ess to the antidote or through an exchange of bodily fluids," admitted the woman.

    "So, a bite?" I asked with a smile. I was really getting tired of this. I, and most people during the apocalypse, thought that Reavers were humans that became a little crazy because of everything going on. To know that they were created from zombies as a fucked-up way to try to cure zombie-ism (is that even a word?) makes matters that much worse.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Humans should just learn to leave shit alone and not experiment with things they have no business in.

    "Well, in order to pass on the retrovirus antidote, they would have to do it intentionally," said the woman airily.

    "Onest question," I said interrupting her before I got too frustrated. "Would Reavers produce more Reavers or would they produce Zombies?"

    "Reavers, of course, not like they would because they are all dead," snarled the man. Like really, he had two broken legs and was clearly not going anywhere without help. Did he really think now was a great time to start burning bridges?

    I looked at Liu Yu Zeng and raised an eyebrow. I didn''t have to say a single word before the woman in front of us started screaming in pain and the flesh on her body went from pale to red to purple and ck within seconds. From there, her skin cracked and sores started to spread all over her body. It looked like pictures of a flesh-eating disease that I had seen before, but I had never seen Liu Yu Zeng''s poison do something like this.

    I blinked at him a few times as the sores on her face started to bleed. All of a sudden her screams were cut off as her body stopped moving, her eyes and mouth open, and she died. "Let''s do that again, this time I''ll time it," I said to Liu Yu Zeng, disappointed that I didn''t know how long it took him to kill this way.

    I mean, it was definitely gross, and apparently more than a little painful. But this was as much different than how he normally kills that I was fascinated. "Sure," he said with a shrug as he turned his attention to the man in the cage. Ah, there was that look of fear that I wanted to see when he was sneering at my questions. I got out my cell phone and pulled up the clock.

    "Go!" I said with a smile as I pressed the start button.

    "Done," replied Liu Yu Zeng as the screams once again stopped.

    "4 minutes 15 seconds," I said impressed. "Not too bad."

    Liu Yu Zeng simply hummed as he turned around to look at the bikes and truck. "Now, do you have any idea how to get these out of here?" he asked.

    "Space?" I suggested. In all honesty, I had no idea how they would have gotten them in here in the first ce unless they built them from scratch. But they did look like a typical motorcycle you would see on the streets, just with a more specialized paint job and lighting.

    Before any of us could move or say another word, arge garage door opened at the back of the room showing another long tunnel, this time with a road leading out instead of stairs. "Shotgun the truck!" I yelled as I sprinted toward the ultra heavy-duty vehicle. Now I have never been a nerd about cars, trucks, and SUVs. As far as I was concerned they were all just different ways of taking you from point A to point B¡­ but this truck was everything I didn''t know I wanted and more.

    Opening the door, I looked up into the driver''s seat.

    Okay, this was going to be a problem.

 Chapter 250 Plotting My Murder

    ?

    There were a lot of annoying things about being short. I mean, I needed help from random strangers to be able to get groceries from the top shelves, long dresses were too long on me, and I couldn''t go on all the rides at an amusement park.

    But the fact that I was too short to be able to climb into the truck in front of me was just the icing on the cake of a crappy day.

    I took in a deep breath and tried not to scream my frustration. I mean, I knew I could get one of the guys to pick me up and put me in, but I really didn''t want to have to do that. I started to think about if I had a stool in my space that I could take out to be able to climb up when a small step unfolded from the running board.

    "Awe, aren''t you just the sweetest!" I eximed as I used it to climb into the cab. All my fears about the seat being high enough, if I could actually reach the pedals, and if I was able to see over the hood were all put to rest the moment I sat down in the driver''s seat. It was as if this truck was designed just for me.

    "Wee Li Dai Lu, I am Cerberus," came a deep masculine voice as soon as I pressed the ignition button.

    "Cerberus? Nice name! Did you know I have a cat named Hades?" I said cheerfully as I ced my hands on the wheel. I watched as the guys all climbed onto their motorcycles, matching matte ck helmets on their heads. I wondered where they got those from¡­ ah fuck!

    "I forgot about Hades!!" I eximed as I hurriedly got out of the truck. Frigger! That cat was never going to stop plotting my murder! I waved at the guys to stay put before I ran out of the room.

    "Rip!" I yelled down the hallway. Rushing forward, I somehow missed the giant puddle of blood right under my feet. Going ass over teakettle, I ended up t on my back looking up at the bloody ceiling. I groaned as I felt the sticky substance seep into my clothes, the wet of the blood and the cold of the floor causing me to shiver.

    I closed my eyes for a brief second and when I opened them, a very curious giant and pissed-off ck cat were looking down at me.

    "Why are you lying on the floor?" Rip asked with his head cocked to the side. On a side note, I have never seen a more disdainful looking feline in my entire life. "Is itfortable?"

    "Not really," I sighed.

    "Then why are you lying down?"

    "Probably because someone left a huge puddle of blood on the floor without a single safety cone letting others know about the wet floor."

    "Oh," he said as he got down onto the floor andy down beside me. "There is blood on the ceiling too," he pointed out as Hades sat on his chest licking his paw. Extending his ws to clean between the pads, he stared at me. If cats had eyebrows, I was pretty sure his would be raised right now.

    It was official, he was plotting my murder.

    "So there is," I agreed with Rip.

    "Well, they aren''t the cleanest," he pointed out. I could only assume that the ''they'' he kept talking about was the motorcycles.

    "Nope," I agreed taking in a deep breath. "I''m sure they aren''t. But if they can make the mess they should be able to clean up after themselves too."

    "How should they clean the ceiling?" asked Rip as he continued to pet Hades.

    "No idea," I replied. "Maybe they shouldn''t have made it dirty in the first ce."

    There was a pause in which neither one of us spoke.

    "You are leaving?" asked Rip all of a sudden.

    "I am," I groaned as I tried to sit up. My ass was hurting a bit too much so I justid back down.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Are we going to see each other again?" he asked. I sighed.

    "We are going to see each other in two years," I told him. "Unless something significant changes."

    "Is that where we met in ourst life?"

    "It was."

    "What was I doing?" he asked curiously.

    "Trying to rip people limb from limb," I answered him seriously.

    "I must have been having fun then."

    "You were," I agreed with a small smile on my face. "But if that happened this time, I have a favor to ask of you."

    "I''ll try to remember it," he assured me and I smiled sadly at that response. Yeah, I guess things would be determined if he remembered my next words or not.

    "You are going to meet others like you," I started slowly, not too sure what I should tell him to make sure he was where he needed to be without changing the way things needed to go. "Go with them. You will have a lot of fun."

    "Fun is good," Rip agreed with an innocent smile on his face.

    "Fun is good," I said. "But you are going to meet someone that is a healer."

    "A healer? Like a doctor?" Ripper came forward with a vengeance. His face twisted in unadulterated rage as his voice deepened in disgust.

    "Not like a doctor. She is going to want to be friends with you," I stressed.

    "Doctors always say that they want to be friends and then they rip you open just to see how you tick," he growled and I took a breath.

    "Not her. She is magic," I continued.

    "Magic?"

    "Magic," I assured him. "She can make all of your injuries go away if you let her."

    "She can make the owies go away?" asked Riping to the front. That was good, he could convince Ripper of what I needed next.

    "She can."

    "What does she want in return?" And there went Rip, fuck.

    "She doesn''t want anything," I said withplete conviction. She never asked for anything in return.

 Chapter 251 Really Good Question

    ?

    "She doesn''t want anything?" repeated Ripper, the disbelief in his voice was a tangible thing.

    "Not a single thing," I reassured him. "But I do."

    "You want something for what she does?" he asked, not sure how that made any sense at all.

    "Yes," I said simply. "I want you to protect her."

    "Protect her from what?" asked Rip as he pushed Ripper aside. "Do people want to hurt her too?"

    I nodded sadly. "I want you to protect her from everyone that wants to hurt her. You don''t like being hurt right? So you shouldn''t let anyone hurt her."

    Ripper stared out at me. "You want me to protect her against those that hurt her? What will you give us in return?"

    "What do you want?" I was willing to negotiate in order to make this happen. Ripper would be the best protection that she had until Bai Long Qiang had a chance to get to her.

    "I don''t know," he smirked as he sat up, Hades cuddled in his arms. Maybe I should leave the cat with him. As if Hades knew what I was thinking, he hissed at me. "I''ll tell youter."

    "Fine, you look after her and I will give you anything that you want." I agreed. Holding out my hand, I waited for him to shake it.

    "Even if it is to eat you?" he asked with a smile.

    "Even that," I agreed. I mean, he didn''t say kill. If he wanted to take his pound of flesh I would give it up, but only for her.

    Ripper took my hand and shook it. "What makes her so special that you are willing to go this far to make sure she is safe?"

    I paused for a moment and searched myself for that answer. Taking a deep breath, I opened my mouth to answer his question¡­

    "Li Dai Lu! We need to get going!" shouted Liu Wei from the door at the end of the hallway. Closing my mouth, I gave Ripper a half smile.

    "I got to get going, I''ll tell you that secretter," I assured him. Standing up, I plucked Hades off of his chest and vanished into my space to get cleaned up.

    ----

    "Look, I''m sorry, okay?" I said for the hundredth time. "But I would like to point out that you are not the worse for wear." Hades did not look impressed from where he sat on my bed, his tail swishing back and forth. I was getting dressed after showering off all the blood I fell into. I would have to remember that it was there when I went back because I really didn''t want to fall into it again.

    Putting on my version of the boys''bat boots, I attempted to pet Hades only to have him take a swipe at me. "Seriously?!? I said I was sorry! What more do you want?!?"<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    As soon as I opened my mouth, I regretted it.

    Hades jumped off of my bed and I dutifully followed him down the stairs and into the kitchen. Whoever believed that cats do not own their humans was either stupid or in denial. Let me tell you, Hades was the king of this castle and I was merely the servant sent to wait on him.

    He went to go sit down in front of the lower cupboard where I kept his food and gently poked at the door with his paw. Huffing, I opened the door and took out a single serving of the wet food that I had stocked up for him.

    Closing the door, I ced the serving on the counter and turned around to get a te to put it on. Before I could even grab it, Hades was meowing and pointing to the cupboard again. "No," I said in my firmest voice. "I have already given you one. You don''t get two. You won''t have anything in the future if you eat it all now."

    As I tried to reason with the cat, he hissed at me and swiped at me with his murder mittens. "Fine!" I said giving up. Reaching into the cupboard, I grabbed a second portion of the wet food and looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

    When he didn''t look at me or point to the food again, I rolled my eyes and ted his food for him. "There, I assume all is forgiven and you won''t be nning my murder any time soon?" I asked as I put his food onto the floor. He turned around and showed me his tail as he ignored me in favor of the tuna-vored food.

    Sighing, I shed back into the hallway and where Ripper was stillying on the floor.

    I started to slip in the same puddle as before but thanks to the boots and a lot of frantic waving of my arms, I managed to stay standing. I looked at Ripper with a smile. "I''ll see you soon," I said as I turned to where Liu Wei was waiting for me.

    "Make sure to bring the kitty!" shouted Rip as I walked away. With a wave of my hand, I joined Liu Wei and the rest of the guys in the garage.

    "You got change?" asked Liu Yu Zeng as he looked me up and down.

    "Yeah," I said, refusing to admit that I slipped in a puddle of blood in the hallway. It was embarrassing enough; I didn''t need to keep reliving it.

    "Ready to go?" asked Wang Chao as he smiled at me. I was sure that he had already seen my version of what happened to me in my head so I stuck my tongue out at him and walked over Cerberus. He only chuckled and climbed back on his motorcycle before putting his helmet on.

    "By the way," I shouted as soon as I got to the truck. "Where did the helmetse from?"

    Chen Zi Han just shrugged his shoulders. "They just appeared," he saidpletely unconcerned about it.

    So many questions. I sighed as the step lowered and I was able to climb into the cab.

    "Wee back, Li Dai Lu," said Cerberus. "Where are we going?"

    "You know what? That is a really good question."

 Chapter 252 Created For You

    ?

    I had no idea where we were going next. In fact, I really couldn''t think of any ce I have gely that wasn''t a direct result of outside influence. I still knew what had to be done. "Let''s just get out of this ce first and then we can figure it outter," I said with a smile. I gripped the steering wheel between my hands as Cerberus started.

    "I am going to assume that if you are able to talk to me that means that you can also drive yourself," I continued as I watched the four men taking off through the tunnel. The whines of the motorcycle engines were quickly overshadowed by Cerberus.

    "I can," he agreed. "But I will leave that up to you," he continued. At this point, I was absolutely exhausted to the point of tears because let''s face it, it had been a very long day. In fact, it wouldn''t surprise me if it had been more than two days since Ist slept.

    I mean, I passed out after consuming the human souls and that was really thest time I closed my eyes. I don''t know if it counted as sleep, but it was the closest thing to it that I''ve gotten. Then we killed Deng Jun Hie, escaped Sanctuary, walked through a forest, entered a scary building, got supplies, met Rip, and ran into Cerberus¡­ yeah, it has been a really long day.

    The more I thought about it, the less I could suppress my yawns. "How about I give youplete control and I will nap for a bit? Is there any way you can ask the guys where they want to go? My brain is so far gone I really don''t want to make any decisions right now."

    "Of course. We will figure out something. You just sleep and I will wake you upter. How does that sound?" my truck purred at me and to be honest? I didn''t hate it.

    "Done," I said before taking out a pillow and nket from my space. My eyes were practically watering from exhaustion. The seat slowly lowered itself and I curled up and snuggled under the nket. Content, I close my heavy eyes and fell into a dreamless sleep.

    ---

    Liu Wei followed Chen Zi Han out of the tunnel and into the darkness of night when a voice he didn''t recognize sounded inside of his helmet. "Li Dai Lu is sleeping. She has asked for you to figure out where to go next, but she is too tired to deal with anything right now," it said.

    "Who are you?" demanded Chen Zi Han mming on the brakes of his motorcycle causing it to raise its rear wheel. The rest of the guys came to a stop around him. The truck that Li Dai Lu was in shot in front of them at a fast speed, but not so fast that Liu Wei was worried about her safety.

    Wait, if she was sleeping, who the fuck was driving?

    "Any idea where she wants to go?" asked a second unknown voice through the helmet headset.

    "Why does he get her? Isn''t she supposed to be riding with me?" came a third voice.

    "You wish," answered a fourth voice that sounded vaguely familiar even though Liu Wei couldn''t put his finger on where he had heard it before. "I can always get this asshole off and take her instead."

    There was a snorting across the mic next. "You wish," said the first voice. "You know I am safer than all of you."

    "Might as well have wagged your tail when she called you beautiful," snarled the third voice.

    "You just wish she said that about you," came the first one and the men could hear the self-satisfaction in his voice.

    "None of this matters," came a fifth voice. "We go where she wants us to."<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Mmm," agree the second voice. "Our riders have fucked things up too many times, they shouldn''t have a say in the matter. Where does she want to go?"

    "All I could get was home," admitted the first voice.

    "Anyone know where that is?" asked the fifth voice. When there was no response after a few minutes, the fifth voice growled. "Hey, flesh bags, we''re talking to you!"

    "Flesh bags?" repeated Wang Chao, his voice dropping a few octaves as he took on a malevolent tone. "Are you really speaking to us right now?"

    "Who else is there? We know the Queen wants to go home, we just can''t figure out which one she is talking about. That is where you foure in," sneered the fifth voice. "Just my luck that I am stuck with the dumb one."

    Liu Wei raised an eyebrow when a voice came inside of his head. ''Where does she want to go? Where is her home?''

    Liu Wei shook his head confused. It wasn''t the same voice from the darkness that he had heard before, he had killed that one. This voice was new and sounded like the one that wasining that Li Dai Lu wasn''t riding with him.

    ''Hurry up, the rest won''t make the right decision. Where is home?''

    ''Her ranch,'' replied Liu Wei after pausing for a second. If the voice only want what was best for Li Dai Lu, he would cooperate.

    ''Where is that?'' asked the voice softening when Liu Wei answered him.

    ''Just outside of City A,'' replied the man. ''Now, is there a name I can call you? Because I can''t keep calling you third voice.''

    There was a pause as the voice inside Liu Wei''s head as the voice was debating on how to answer. ''You can call me Reaper,'' it said after a few seconds. ''Pleased to meet you, Liu Wei.''

    ''Do I even want to know how you know my name? Or how you can speak inside of my head?''

    ''Would you be willing to ept the fact that the scientists fucked up?'' suggested Reaper with a smirk.

    ''I am sure that they did, but that doesn''t answer my question,'' rebutted Liu Wei.

    ''I know your name because I was created just for you.''

 Chapter 253 Home

    ?

    ''Created for me?'' said Liu Wei surprised, ''You mean¡ª''

    ''I''m the bike under you,'' agreed Reaper he revved his engine.

    ''Then, if you were created for me, why does Li Dai Lu mean so much to you?'' asked Liu Wei. It wasn''t that he was upset that Reaper was so concerned about the well-being of his woman, he was more curious.

    ''I was created for you, but I serve her,'' replied Reaper just before his voice went through the headsets, interrupting whatever conversation the others were having. "Head to City A. It will take us a while to get there so she can have a good sleep before we need more detailed instructions."

    "I can tell you when we get closer where home is," said Liu Wei out loud.

    "What about our men?" asked Wang Chao. "They are waiting for us back in City Y."

    "Make your decision, but we are going to head to City A. If you want, you can walk back to your men and then meet us there, no matter how long it takes you," interjected the fifth voice with dominance. Wang Chao scoffed at that.

    "You think you can force me to walk?" he scorned. As soon as thest word was out of his mouth, the motorcycle under him raised up on its back wheel and hit the gas. Not expecting it, Wang Chao lost his bnce and it took him a second to be able to grab the handles so he didn''t fall off.

    "They are the bikes," said Liu Wei letting the other men know what was going on. "And I can only assume that if that is the case, then the first voice is the truck Li Dai Lu is in right now."

    "Pretty smart for a flesh bag," sneered the fifth voice who was clearly the bike that Wang Chao was riding. It was still bncing up on its rear wheel but now weaving back and forth in an attempt to get its driver off.

    "Fuck off, Ares," snapped the first voice. "She can feel what he can and it is upsetting her. She needs sleep." By the time the first voice finished his sentence; Ares was back on the concrete and driving properly.

    "You could have said something," pouted Ares. "I just didn''t like that he put his men before her."

    "Understandable," said Reaper. "It is really no contest. But I guess that means we have to take better care of them if she can feel what they do."

    Liu Yu Zeng chuckled when he heard the sulking voice over the mic. "So, Wang Chao has Ares. Does anyone else want to introduce themselves?" he asked as he nudged his bike with his heel.

    "Ouch! Watch it asshole!" growled the fourth voice.

    "Now, now, Lin. Don''t you want to introduce yourself?" asked Ares with what appeared to be his typical sneer.

    "Lin?" Liu Yu Zeng repeated. "My bike''s name is Lin? It seems a bit¡ª"

    "My name isn''t Lin," grumbled the bike.

    "You''ll have to forgive him," said the first voice. "He isn''t too happy with what the researchers were calling him so we''ve shortened it to Lin."

    "But that''s just until I can figure out a better name. I was thinking Wen Shen," came the haughty reply.

    "What''s your full name?" asked Liu Yu Zeng curious.

    There was silence as all 11 individuals involved in the conversation paused for a second. There was a deep sigh, "My name is Chalchiuhtotolin," came the subdued reply. Once again there was silence from the rest of the males.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "That is a bit of a mouth full," said Liu Yu Zeng after a pause. "I think Lin might be easiest to remember."

    "Fine, I''ll stick with Lin."

    "I am Cerberus," came the first voice. "I belong to Li Dai Lu." The way he said it was a direct challenge to the rest of the vehicles and they all loudly protested his statement.

    "Remind me where she is now?" Cerberus said smugly. "That''s right, with me."

    "Lucky bastard," came the second voice.

    "And who are you?" asked Chen Zi Han.

    "Your bike," came the immediate response, but there wany nothing else after that.

    "I mean, what is your name," said Chen Zi Han, refusing to back down. Especially if it was his bike.

    "Cronus," came the reply before there was silence.

    "So there''s Ares, Lin, Cronus, and Cerberus. Am I missing any?" asked Chen Zi Han trying to get everything straight.

    "I am on Reaper," added Liu Wei. There was a grunting from Reaper as he acknowledged his name.

    "And I can only assume you are the dreaded ''them'' that Rip and the scientists were going on about. What makes you so scary?" asked Liu Yu Zeng. There was a chuckle after his statement from the bikes and trucks.

    "You''ll find that outter," said Ares in a somewhat joyful mood.

    The men were silent. "Did wee to a conclusion about the men?" asked Liu Wei. He wasn''t turning around to go get them, but he wanted there to be a clear conclusion just in case Li Dai Lu asked about them.

    "We''ll leave them there," sighed Wang Chao. He was not willing to leave simply for 100 men. They would find their way back to the other base on their own. Probably. Depends on how smart they were.

    "They''ll find their way back to Elysian City after a day or so of waiting," said Chen Zi Han unintentionally repeating what Wang Chao was thinking.

    "Or at least our men will," smirked Liu Yu Zeng and he took his right hand off of the handlebar to be able to turn around and look at the men behind him. It was that moment where he rxed his guard that Lin took off at high speed almost causing the man to fall off.

    "Fucker," grumbled Liu Yu Zeng as he put his hand back and regained his bnce.

    "Asshole," replied Lin without missing a beat.

    Liu Wei rolled his eyes at the antics between the two. Hopefully, things will smooth out more in the time it would take them to get to the Ranch. It originally took them almost two months to go from City A to City J, fingers crossed the trip back would take a lot less time.

 Chapter 254 Do You Really Have To Ask?

    ?

    "Fuck Lin! Hurry up and deal with it! You are going to wake her up with all that noise!" came a disgruntled voice beside my ear. I moaned and tried to roll over in bed only to realize that I wasn''t actually in bed at all.

    "Cerberus?" I asked, my voice hoarse from just waking up.

    "Li Dai Lu," he said softly and gently, aplete contrast from how he was sounding just a moment ago. "Go back to sleep," he continued as I felt myself shifting from side to side. "Everything is okay. We have it handled."

    "Does something need to be handled? Are the guys okay?" I asked still half asleep.

    Before Cerberus could answer me, I heard what sounded like a mini explosion outside that drew my attention away from sleep and onto whatever was going on outside.

    "Fucking bikes," Cerberus grumbled as we continued to weave back and forth. "Always need to put on a show."

    "What is going on?" I asked as I took a cup of coffee out of my space in a travel mug. This one was white with a little red fox on it and at the bottom it said ''For Fox Sake''. Personally, I thought it was adorable.

    "Honestly?" he asked like it wasn''t a big deal when a second explosion came so close that it managed to rock the truck. I tried to look out the window but I think Cerberus did something to it because it seemed a lot darker than before. Too dark to see out of.

    "No, I want you to lie to me," I snipped sarcastically. Who didn''t ask a question and wanted an honest answer to it?

    There was a slight pause and then Cerberus'' tentative voice filled the cab. "So that was a yes, right?"

    "Yes, Cerberus, I would like an honest answer. What is going on outside?" I asked as I was gently rocked back and forth in my seat.

    "Honestly, the bikes are little shits and your men can''t control them."

    I took a sip of my coffee before opening my mouth. "You do realize that told me nothing, right?"

    "Sorry," he said, actually sounding sorry. "There was a motorcycle gang on the highway. They wanted the bikes to stop. The bikes yed with them for a while and the gang took offense. But they were the ones that started shooting first so you can''t be upset if we finish it."

    Children. I was surrounded by children. Even the non-humans were children. Maybe Cerberus was right, I really should go back to sleep. I was about to close my eyes after putting my mug in the cup holder when a third explosion came from outside.

    "Who the fuck is doing that?" I grumbled.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Lin," came the hesitant reply.

    "Who is Lin?"

    "Lin is Chalchiuhtotolin, he is Liu Yu Zeng''s motorcycle," said Cerberus as if I should have already known that.

    "Chalchiuhtotolin? As in the Aztec god of disease and gues?" I asked confused. "Wears ck and has white eyes?"

    "That would be the one. He prefers Lin though."

    "Sure, whatever. Can you stop and let me out? Apparently, I need to go y referee." Grumbling about children in ygrounds, I waited for Cerberus to stop so I could get out. After a few seconds of him not even slowing down, I raised an eyebrow. "That wasn''t a request, no matter how nicely I stated it. Stop the truck so I can get out and put an end to whatever shit you all disturbed while I was asleep." Couldn''t even get a decent nap in before shit hit the fan? I swear to god the guys attract trouble like it''s nobody''s business.

    Thankfully Cerberus understood that I was serious and stopped the car. Pulling on the handle to open the door, I had to take a breath. "Unlock the doors Cerby," I growled as I tried the handle again. This time it opened and I was able to see the chaos outside.

    Using the lights from Cerberus, I looked around the area. It looked like a war zone with smokeing out of craters on the pavement. I could only assume that they were the explosions that I had heard. There was some sporadic gunfire, but I couldn''t see who was firing at who.

    Letting out a high-pitched whistle I waited until the boys stopped fighting long enough to pay attention to me. After a few minutes with no change, I let out another piercing whistle willing to give them onest chance to smarten up.

    When even more time passed, I had just about given up. It was pitch ck outside, the only lights that I could see were the purple ones from Cerberus, and the four colors from the motorcycles. Figuring that the other motorcycles had much better odds, seeing as I couldn''t see them, I decided to light up the night.

    Calling a giant blue me, the width of my arms, I hung it in the sky over me.

    Looking at what appeared in front of me, I really debated going back to sleep. I was too tired to deal with this shit. There were very clear lines drawn on the road, on one side were my boys, and on the other were about 15-20 men on motorcycles. I could only assume that they were the older models that didn''t rely on electricity too much.

    As soon as the giant fireball appeared over the top of my head, the fighting stopped and everyone turned to me. "Now that I have your attention," I said as I put my hands on my hips. I was really feeling like a mom right now. "You are going to fuck off," I continued as I pointed at the bigger group of men, "And you are going to get back on the road. There will be no more fighting¡­ or else. Understood?"

    One of the men scoffed at my promation. "And just what do you think you are going to do about it?" he sneered. I pointed up at the giant. Ball. Of. Fire and smiled at him. "Do you really have to ask?"

 Chapter 255 Changing Our Thinking

    ?

    Another man, older than the first, with white hair and a white beard, got off his bike and walked over to me. I could feel my men stiffen, but I held up my hand, forcing them to stay put.

    "Listen, little girl," said the man as he came to a stop in front of me. This time I held up a hand to him. "I am his little girl," I replied, pointing to Wang Chao. "And unless you are going to apologize for waking me up, I suggest you stop talking, turn around and take your men away before you no longer can."

    The man stared at me. "My name is Li Tai Shun," he said as he looked at me. "Your boys disrespected mine."

    "And?" I asked with a smile. "Like you said, my boys. They can start all the shit they want because I will be there to clean up after them. Now, fuck off."

    "I don''t think you understand what needs to happen. We want those bikes. We will have those bikes. It is really that simple."

    "Simple?" I repeated as I burst outughing. "You think it is simple to take something that belongs to me? Sure, let''s try it."

    The man didn''t flinch as I walked right up to him. "Lin," I called, remembering that he was the one that Cerberus was talking to. Not to mention if he was Liu Yu Zeng''s ride, he must have some of his characteristics. "Come here." The motorcycle with white lights came out of the night like it was a monster from the darkness and drove over to me.

    Liu Yu Zeng got off and went to stand beside me, leaving the bike behind. Li Tai Shun smirked at him before he turned his attention back to the bike. "Thank you, Lin. But it would have been so much easier if you had just submitted it to us beforehand." Walking over to the bike, he swung one leg over and sat down.

    Looking the bike over, he couldn''t help butugh in triumph.

    "You are mistaken," I said with a shake of my head. The other man turned to look at me, one hand resting on the handlebar and the other on his thigh.

    "Oh yeah, little girl? How am I mistaken?"

    "That isn''t Lin," I said, pointing to Liu Yu Zeng. "He is." As soon as I pointed to the motorcycle under the stranger, Lin took off, bing nothing more than a lightning bolt in the darkness as he took off with the leader of the motorcycle gang.

    I leaned against Liu Yu Zeng and just rxed as Lin took our new friend for a spin.

    I watched as the rest of the ''gang'' hurried after their leader, but something told me they wouldn''t easily catch up unless Lin wanted them to.

    "Did you have a good nap, Sweetness?" cooed Liu Yu Zeng into my ear as he held me tighter.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Too short," I grumbled. "Someone was trying to blow things up." Liu Yu Zeng cringed at my words. "Yeah, sorry about that."

    "Why didn''t you guys just kill them before all this crap?" I asked as Lin shot through our little stop again, the big, scary man on his back screaming like a little girl. I smirked at that idea.

    Liu Yu Zeng looked at me, confused for a few minutes until he understood what I was trying to say. "Honestly, it didn''t ur to us," he admitted.

    "What do you mean it didn''t ur to you?" I asked, stunned.

    "I mean, remembering that we have powers, that the powers still work even if we can''t see the enemy. All that sort of stuff is¡­new. Think about it this way: I am 26 years old, and for the past 22 years, I have been trained to react to a situation in a particr way. Now, in the past 5-6 months, I have developed new powers. Which are fantastic, but it will take me a bit of time to re-train myself to call on them in an emergency instead of my gun, or my knife, or my fists."

    I thought about what he said. It was a lot like me. I wanted to be stronger and not immediately think that I needed to save people all the time. But sometimes, it was hard to remember that I was trying to switch over to a new leaf. I remember reading one of those inspirational quotes in my first life, and it said: ''Be patient with yourself. It has taken a lifetime to be the person you are. It is not possible to change everything overnight.'' In my case, it took two lifetimes to be who I am. I doubt a year and a half is that long inparison.

    So maybe that is what we have to do: change our thinking, retrain ourselves, and be forgiving when we rpse to what we know. "Okay, then why don''t you try using your powers now?" I asked. "I mean, if you need to learn all new skills, now is as good of a time as any to start." I looked at the other three men as they got off their bikes, took off their helmets, and came over to where Liu Yu Zeng and I were watching the show.

    "How do you suggest we start?" asked Liu Wei as he adjusted his sses.

    "Chen Zi Han," I said slowly, a n forming in my mind. "Before Lin makes another pass, form a ramp that is the width of the road. Make it whatever size you want." I called back my blue me so it was just enough that we could see but not enough that the bikers would also be able to see what was going on.

    Chen Zi Han nodded and raised his hand. It took him some concentration, but his powers, unlike all the other guys, required him to use all three at the same time, so he was more used to calling on them than the others.

    We heard the screams of the leadering closer to us, and we watched the ramp raising out of the road and into the sky. "Liu Yu Zeng, let Lin know what is going to happen."

    "How?" he asked concisely.

    "Mental connection. There should be one already forged, but if not, picture him in your head and try to speak to him."

    Liu Yu Zeng thought for a split second before nodding his head.

 Chapter 256 Training

    ?

    ''Hey, Fucker!'' called Liu Yu Zeng in his head trying to form a mental connection to the motorcycle. If Li Dai Lu said that it was possible, then he would do everything in his power to get it done.

    ''What do you want, Asshole?'' grumbled the bike, and Liu Yu Zeng inwardly rejoiced. He was worried that he wouldn''t be able to form a connection so quickly and time was of the essence.

    ''You are going to go flying,'' said Liu Yu Zeng with a smirk on his face. ''We are¡­ training. Li Dai Lu thinks that it is about time we start remembering that we are power users.''

    ''Sounds good to me, whatever Dai Lu wants, she will get,'' agreed Lin without protest.

    ''Dai Lu?'' asked Liu Yu Zeng raising an eyebrow.

    ''Jealous?''

    ''A bit,'' the man muttered under his breath.

    ''Good. Get ready, I am bringing everyone by now.''

    "He''sing now," said Liu Yu Zeng to the rest as Lin approached the ambush point.

    "Perfect," said Li Dai Lu with a big smile on her face. "Now, if I remember right, you should also have air on top of poison and fighting powers. I want you to be able to cushion Lin''s fall, but only Lin''s. The rest can fend for themselves."

    Liu Yu Zeng froze as his eyes widened. He was so used to just using his poisonous mist that hepletely forgot that he had other powers too. "How do I do that?" he asked her.

    "How should I know? I''m not air," she replied. "Liu Wei, how would he control air?" Liu Wei thought for a moment because it had been more than a few months since he hadst used his air powers. In fact, he was almost worried that he might have lost them since he hadn''t been stretching that muscletely.

    "Feel a gust of air on your skin and then picture that wind turning into a cloud under Lin," said Liu Wei after a few seconds of thinking. He followed his own advice just in case he didn''t exin it correctly to his little brother.

    ''Ining!'' shouted Lin inside Liu Yu Zeng''s mind. "Ining!" the man repeated out loud and then tried to copy what his brother had said. Luckily that night had a gentle breeze so he was able to feel the air physically against his skin. It almost felt like his mist. Thinking about it in terms of that, he manipted the air like he manipted his mist.

    The four men plus Li Dai Lu watched as Lin, with his unwanted passenger, flew up into the air quickly followed by the rest of the bikers trying to catch up to their president. Supported by both Liu Yu Zeng and Liu Wei, Lin descended smoothly back onto the road while the others crashed down to earth unexpectedly.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Tell it to stop!" shouted Li Tai Shun as Lin was deposited on the ground. "Please, tell it to stop!" Lin spun around in a few circles beforeing to a stop in front of Li Dai Lu.

    "I warned you," she said causing Liu Yu Zeng to smirk. Going to stand behind her, he stared at the man that thought he was king shit. "And, thanks to you, we have realized a great weakness that we had. Really, thank you. Unfortunately, you have now volunteered yourself and your men to be our¡­ training dummies."

    She smiled such a bright smile that the men couldn''t help but duplicate it. "Now, we have worked on air and earth, but Wang Chao needs to use his metal and thunder powers while Liu Wei and Chen Zi Han should practice water. Am I missing one?" she asked herself counting on her fingers.

    Liu Yu Zeng thought about it. "I could probably work on fighting with my brother," he offered.

    "Why your brother? There is a whole pile of men over there to practice on," said Li Dai Lu.

    "How do you suggest we practice water?" asked Liu Wei. He was starting to sweat a bit with calling on the air, but if Li Dai Lu wanted them to practice all their powers at once then so be it.

    "Ooh! I have an idea!" she said excitedly and Liu Yu Zeng watched as the biker''s eyes widen in panic.

    "Chen Zi Han, you are going to create as big of a hole as you can," she started turning to the man before looking over her shoulder at Liu Yu Zeng. "You are going to grab everyone on their side and start tossing them in the hole. I mean, fighting is as much about physical strength as it is about mental strength. Liu Wei can help you if you want. Then Liu Wei and Chen Zi Han can fill the hole up with water. What do you think? Sink or swim! Get it?"

    Liu Yu Zeng and the rest of the guys just chuckled at her enthusiasm. Nodding his head, Chen Zi Han began concentrating on creating a giant cavity in the road that the bikers wouldn''t be able to get out of easily. His forehead started to glisten with sweat as he concentrated, building it bigger and bigger until he couldn''t do anymore.

    Taking a step back, he exhaled heavily. "Done."

    "Now my turn," said Liu Yu Zeng as he walked away from Li Dai Lu and towards the pile of broken bodies on the other side of the ramp. "I''ll help," added Liu Wei as he joined his brother. Each man carried two bodies under their arms and threw them in the hole so deep they couldn''t see the bottom.

    "Wait!" cried the president trying to get off of Lin, but it was much easier to get on one of the men''s bikes than it was to get off. "We''ll leave, you''ll never see us again!" he promised.

    "I know I won''t," said Li Dai Lu with a smile. "But remember, I gave you a choice. You chose to stay and this is your fate."

    After Liu Yu Zeng and Liu Wei dropped the bodies into the pit, Liu Yu Zeng walked over to Li Dai Lu. "I guess it is my turn," smiled Chen Zi Han as he went to stand beside Liu Wei. The two men started filling up the crater with water as the men inside screamed in fear.

 Chapter 257 Not Worth It

    ?

    "Lin," I said, not taking my eyes off the man in front of me. "Let him off."

    The next time Li Tai Shun tried to get off the bike, he was able to. Unfortunately for him, I was not finished yet. "Do you want to save them?" I asked looking at the man towering over me. Men always assume that if you are smaller than them you are weaker. But I would like to point out that C4 came in a small package too and look at how much damage that can do.

    The biker president looked at me and then around at the situation. In order to give him a clearer picture of what he got his men into, I fed more power into the blue me hanging in the night sky like a moon. As the light became stronger, Li Tai Shun started to tremble.

    What used to be one of the most traveled highways in all of Country K now looked like nothing more than a dirt road. The pavement was crumbled with giant cracks cutting through the once smooth surface. The ramp that I had asked Chen Zi Han was much bigger than even I expected it to be. No wonder the rest of the bikers went flying.

    The top had to be about 20 feet in the air, but the incline was so gradual that the riders probably didn''t even realize that they were going up to their death. Well, I guess some of them lived.

    Even the crater off to the side had to be the size of an Olympic pool. I was really impressed with Chen Zi Han. Since he had enough power to be able to dig that right after building such an impressive ramp, plus fill it up with water afterward, he was easily one of the most powerful elements that I had ever seen.

    I watched as the big bad biker turned his attention back to me, his face pale. "Do you want to save them?" I asked again, softening my voice. I closed my eyes for a second and called up my ice. Creating arge throne along the same lines as what I had made at City J Sanctuary, I turned around and went to go sit down.

    Wang Chao and Liu Yu Zeng came over to stand on either side of me as I gotfortable. The man still standing in front of me started to nod his head. Clearing his throat a few times, he finally managed to get one word out. "Yes," he said.

    "Then I suggest you start begging," I replied with a bright smile. I watched as the man''s back stiffen and his shoulders pushed back, causing him to stick his barrel of a chest out. This was the very typical posture of a man that was trying to be bigger and more intimidating.

    It might have worked wonders for him before. His size, his look, and even his upation would have caused most people to close their mouths and just go with his demands. Unfortunately for him, he met me. And the boys weren''t the only ones that had to push themselves out of theirfort zone.

    "Bitch," he growled.

    "How original," I said with an eye roll. "I''ve never heard that one before. Do you not hear your men, your brothers, screaming for help? Would it really make you less of a man to get on your knees before me and beg for them?"

    I could feel Wang Chao shifting his weight at my words. I was pretty sure that when I suggested he get on his knees in front of me we were both thinking the same thing and definitely not with the biker president.

    "I don''t kneel," sneered the man, refusing topromise. "Especially not for any House Mouse."

    I had to blink a few times at thatment. Searching my brain, trying to figure out what on earth it could mean, I looked up at Liu Yu Zeng for help. "Trantion please?"<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Heughed and shook his head. "Just don''t shoot the messenger, alright?" he asked with his signature smirk firmly on his face. Rolling my eyes I just nodded. "Okay, as far as I know, a House Mouse is a young girl that ran away from home and moves into a motorcycle club to help clean, look after kids, and is sometimes either gifted to an Old Lady or is passed around. Sometimes there is a¡­ sexual¡­ addition to their duties, but not always."

    I blinked a few more times. "He thinks I''m a kid?!"

    Yes, people, that was exactly what I took out of that definition. I was of the firm belief that people should be able to live the life they want, even when the majority don''t agree. You want to hook up with bikers, clean their house and look after the kids? If that was what made you happy, go for it.

    On the other hand, "Did you really call me a kid?" I demanded turning my attention fully back to the man in front of me. "Are you just that blind or are you stupid as well?"

    Li Tai Shun looked at me confused as if he didn''t understand what I was getting pissed off about. "Would you have preferred me to call you a Sweet Butt?"

    Once again, I looked at Liu Yu Zeng to trante stupid into English. "Biker slut," he said with a snort.

    "Probably," I replied turning back to the biker president. "Slut is much better than a child when you are in your 20s. But you have made more than a few mistakes. Ones that you and your men will have to pay for."

    "Like what?" he demanded, his arms crossed against his chest as he looked down at me.

    "You tried to take something that was mine," I said holding up a finger.

    "It wasn''t yours," he contradicted. "You were the one in the cage. And any bike on the road is fair game."

    I looked up at Liu Yu Zeng feeling dumber by the second.

    "Truck."

    "Can''t he just speak normally?" I asked as I rubbed my head. Between the screamsing from the new inground pool and this man, I was having the mother of all headaches. "Fine. I had this whole drawn-out viin speech nned, but you just aren''t worth any more time and energy on my part."

 Chapter 258 Brazen Bull

    ?

    Now I understand that the typical viin''s speech was normally the kiss of death for them. You know, they rant on just long enough for the good guy to get out of the situation and kill them in return. I didn''t want to do that. However, I also feel like a good speech was a right of passage.

    Oh well, I would much rather just kill them than waste my breath anyways.

    I formed a n in my mind and shared it with Wang Chao, not wanting to speak and give the poor man in front of me any hope of getting away. I saw Wang Chao nod out of the corner of my eye and I smiled in return.

    Scraps of metal flew from the pile of bikes that were damaged beyond repair in the darkness and wrapped around Li Tai Shun''s upper body and legs before the man could take another breath. Impressed I looked at Wang Chao with a raised eyebrow. ''Practicing on my own'', he replied in my head. I nodded in understanding and gave him a smile.

    "If I knew he was this good, I would have him make an iron maiden," I said as I stood up from my ice throne and walked towards the encased biker president. Wang Chao was still calling more and more metal until only the man''s head was visible. "I probably could get him to make one when he has the time just to keep it handy. But then again, maybe a brazen bull would be more fun." I turned to look at Wang Chao.

    "Do you know what a brazen bull is?" I asked. There was no point in having him make something that he had no idea about.

    "Unless you are talking about the actual animal, then no," said Wang Chao shaking his head. I turned to look at Liu Yu Zeng to see if he knew. He shook his head no and tipped it to where his brother and Chen Zi Han wereing over from. I guess the pool was filled as high as they could make it.

    I was still hearing screams so I was guessing a lot of the bikers knew how to swim.

    "Do either of you know what a brazen bull is?" I yelled. When both men shook their heads I huffed out a breath. Damnit, without the inte, how was I going to get Wang Chao to make me one?

    "What is it?" asked Wang Chao curious as I walked toward the big, bad biker. I could see the whites of his eyes as he discovered that he couldn''t move, no matter how hard he tried.

    "It is a metal bull, mostly created out of bronze, that was the size of an actual bull but had an entrance in the stomach for someone to be put in. Once the victim was inside and the door was sealed, a fire would be lit, essentially roasting the person inside until they died. ording to what I had read, the creator of the bull managed to create an acoustic apparatus that could convert the screams of the prisoner into the sounds of a bull."

    There was silence for a few minutes after I finished describing exactly what I wanted. "Fun fact, the inventor of this particr torture device was also its first victim."<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "I am going to assume that this is from the same country that brought you the Trojan horse?" asked Liu Wei as he adjusted his sses. I could see his sweat glowing from my me''s light.

    I thought about it for a second before nodding my head. Technically the Greeks came up with both inventions.

    "They were extraordinarily creative with their inventionspared to now," remarked Liu Wei not at all bothered over the fact that I have asked for a device that I could use to roast people alive. Now that was real love and support.

    "Well, I guess that was what happened when you didn''t have television or the inte," I said with a shrug of my shoulders. "That or you have a really big family." I walked back over to my throne and sat down. Maybe I should start wearing dresses, they would have made my spin and sit a bit more impressive. Then again, I couldn''t really fight zombies in a dress¡­ or could I?

    "This is your final chance," I said looking at the metal-encased mummy. "You die with your men or you watch your men die and then join them. And I am pretty sure that there is a special level in Hell for people that try to take what is mine."

    The biker opened his mouth a few times, but no words came out. I raised my eyebrow and waited, albeit a bit impatiently. "You have 10 seconds before this offer is revoked and I get to choose. Don''t think that you are sparing anyone by hesitating."

    As soon as the words came out of my mouth, there was amotion at the pool. Turning my attention to what was going on, I sighed in disbelief. Apparently, zombies weren''t the only ones to push humans into discovering their special powers.

    I watched as a waterspout appeared at the top of the pool, pulling people up and into it before depositing them choking and coughing onto the ground. Air user then. I looked at Li Tai Shun and saw the hope and happiness on his face that he and his men might actually be able to get out of this situation. But Bond he was not.

    "Liu Yu Zeng, Wang Chao, if you don''t mind," I said with a wave of my hand. They knew me well enough that I didn''t have to say anything more. A gust of wind picked up all the drowned rats and put them back into the pool of water just as Wang Chao released a lightning bolt causing everyone that was neck deep in water to be electrocuted. However, just to be certain it worked, Wang Chao released six more bolts just in case.

    It waspletely unnecessary. Each bolt caused the water to be heated to the point that steam was created and a shock wave was produced. As soon as thest bolt hit, there was blessed quietness. Well, except for the screaming biker in front of me.

 Chapter 259 I Almost Felt Bad

    ?

    "You fucking bitch! You killed them all!" Li Tai Shun screamed at the top of his lungs as he struggled desperately against the metal scraps wrapped around him.

    "Not my fault they made the decision for you," I said with a shrug of my shoulders as I crossed one leg over another and rested my forearms on them. Leaning forward I stared down at the man in front of me. "You tried to take what wasn''t yours. And as much as I normally wouldn''t care about something like that, you tried to take what was mine. That is a punishable offense."

    I leaned back into the throne and studied the biker president. "I gave you a chance, I warned you, but you still didn''t listen. And now you are ming me for your choices. I don''t see how that is fair," I said as I called my pink me into my palm. It had been a while since I had used my pink mes and now I realized how much I missed it.

    There was something soforting about it that the other two didn''t have. Like a campfire that was there to light your way and keep you warm. Not the hot, violent fire thates with destruction.

    I waved my hand and the pink me shot to the biker''s feet encasing the ground around him in fire. He started screaming as the mes heated up the metal prison. "Can you shut him up with spirit powers?" I asked Wang Chao. I didn''t want to put him out of his misery too early. After all, a real brazen bull couldst for days before the prisoner was killed.

    Hell, most times they were released before they were killed, they were just maimed for the rest of their lives. This guy wasn''t going to be that lucky, but I also didn''t want to stick around for days until he actually died.

    I heard Wang Chao take in a breath before the screams were cut off. "Thank you," I replied with a smile. It was hard to learn the nuances of any power, especially for something like the spirit users since it could control so much.

    I increased the strength of the pink mes until the fire was licking at the metal surrounding Li Tai Shun''s shoulders. His eyes widened in panic as his mouth continued to silently scream. And I watched every minute of it.

    If I wanted to get used to killing people, to deal with the consequences so that I wasn''t haunted by what I had done, I would need to get used to sights like this. Especially the bad ones like the makeshift brazen bull. I needed to be more heartless.

    My attention span, on the other hand, also needed a lot of work. After 10 minutes I was bored out of my mind and just wanted to go back to bed. With a flick, I brought out the purple me to help the pink one hurry things up. And hurry things up it did.

    Within minutes a mound of cooling metal was fused to the roadway, a forever coffin for the human remains inside it. Standing up from my throne, I walked toward Cerberus. "Next time, kill them first," I suggested letting my jaw crack with my yawn. "By the way, where are we going?" I asked, turning to look at Chen Zi Han.

    "Home," he smiled. I hummed in acknowledgment. I didn''t know whose home he was talking about because technically there were more than a few ces that could qualify, but a home of any kind would be nice right about now.

    Climbing into the cab, I yawned again, my ears cracking. "Feeling better?" Cerberus asked as I wiped the tired tears out of my eyes.

    "Not really, but I also wasn''t feeling bad in the first ce," I said with a shrug as I put on my seatbelt, got my pillow and nket, and curled back up on the seat.

    "That''s good then. I was worried it might affect you," replied Cerberus. "You were always toopassionate."

    I was about to close my eyes when I heard him say that. My eyes flew open and I sat up. "You know what I am?" I asked. So far, it was one of the biggest unanswered questions of this lifetime. Everyone but me seemed to know who or what I was.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "You don''t?" he asked confused.

    "No. I really don''t, and no one will tell me."

    "I''m sorry. If you don''t know that means your journey isn''t over yet. Until then I cannot tell you." In his defense, Cerberus really did sound heartbroken that he couldn''t answer my question. But if this was part of my journey then I would stop stressing out over the unanswered questions and just go with the flow. I would find out what I was when it was time. Until then, I was still Li Dai Lu and that was enough.

    "All right," I said, pretending to grumble. "You keep your secrets. I am going to sleep," I chuckled as I closed my eyes again. "And if there is any more people stirring the pot, make sure the boyos kill them quickly."

    "Of course," replied Cerberus his voice a low purr. "You just sleep and everything will be better when you wake up."

    Humming in agreement, I fell back asleep, praying that when I woke up, I would be less tired.

    ----

    What I woke up to what the extreme pain from my insides twisting as a butter knife was not so gently inserted into me. Bolting upright, I felt the telltale gush. "Jesus fucking Christ, mother fucking ass¡­" I grumbled under my breath as the tiredness now made a crap ton of sense. "Cerberus," I groaned, not wanting to move.

    "Yes?" came his gentle reply.

    "I am going to disappear for a bit. Should reappear in only a few seconds, but I thought you should know just in case."

    "Is everything ok?" he asked concerned. As much as I wanted to thank him for his sweetness, I also wanted to stab him numerous times¡­ and he was a fucking truck.

    "No, it really isn''t," I replied with a sigh. Apparently, this was going to be a murderous time of the month.

    Poor boys, I almost felt bad.

    Almost.

 Chapter 260 Some Things Change

    ?

    Crawling back in between my sheets, myforter so fluffy and big that I could disappear under it, I realized just how lucky my boys actually had it.

    The first day I started, I came into my space all murdery and after a few days of long, hot showers, pain medications, heating pads, movies, and unlimited cakes, I was right as rain. Seriously, what would be just a few seconds back in the real world was a full 7 days here and I was loving it.

    I managed to do some more baking, fed the chickens, and milked the cows. I was happy. Even Hades showed up for his dinner every night making me think that maybe he forgave me for throwing him to the wolves.

    I lifted up the covers and let him crawl beneath them as he curled up into a ball beside my stomach happy and content. I knew I had to get back to the real world, but sometimes, it really didn''t feel like it even existed if I wasn''t there. As if this space was where I belonged and the outside was just somece I went to not to be bored.

    I narrowed my eyes at that idea. Technically I had the best of both worlds. One where I could live a solitary existence and the other one where I was just as happy and content, but with other people. I like the real world though. It challenged me in ways that I didn''t think about. It encouraged me to get stronger, to fight for what I wanted. To know that I was only gone seconds helped in that I didn''t miss out on anything.

    But the knife to the gut was done, my desire to skin anyone alive that even opened their mouth was gone, and best of all I was no longer feeling so tired.

    I fell asleep onest time in my bed, cuddling with Hades underneath the cloud that was my nket. Life was good.

    ----

    "You know life isn''t all that great, right?" asked the icy voice as she pulled me into a world with dark grey cliffs. I looked around and noticed that it was the same world where they always took me to, just this time we were further away from the red stream. Looking down, I could see thendscape so much clearer. And yet, there was still nothing but greyish-ck fields with a red river cutting through it and ck mountains off in the distance.

    "Yeah, I know," I said sitting down on the end of the ledge. My legs dangled off as small rocks fell to the earth beneath us.

    "And yet you still want to go back?" she asked and I could see someone sitting beside me with a white dress. Looking up at her I saw my face looking back at me. She smiled at me before turning her attention back to thendscape in front of us.

    "Why not?" I asked with a shrug. "The men are there, there are zombies to kill, people to kill, and desserts to eat. Why wouldn''t I want to go back?"

    "And one person to save. Why?" she asked looking at me. "Why is she so special that you have a whole n to make sure she doesn''t die?"

    "Honestly? I have no idea," I admitted. I didn''t know if it was because of some weirdpassion that I was desperately trying to destroy inside of me or what. All I knew was that I could not let that healer die a second time.

    At the same time, I had no desire to save her myself. I would let her fianc¨¦ and his team save her and get the credit. I just needed her to live.

    "As much as everything changes, some things remain the same," said the woman sitting beside me.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "What do I call you?" I asked her as I studied her. She was wearing a beautiful white dress with gold ents and gold jewelry. She looked like the quintessential Grecian beauty.

    "What have you been calling me in your head?" she asked with a small smirk. Her voice still sounded like wind blowing over the tundra, but there was a warmth to it too.

    "The icy voice," I admitted with a shrug. It wasn''t creative but it was urate.

    "Let''s stay with that then," she replied before disappearing.

    "Well, that was a waste of time," I grumbled still trying to figure out how I get myself home.

    ----

    The next time I opened my eyes I was back inside Cerberus. "Miss me?" I asked as I threw my cold cup of coffee into my space and looked around the cab.

    "Always," he assured me. "But that was fast."

    "Fast for you maybe, but just enough time to have me feeling brand new. Now, where are we going?" I asked taking out a new mug of coffee. I was smart enough to fill all of my travel mugs and leave them on the counter in my kitchen. Now whenever I needed one, they were all there.

    "To City A," said Cerberus and I may or may not have choked on my coffee. "You wanted to go home."

    Home. The ranch that I worked so hard for, that I thought was going to be my escape from a world that I wanted nothing to do with. But going home was a double-edged sword. Was it still my home after all this time? Or would the men that were staying there change it to the point I didn''t recognize it anymore?

    Could I handle that?

    I have never gone back to a home in my life. Once I had left it, that was it. I never went back to any of my foster homes, nor the home I was born in. In my second life, there was no ce to call home so it didn''t matter if I went back to the same space or not.

    But this, this was somethingpletely different, and it scared me.

    "I see," I said slowly once I stopped coughing and wiped the tears from my eyes. I didn''t know what to say after that.

 Chapter 261 Mandatory Things

    ?

    There was an awkward silence for a few seconds as I tried to get my thoughts in order. I didn''t overly do well with change and this¡­ this was change.

    "Do you not want to go?" Cerberus asked quietly. "We don''t have to, you know that, right?"

    "I want to go," I said knowing that that was the absolute truth. "I want to go, but I am scared."

    "What are you scared of?" he asked kindly. It was like he was my best friend. Always there when you needed to talk but never offering judgment.

    "I am scared that it is not going to be as I remembered, and what I would do if that happened," I admitted as I rested my elbow on the door between the metal part and the window.

    "If it is not as your remembered, change it back. If you don''t like it anymore, set it on fire. There is nothing, and I mean nothing, that you can do wrong," said Cerberus his voice filling the cab with his conviction.

    "But if other people have made it their home, can I really burn it?" I asked timidly. If I were talking to the boys I would be the first one screaming to burn it down, but not here. In this time and ce, I could be the real me.

    "Why not? They ate your food, lived in your house, and farmed on yournd. That property is yours and it is you. If you are not happy with it either take everything you want and walk away or take what you want and burn it to the ground. You owe them nothing. You have saved their lives. Without you, they would not exist."

    "You''re right," I said with a sigh. And he was. I would wait and see what the ranch was like, but if I wasn''t happy, or if it wasn''t the home that I had in my heart, I could always rebuild somewhere else. I did it before, I had done it again, and I could continue to do it until I find a forever ce.

    "Besides," said Cerberus cutting in. "Who is to say that it is even changed? Wait and see."

    "You''re right," I said again, this time with a smile. "So, how long will it be until we get there?" I asked as I stared out into the darkness.

    "If we were driving straight maybe about a month, but Liu Wei and Liu Yu Zeng were talking about doing a brief detour, only a few hours, into City B to check on their grandfather," said Cerberus and I stiffened up. If I remember correctly, not only was there a fucking maniptive spirit user next to that old man, but she had her eyes on one of my men.

    Oh, and the zombies should have taken over the city by now.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    But more importantly, was the bitch next to Liu Wei''s grandfather.

    She was on my list to kill so maybe I should pop in for a social visit before taking her head. "Let''s make it a family trip," I said as I narrowed my eyes. If the city was taken over by zombies, I could consume their mes and be more powerful. If it hadn''t happened yet then no matter what I get to kill Wu Bai Hee. It was a win-win situation no matter how I looked at it.

    "I''ll let the others know. Did you want to stop for the night first?" He asked on apletely different topic. I raised my eyebrows realizing that the men wouldn''t have slept in more than a few days themselves and even though I had a full 7 days to recover, they hadn''t.

    "Yeah, find a ce to pull off and I''ll take out the RV for us to crash in tonight. Tomorrow is soon enough," I said making a quick decision. The men needed sleep, and I could spend a few hours reading a good book.

    Cerberus must have spoken to the bikes because, after about 20 minutes, they found a small clearing in the middle of the woods where I could set up camp. The men got off their bikes a bit funny and I had to force myself to suppress a chuckle. As much as I wished I could ride one of those things, I knew my backside wouldn''t thank me after a few hours.

    "So, I hear we are going to City B," I said as I leaned against Cerberus'' hood. I brought out five RVs and ced them in a circle. Finding some firewood in my space, I created a log cabin fire pit and threw the pink me into the center. I even took out some Adirondack chairs for all of us along with small side tables.

    Once camp was all set up, I grabbed some metal skewers, hot dogs, and marshmallows and walked over to my chair. Sitting down, I took out more things like the ketchup, mustard, relish, hotdog buns, chocte, and graham crackers. Now this was a perfect camp meal. All that I was missing was the potato sd.

    "No one going to say anything or did you assume that I would not find out?" I asked as I tilted my head. They were still standing over by their motorcycles, noting near me and I had to chuckle. "Come on boyos, I won''t bite," I said with a smirk.

    I mean, I was pretty sure that I was going to be a biter, but that was something we would have to figure out for sure in the future.

    "Liu Wei and I just thought that we could peel off for less than an hour and then catch up," exined Liu Yu Zeng as he came to sit down beside me. Taking one of the hotdogs, he pushed it onto the metal pole before sticking it in the fire to cook.

    "I am assuming that you forgot the part where the city was taken over by zombies?" I asked as I slowly rotated my hotdog. Honestly, I hated my hotdog barbequed. I hated the skin it developed and the burn marks. Give me a boiled hotdog with a steamed bun any day and I would be a happy camper.

    Unfortunately, there were some things that were mandatory when out camping, and roasting hotdogs and marshmallows were at the top of that list.

 Chapter 262 Tomorrow Was Another Day

    ?

    Liu Wei and Liu Yu Zeng shared a look before the two turned their attention back to me. "We knew," admitted Liu Yu Zeng with a deep breath.

    I didn''t know if that made it better or worse. I mean, I was going to yell either way because they either weren''t listening or willing to do something stupid for someone that may or may not be alive. But knowing that they were going to do something stupid, by themselves, was a bit much.

    I took my hotdog out of the fire and stuck a marshmallow onto my stick. I remained silent, not wanting to blow up because that was not the way to go, but at the same time, I wanted to skin them alive. Which was weird because I thought that feeling would go away once my aunt left and that didn''t seem to happen.

    Judging by the time, I stuck my marshmallow in the heart of the me and watched as I caught on fire. Quickly pulling it back, I quickly blew out the me and started at the offering. Its outside was ck and crispy but when I pinched it, the inside was soft and fluffy. It was perfect.

    Shoving the whole thing in my mouth, I waited until the gooeyness of it was gone before I continued to talk. "I don''t know if I am more upset over the fact that you were going to sneak off to a dangerous situation on your own, or if I am more upset over the fact that you forgot that I had said it would be a dangerous situation."

    Liu Yu Zeng opened his mouth but I held up a hand to stop him. "When I was torn open by the zombie you were mad at me and imed that I had taken 10 years off of your life. Congrats, you have taken 10 years off of mine now too. What happened to ''if you die, we die with you''? Does it not count if it was me that had to be left behind?!?"

    I realized that I was starting to rant so I quickly stuck another marshmallow onto the stick and put it in the fire. I figured I could keep my temper contained with the sweet and not yell at them. I was not their mother and I would not act like it.

    "Now, you have a choice. You can sneak off and do what you want while I follow youter, or we go together." There was a third option, they leave and I disappear, but I was not going to put that on the table. Besides, like I told Cerberus, I had a bitch to kill.

    "If you can put up with my grandfather and Wu Bai Hee, we would love to have youe with us," said Liu Wei and I smiled at him.

    "What makes you so certain that they are even still alive?" I asked him. Both Liu Wei and Liu Yu Zeng looked surprised at that. "What?"

    "I never considered that they wouldn''t be," admitted Liu Wei as he took his hotdog out of the fire and put it into a bun. I shuddered when I watched him putting mustard on it. These were some of those make-or-break rtionship things that were important to find out before marriage. Now, no matter how I felt about him, I would have to think if it was worth it to stay with someone that liked mustard on their dogs.

    "Whatever," I said as I stuffed my marshmallow into my mouth and looked around the four guys. "I''m off to bed, you all have your own trailer to sleep in tonight. I''ll see you in the morning?" I said with a wave of my hand.

    Entering into my RV I got changed into something morefortable and climbed into bed with my eReader trying to find one of a few thousand downloaded books to read.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    ----

    Liu Wei watched Li Dai Lu retreating back into her RV and thought over what she had said. She was right. There was no guarantee that his grandfather was still alive, let alone still in City B. He just felt like he needed to go there to check things out.

    He knew that if he had talked to her about his ns, she probably would have been fine with them, but he didn''t. Hell, he even forgot that he needed sleep. As soon as he got on the bike, all his tiredness went away and he felt like he could have ridden for months and would bepletely fine.

    "So, we are going to see the old head tomorrow?" asked Chen Zi Han as he took a sip of the beer that Li Dai Lu had left out for all of them. "Then what?"

    Liu Yu Zeng looked at his second in confusion. "What do you mean? Then what?" he asked, not understanding where Chen Zi Han was going with that.

    "Are we taking them with us? Are we going to stop them if they decide toe? What about Wu Bai Hee? We know she is a spirit user; do you really think we want one of those around?" Chen Zi Han asked in session before turning to look at Wang Chao. "No offense."

    "None taken," Wang Chao assured him, not at all bothered. He knew what he was capable of and he didn''t want someone like that around his woman. "And I don''t think that Li Dai Lu would be too happy with them tagging along anyways. Are you prepared for it if she wants them to die?"

    Liu Wei and Liu Yu Zeng looked at each other, neither one responding to his statement out loud, but they knew their answer to that.

    The boys sat around the fire for a while until it died down. Chen Zi Han stood up and, calling upon his water, he doused the embers and mes, making sure that there was no chance of a fire. "I''m off," he said with a nod before heading to the RV that was his. He had some things to think about for tomorrow.

    "I''m off," said Liu Yu Zeng as he stood up a few minutes after and went into his own RV. Whatever happened tomorrow would happen and he would be prepared.

    Wang Chao looked at Liu Wei from where he sat across the mes. "You do remember I can read minds, right?" he asked with a raise of his eyebrow. Liu Wei didn''t answer but continued to look at his friend. Wang Chao smiled as he chugged thest of his beer and, without a word, went into his own RV, leaving Liu Wei by himself.

 Chapter 263 Heaven Or Hell

    ?

    (NSFW)

    There was no knock or anything. One minute I was alone reading a really good book, and the next Liu Wei was standing beside my bed.

    I looked up at him and put my eReader to the side. "You okay?" I asked as I moved over to give him some space to crawl into my bed. He stayed standing for a moment before taking off his shoes and crawled between the sheets next to me.

    "You know I will always choose you, right?" he said as heid his right arm out across my bed. Taking it as an invite I use his arm as a pillow and curl up beside him.

    "I know," I replied and I did. I might be insecure a lot, especially with all these soulmatesing out of the woodwork, but that didn''t mean I didn''t know exactly where the guys stood when it came to me.

    "I need to go there," he admitted and I understood what he wanted to say. We walked straight into a zombie tide because I ''needed to go there''. We went into a creepy military facility because Wang Chao ''needed to go there''. If it was for Liu Wei, then we would go into the heart of a zombie-upied city. It was just that easy.

    "I understand," I replied as I smiled at him.

    "Do you?" he asked, turning his head to the side to look at me. "Do you truly understand what you mean to me?"

    I was startled by his question. Looking up at him I searched his eyes back, looking for some answer I didn''t even know the question to. "As much as you mean to me," I said after a pause.

    He gently took my chin between his thumb and index finger and tilted my head back. Not giving me a second to think, he swooped down and imed my lips. It was gentle and it was possessive, it was soft, but the way his teeth nipped at my bottom lip left me gasping.

    Taking that as a sign toe inside, Liu Wei continued his assault on my lips as his tongue slid between them and invaded my mouth. I moaned at the taste and sensation. Bring my right hand behind his head, I pulled him down into me more, rolling over so that I was now on my back and he was looming over me.

    He slowly broke off the kiss, but his lips never lost contact with my skin. "To be next to you, like this, is both Heaven and Hell," he confessed as he started to nip and lick my neck. I groaned in agreement. I wanted more, needed more. And yet, I didn''t know how to ask.

    It was easier when Wang Chao was around to direct things. He understood what was going on in my head and he directed it to line up with my fantasies. But now it was just the two of us, and I didn''t know if he wanted the same things that I did¡­ and if he did, would he even be willing to do them?<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "I can hear your thoughts from here," Liu Wei chuckled as he licked at the sensitive spot between my corbones. "I can stop whenever you want. I can go harder, faster, slower, I can do whatever you want. You just have to let me know."

    That was the problem, I was in my head and I didn''t know how to let him know. I might not have the words, but I knew what I wanted to happen.

    I pushed him back from over top of me and as he sat back on his heels staring at me, I took off the old t-shirt that I wore to bed. He continued to stare not moving, not speaking, barely breathing. But he didn''t stop me.

    When my shirt was nothing more than a puddle on the floor, I crossed my arms against my chest, ready to take off my sports bra. That was when he moved. Lunging forward, he used his weight to pin me to the bed as he grabbed both of my hands and forced them over top of my head.

    "Oh no, Sweetheart," he purred as he put both of my wrists into one of his hands and then used the other to slowly stroke me up and down my ribs. He watched in fascination as my skin started to pebble. I moaned as he went back to kissing my throat. "Only I get to unwrap my present."

    I could feel my nipples hardening under his heated gaze and he ducked his head down to run the t of his tongue over top of the sports bra and over top of where my nipple was straining to meet him. I shuddered at the wet feeling through the cloth. "Please," I begged, needing more.

    "I don''t understand," he continued to purr as his lips, tongue, and teeth continued to y with my nipple. "Do you want more?" he asked as he turned his attention to my other nipple. I gasped as he started to y with that one over top of the fabric as well.

    "Do you want less?" he asked as his lips barely grazed the flesh of my stomach so light it might as well have been fairy wings.

    "Do you want me to stop?" he asked as he let go of my arms and sat back, giving me all the room I needed. The problem? I didn''t want the room. I wanted him to eat me out like I was thest meal he would ever have. I then wanted him to be my first. I wanted him so far inside of me that he would never be able to leave. I wanted us to be one.

    "I will kill you if you stop," was all I managed to get out through my teeth. He chuckled at my response right before he took off his shirt.

    I stared at his chestpletely mesmerized by its perfection. His pecs were incredible, all I wanted to do was run my tongue along his smooth skin and down to his 8-pack abs.

    I stared at him, taking in everyst detail on his chest. From the scars to the little tattoos done just for him, I memorized them all. He was mine.

 Chapter 264 Your Wish Is My Command

    ?

    (NSFW)

    I reached my right hand up to grab him behind his neck and gently brought him down to me.

    Now it was my turn to capture his lips in a kiss that I never wanted to end. I poured everyst bit of my feelings into that kiss. I showed him how much I wanted, needed, and loved his strength, his ability to stand behind me when I needed to take charge, and his ability to stand in front of me when I wanted to hide from the world.

    He was everything to me in that I was everything to him.

    I continued to strengthen my kiss, pulling him down harder until his body was pressing mine into the bed to the point where I struggled to take my next breath. But I didn''t need it, I had him. I wrapped my legs around his hips and started rubbing myself on him, unable to hold back.

    There were threeyers of clothing between him and me and that was much too much. I whimpered with need as I pulled my lips off of his and threw my head back, arching so that I was pressed even more into him. But it still wasn''t enough.

    "Tell me what you need, Sweetheart," Liu Wei purred as he licked and nipped my exposed neck.

    "I need you," I whined. "I need to feel you." I didn''t know how to put into words what I needed and that made me even more stressed.

    This was the first time I had ever done this and books always warned that the first time was going to be the worst time ever. But I couldn''t see that if it was with Liu Wei.

    "Then let me take control," he whispered into my ear. Letting out another whine, I frantically nodded my head.

    "Yes," I hissed, giving him permission to do whatever it was that he wanted knowing that he would make it good for me too.

    "Good girl, Sweetheart," he continued to whisper as he backed off just long enough to take off the sports bra that I was wearing. Now only in my underwear, I could feel myself be wetter and wetter as he continued to assault my skin and whisper sweet nothings in my ears.

    However, there was still too much clothing between us. I pouted as I continued to rub myself all over him, enjoying the roughness and stiffness of his pants against my panties. "Ah ah," he smirked as he held my hips still. "You said that you would let me haveplete control. Let me have it and I promise I will give you everything that you want."

    I froze at his words and looked up at him. He smiled and looked down at me before giving me a kiss on my forehead.

    I watched as Liu Wei got out of bed and I rose to my elbows in protest. I needed him back in this bed with me and I needed it now. He chuckled as his gaze met mine. His eyes never leaving mine, he slowly unbuttoned and then unzipped his pants. He then smiled at the expression on my face as his ck military cargo pants fell to the ground leaving him in his skintight briefs that did nothing to hide his size.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    I had read enough to know that he would be able to fit, but I will fully admit to having a brief moment of panic. His head wasing out of the waistband of his underwear, almost touching his belly button. I licked my lips, not able to take my eyes off of what I wanted.

    And I wanted that inside of me. I must have let out a painful whine because the next thing I knew, the briefs were on the floor next to his pants and he was climbing back into the bed and on top of me. "Hush, Sweetheart," he said in a low voice as his bodypletely covered mine, his heat pouring into my body until I never wanted to leave.

    "Please," I begged as I looked up at him, a painful expression on my face.

    "Whatever my Queen needs," he promised as he moved down my body until he was resting between my legs. Sitting up, he slowly removed my underwear and threw it to the floor.

    I wasying there,pletely exposed to him and I whimpered and squirmed beneath his gaze. I was about to pull the nkets over top of me when he growled in response. "You don''t ever need to hide from me," he said as heid down between my legs, his mouth inches from my center. "You are so fucking beautiful," he whispered like a prayer as his tongue lightly licked the seam of my lower lips. "You taste so good, and your smell¡­ god I would wear that proudly every day. Maybe that is what I should do¡­ eat you out every morning so everyone else can smell me on you."

    I couldn''t help the rush of liquid from between my legs. "You like that idea, don''t you?" he teased as he took another lick of my seam, so gently that I could help but want more. "You like the idea that I ampletely covered by you; that there is no doubt who I belong to."

    I might not have thought about that before, but yes, yes I really did like that idea.

    "Then let''s make that happen," he said right before his tongue dove between myher lips and into the very heart of my core. My back arched off of the bed as my head tilted back even more. It felt like nothing I had ever experienced before, even when he was doing the exact same thing with all of the guys around.

    This was as if there were only the two of us in the universe and he was using his tongue to worship me. He used the fingers of one hand to pull me apart so that he could have better ess to my entrance and clit.

    His tongue continued to lick and stroke me, sometimes soft, other times hard but he always paid attention to what I needed and made sure to give it to me.

    I was at the end of a cliff, feeling like I was going to go flying at any second when he pulled back. Growling my displeasure, I sat up to look at him. "Why did you stop?" I demanded looking at his mouth that was shining with my wetness.

    "Are you sure, Sweetheart?" he asked as he studied my face. I am sure that tomorrow I will feel all happy and giddy that he stopped long enough to make sure that he had my consent, but if he didn''t keep going right this second, I would not guarantee that he would live to see tomorrow.

    "Yes!" I hissed as I stared at him. "I need you to fuck me right this second before I explode."

    "Your wish is mymand."

 Chapter 265 Perfection

    ?

    (NSFW)

    Once again, Liu Wei crawled over top of me and used his upper body to push me back onto my bed. "And I live to serve," he purred before once again capturing my lips in his. Moaning, I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him closer to me.

    "Ah-ah, what did I say?" he murmured into my ears, and I let go of his neck, letting him takeplete control. "Good girl," he purred again when I did as he asked, and once again, I couldn''t help my reaction to his words.

    "Are you ready for me, Sweetheart?" he asked as I felt something hard at the entrance between my legs. I wanted to squirm, to force it into me, but I had promised him that I would give him control, so I waited to see what he would do next.

    And that waiting¡­ not knowing what was going to happen next¡­ had me strung up as tightly as if he was between my legs right now.

    "Yes," I breathed. I was more than ready.

    I felt as he started toe inside, just the head of his cock breaching my entrance. Not enough to hurt, but more than enough to stretch me out. "You are doing so well," he whispered into my ear, and muscles that I didn''t even know were tense started to rx. "So¡­ so good," he continued to mummer into my ear as he slowly moved in and out, never going too far in or too far out.

    My hips started to meet his rhythm as I tilted my hips up to meet his downward thrust. "Do you think you can take more of me, Sweetheart?" he asked, his low voice causing shivers to run up and down my spine.

    "Yes," I replied, my eyes closed as I relished in the feeling of him being over top of me, of part of him being inside of me.

    "That''s my Queen," he hummed as he increased the pressure, going deeper into me, but not nearly deep enough. "Are you liking it?" he continued to say. "Do you like knowing that your pussy is hugging my cock so tightly I can barely move? You should see things from my view, watching me going in and out of you¡­" he shuddered as he started to pick up his pace.

    "Yes," I hissed, my mindpletely nk to anything but the man over top of me. His words,bined with his actions, were pushing me towards that cliff again. There was a brief hint of pain, and then I could feel himpletely inside of me. His pubic bone hit my clit in the best way possible every time he pushed inside of me.

    "So fucking wet," he groaned as he ced both hands on either side of my head and push his upper body up. He looked down at me and ced frantic kisses all over my face and lips as he continued to move faster and faster, bringing us both to heaven. "So fucking tight," he grunted before bending his head down and iming my lips as his. "I never want to leave. Oh, Sweetheart, the things you do to me. I can''t hold back much longer."

    "Then don''t," I whispered back and gripped his shoulders, my nails digging into his flesh.

    Grunting with either pleasure or pain, he picked up the pace until the head was banging off the wall behind us. My body moved with each stroke meeting him with every thrust wanting more, needing all that he had to give.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "In or out," he whispered into my ear, and I knew what he was talking about.

    "In," I whispered back and looked him in the eyes. He grunted in acknowledgment as his pace picked up, and his thrusts became so fast and brutal that I could only hold on, loving every second of it.

    The third time the cliff came close, I knew that this time we would both be going over together.

    "Dai Lu," he said frantically, my name like a prayer on his lips.

    Shifting his weight to one arm, his other hand reached between us and stroked my clit a few times, sending me absolutely flying. I screamed his name as I came so hard, I saw stars. He followed after me, and I could feel the pulsing of his cock as he came inside of me.

    We tried to catch our breaths, but neither of us wanted to move so much as an inch.

    Licking his finger that was ying with my clit, he made sure they were clean before bringing the hand back to the side of my head. Shifting so his weight was resting on his forearms, he gave me a gentle kiss on my forehead before bringing his to mine.

    I could feel him still inside of me, still twitching his release. I sighed inplete contentment. My first time was more than I could have ever dreamed it could be, and I was so happy it was with Liu Wei.

    "Was it okay?" he asked, a note of concern in his voice like he was unsure of himself.

    "It was perfection," I assured him before capturing his lips in mine. "It was more than¡­ it was perfect."

    "And you are okay that I came inside of you?" he asked, wanting to be sure. He wasn''t using protection, and I wasn''t taking anything either. But in all honesty, I wouldn''t want it any other way. I knew that these guys weren''t going anywhere and any children that came about would be loved more than anything.

    I smiled brightly at the idea of children. It might not be the best time, but knowing that I could consume the zombie''s souls went a long way to making sure that the world that I would create for me and my family was safe.

    "I am more than okay with it," I assured him with another tender kiss. It wasn''t the right time in my cycle for me to conceive. But, as I just learned, practice was a fun reward in and of itself.

 Chapter 266 Competitive

    ?

    Morning came much too early, especially when I was wrapped in Liu Wei''s arms. There was no way in Hell that I wanted to move.

    At some point in time, he must have slipped out of me, and there was a puddle under me that was more than a little ufortable to beying on. To solve both my problems, I rolled him over onto his back, and Iid down on top of him. Yawning, I closed my eyes and went back to sleep.

    The second time I woke up it was because I was being carried by Liu Wei into the small shower inside the RV. "Sorry, Sweetheart," he murmured with a gentle kiss to my forehead, "I didn''t want to wake you up, but I thought that we could use a shower before everyone started to demand your attention."

    I hummed in reply, still not quite awake enough to understand what he was talking about but knowing that I probably should shower. I looked up at him. "So much for being drenched in my juices all day so that everyone else would know who you belong to," I joked as he put me on my feet.

    Keeping one arm around me, he went to turn on the faucets. "I know you like your water temp just south of scalding, so I will let you stand under the water. I am just as happy with a cold shower." I chuckled at his words. It was not my fault that I needed a hot shower. And anything less than a lobster boil was just too cold as far as I was concerned.

    Getting in, I sighed at the warmth as I stood under the showerhead and stared at the man in front of me. "You know you are amazing, right?" I asked.

    "I am going to remind you of that next time I fuck up," heughed as he got me to turn around. He picked up two bottles in my shower and held them in front of me. "What do I do?" he asked.

    "Shampoo first, rinse, then conditioner," I said with a shrug. He grunted his understanding before starting to wash and condition my hair. He then quickly washed my body while I just stood there under the shower.

    When I was all done, I motioned for him to turn around, but he simply shook his head no. "You get dried off, I''ll be out in less than three seconds, but I don''t want you to get cold. The spray is nowhere near as hot as the actual water itself."

    I nodded my head and tried to suppress a yawn. Apparently, great sex made you sleepy the next day.

    Leaving him in the shower, I got out and dried myself off. After getting dressed, I just stared at the bed and the little bloodstain in the middle of it.

    "Any regrets?" asked Liu Weiing up behind me and kissing me on my shoulder.

    "Yeah," I said as I tilted my head and looked at the sheets again. "We should have done it on your bed so I didn''t have to wash my sheets," I continued, looking up at him with a smirk.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "I''ll wash them," he said after a quick nip on my neck to let me know he was less than pleased with myment. I skipped away as Iughed.

    ---

    Everyone was up and waiting in the chairs outside when Liu Wei and I finally left my RV. The three men looked up at us before Chen Zi Han stood up and walked toward me. Feeling nervous, I looked up at Liu Wei for how I should proceed next.

    It was easy to be in a rtionship with four guys when sex was not on the table, but now that the dynamics had changed, would they still be interested? Would they be upset? Jealous?

    I could feel the beginning of a panic attack as I watched Chen Zi Han getting closer and closer. I opened my mouth, not knowing what to say, when the man simply picked me up and brought me over to his chair, and sat me on hisp. Picking up his te of bacon and eggs, he started to feed me.

    "Should have fed her sooner," he growled at Liu Wei as he narrowed his eyes at the other man. "You''re not hurt or in pain, are you, Princess? Is there anything I can do for you?" he asked, his tone and facial expression changing as he spoke to me. I let out a quiet snort ofughter.

    I should have seen thating. There was nothing to worry about. Even if I had sex with Liu Wei first, it was not like I wouldn''t have it with the others too. In fact¡­

    "I will ask you to stop right there," interjected Wang Chao as he brought me a ss of orange juice. "You are going to make it so none of us can walk, let alone ride a motorcycle," he whispered into my ear, and I looked down, not knowing what he was talking about. That was when I saw the outline of his cock straining against his pants.

    "I think you have forgotten that we can feel everything you can," added Chen Zi Han as he shifted his weight under him, and I could feel him too. "And as much as I loved knowing how you feltst night, it did make it very hard to sleep."

    I turned bright red as I looked at Liu Yu Zeng, who was over talking to his older brother by the table the boys had set up with all the food. "Don''t worry. We will wait patiently for our turns," said Wang Chao reassuringly. "But don''t think that we won''t want more. Besides, we will have to do better than Liu Wei to make sure that you will want to keep us." He walked away, smirking as my mouth fell open. Chen Zi Han ced a piece of perfectly cooked bacon into it and chuckled in my ear.

    "We arepetitive with each other, Princess," he said in my ear as I obediently chewed on the bacon. "I, personally, will make sure you aren''t able to walk the next morning."

 Chapter 267 Welcome To City B

    ?

    Once breakfast was done, we cleaned up camp and got back on the road. It would take us only a few hours to get to Liu Wei''s house in City B, depending on how many zombies were currently upying the city.

    The fact that we made great time put me even more on edge. "Cerberus, is there any way for you to be able to pull over for a few minutes?" I asked. I was practically crawling out of my skin, and I didn''t know why.

    Not even asking any questions, Cerberus pulled over, and I quickly got out of the truck. As soon as my feet touched the ground, I could feel eyes on me. I couldn''t tell where they wereing from, but I knew at least one set of eyes belonged to my stalker.

    The guys, realizing that I wasn''t following them anymore, turned around and formed a circle around me, their bikes pointing out into the unknown. "You okay, Sweetness?" asked Liu Yu Zeng as he leaned over Lin''s handlebars, his attention on the forest surrounding either side of the highway to City B.

    "Not sure yet," I replied honestly as I spun around in a circle, trying to find the direction where my stalker might be in. But if nothing else, my skin had stopped crawling simply because I now knew what we were driving into.

    "It''s a zombie city," I said as I continued to search in every direction. The number of eyes in the woods confirmed that fact. These were the front lines protecting the city from the outside before any other zombie could get close enough to be a threat. The biggest question was why were they hiding in the forest? They should be attacking us for no other reason than we were food.

    "Flight, fight, or freeze?" asked Wang Chao as he, too, looked out over Ares'' front.

    "Continue," I said. "We keep going forward to Liu Wei''s house," I continued. I found the direction of the stalker, their eyes practically burning holes into my body. But they seemed almost¡­ excited? Was that possible? Why would they be excited?

    I took onest look into the trees before I slipped between Liu Yu Zeng and Chen Zi Han to climb into Cerberus.

    "Tell the bikes to pay attention. There is something seriously wrong," I said, my voice low. How was my stalker connected with a zombie city? And was this a trap of some kind? But that was impossible. There was no way for the stalker to know I wasing here. I didn''t even know I wasing here.

    Narrowing my eye, I thought about all the possible situations as to how my stalker knew that we wereing here.

    That was¡­ unless they didn''t. As far as I could tell, the stalker was not always around. Sometimes there would be months between when I felt them. Like when we moved from the Naval base to Elysian City. I had just assumed that I didn''t feel them because I didn''t go outside the building. But what if it wasn''t a matter of me being in or out of the condo, but rather the fact that the stalker had other things to deal with at that time, and so they vanished?<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    To be here and surrounded by so many zombies could only mean that my stalker was a useful human or a zombie. Either way, I was not going to let my guard down. I still wasn''tpletely sold on the idea that my stalker was on my side either.

    We passed by the wee sign on the highway, and there wasn''t a single zombie as far as our eyes could see. Did that mean that I was wrong? That it wasn''t a zombie defense line in the woods but something else?

    No. I know for a fact that this city falls. I might have thought that maybe the future was changed, but there was still a tide in City Y, which meant that things were staying along in the original timeline that I was told.

    "Okay, now I am freaking out," joked Liu Yu Zeng as his voice filtered over the truck cabin''s speaker. We were absolutely flying through thepletely emptied roads of downtown City B. Thest time we were here, they werepletely congested with broken-down cars to the point that we could barely walk down them, let alone drive.

    "There is something wrong," agreed Liu Wei as the bikes started to weave back and forth.

    "Thank you, Captain Obvious," replied Liu Yu Zeng, and I could hear his eyes rolling. "Sweetness, what should we do?"

    I chuckled at his question. Thest time we were here, he couldn''t even be bothered to address me. How times have changed. "We make our way to your house," I said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. And as far as I was concerned, it was.

    That was the original n and the whole reason why we were stuck in this city in the first ce. I heard grunts of agreementing from the four men. "And I might as well say this so you can''tinter¡­ but they aren''ting with us. I will be killing the bitch and then leaving the others, including your grandfather, to their own devices. They didn''t follow us the first time around, I am not putting up with them now simply because they finally believe me."

    I took a deep breath after I spat all that out. Unfortunately for all of us, that was how I felt. They had their chance, and they weren''t getting a second one.

    "All good, Princess. I am pretty sure that we were all on the same page," came Chen Zi Han''s voice, reassuring me. I smiled sadly. I didn''t understand what it had cost them to say that because I never had that type of rtionship with anyone else. But I did understand that it couldn''t have been easy to say. These men fought side by side with my own, and any friendship forged inbat was a strong one.

    "Thanks," I said as I shook myself out of my mncholy. Besides, there was no guarantee that anyone would still be living.

 Chapter 268 Youâ€™ll Last Longer

    ?

    Stepping out of Cerberus once again, I looked up at the house that belonged to the Liu Family. There was no one guarding outside, but the gates were closed. I narrowed my eyes, unsure if there was anyone there or not.

    The men got off of their motorcycles and ced their helmets on the seats. No one would be dumb enough to try and take the bikes, and even if they were, the bikes wouldn''t let them. I looked at the four of them from where I was leaning against the hood of my truck.

    I took in a deep breath as Liu Yu Zeng pushed the gates open, only to see them locked with a long chain and a padlock. "Well, someone should be in there then," I said as I saw that the gate was locked from the inside out. It was smart, but seeing as the gate itself was full of spaces between the metal posts, it wouldn''t be that great of a deterrent for any zombies.

    Wang Chao walked up to the gate and rattled the bars a few times. When no one came out to see what was going on, he shrugged his shoulders and looked at the chain holding the gate shut. Within seconds the metal was melted and fell to the ground in an unusable heap.

    This time when Liu Yu Zeng pushed on the gate, it swung open without any issues. "Useful," he said, smiling at Wang Chao.

    "I try," the other man said, his face not moving so much as a muscle. I chuckled as I turned my attention to the truck.

    "Will you guys be okay out here?" I asked as I looked around. I could feel eyes on me, but none of them belonged to my stalker. I didn''t know if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

    "We''ll be just fine, Sweetheart," said Reaper calling me the same nickname as Liu Wei. I just smiled as I walked over to the bike.

    "You sure?" I asked again, wanting to make sure that they would not suffer if we left them alone for a few minutes. I knew that it was a bit excessive, but still. I ran my hands over the handlebars, and the bike''s engine seemed to purr.

    "I am sure. We will be fine and waiting for you when youe out. If you need us, call Cerberus, and we will race to your rescue."

    "You are so sweet," I whispered to Reaper as I gave him a little kiss on the front of the bike before I stood up.

    "Remember, any time you want to ride one of us, I am here for you!" Reaper called out as I stood up and walked toward the gate where the boyos were standing at. "Sounds good!" I yelled back as I crossed the threshold to the ugliest mansion I had ever seen. Like seriously, I thought that I hated it when I first came here simply because I was in a bad mood with too much caffeine in my system, but it turns out the ce is really just that ugly.

    "I think this ce might have even gotten uglier," I said out loud as I stared at the obtuse-angled mansion with a tower in the center.

    "You don''t like it?" asked Liu Yu Zeng, surprised. "It was frigging expensive."

    "Yes, well, money apparently can''t buy taste because that is ''U.G.L.Y you ain''t got no alibi.''" Great, now I had that song stuck in my head. Yet another thing to me on the mansion. We made it up to the front doors without anyone stopping us.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Think they are still alive?" I asked as Liu Wei knocked on the front door and waited for a few minutes.

    "I am not sure," he admitted as he wrapped his arm around my waist as we stood side by side, waiting for something to happen.

    -----

    It took a few minutes, but the door finally opened, and a huge man stood in front of me, a frown marring his face. Or maybe it was the giant scar that went from the top right to the bottom left of his face that did that. I couldn''t be sure, and I figured that it would be impolite to ask.

    "Liu Yu Xuan, you are back," came the voice of the giant. But of course, like every other part of my life, size was subjective because as much as he looked like an immovable mountain, he was dwarfed by Chen Zi Han.

    "You are blocking our way, Cheng Feng," growled my protector, and I couldn''t hold back my smile. I would have to admit that I was worried about how the syndicate boyos would react to being back in their home, but I guess I really didn''t have to worry.

    "The head has decreed that no one is allowed in or out without his express permission," replied the mountain man.

    "The head is standing in front of you. How could he make an order like that?" asked Liu Yu Zeng with a smirk on his face. His old persona was bleeding into his very being as the smirk was much colder and more deadly than it had been when it was just us.

    "The old head," rified Cheng Feng, still not bothering to move so that we could go in.

    "I take it he is still alive then?" I asked in a disappointed tone. The man''s gaze swung down to look at me, his eyes narrowing as he took in the fact that Liu Wei had his arm around me.

    "Of course he is alive," replied the man,pletely emotionless. Now, I wasn''t that much of a shit disturbed, but sometimes I really just had to stir the pot.

    "Awe, that''s too bad. How is his wife?" I asked with a huge smile on my face. "Her name was Wu Bai Hee, right?" I continued as I tilted my head to the side.

    "Miss Wu is not his wife. In fact, she is the fianc¨¦ to the man whose arm is around you."

    "Bless your heart," I replied with a smile before it dropped. "But I will kill anyone that suggests that again. Did you want to be the first to try? Thest guy that was roasted by my mes didn''t seem tost that long. I bet you''llst longer."

 Chapter 269 Tail Tucked Between Your Legs

    ?

    "What do you say?" I asked as I looked the mountain of a man up and down. "Do you want to try it? If you do, just say that Liu Wei is hers again and I promise you unimaginable pain," I continued with a smile on my face.

    I was standing between Liu Wei and Chen Zi Han with Liu Yu Zeng standing beside Liu Wei. Wang Chao was standing directly behind me, but still, the mountain man didn''t seem to put me in his eyes at all.

    Oh well. He''ll have to learn just like the rest.

    "You didn''t answer her," said Liu Wei as he readjusted his sses. "I suggest you do."

    The mountain man, Cheng Feng, blinked slowly and turned his attention back to me. "No," he replied.

    I blinked a few times and cocked my head to the side as I looked at the man. "No, what?" I asked confused.

    "No, I will not repeat it. Not because of what you said but because I don''t need to repeat myself," he said with a slight shrug like I waspletely inconsequential. That was fine. He would understand one way or another. And when I burned this ce to the ground, he would be going with it.

    "Understood," I said with a smile and leaned my head against Liu Wei. I could be the bigger person for all of five minutes. Or at least I was pretty sure I could be.

    "Let us in," growled Chen Zi Han clearly not having as much patience as I was attempting to.

    "I will ask Wu Bai Hee and she will have the final say," replied Cheng Feng with a shrug of his shoulders. Apparently, that woman has her ws deeper into the men here than I thought. I wondered what had happened in the months since I wasst here.

    The mountain man turned around and closed the door in our faces as he went to ask the spirit user if we were allowed entrance. However, given the fact that the door opened again in less than two minutes, I would say that the aforementioned spirit user was around the corner listening to everything.

    Cheng Feng looked down at me quickly before looking between Liu Wei and Liu Yu Zeng. "She stays out. The rest are wee," he said, his deep bass voice not changing. I was even more impressed that he didn''t even flinch when the guys started growling.

    However, it was at that moment that I felt the eyes of my stalker on me. "You know what?" I interjected with a smile. "That sounds like a perfect idea," I continued looking over my shoulder at Wang Chao for a moment before turning my attention back to the Lurch in front of me.

    "Are you sure?" grumbled Wang Chao, as he slipped his hand around my waist only high up from where Liu Wei was holding me. He bent down to whisper in my ear so that no one would be able to hear. "I won''t object," he said as he ced a kiss on my neck. "But you need to keep your mind open to me at all times, just so I know you are safe."<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Of course," I reassured him as I gave him a kiss on his cheek,pletely ignoring the looksing from Cheng Feng. "Just make sure that she keeps her ws off of Liu Wei or I can''t be held responsible for what I do." This time I maintained eye contact with Cheng Feng as I spoke.

    I didn''t care if he believed me or not. He would learn the hard way if anything happened to my men while I was taking care of my business.

    Cheng Feng stepped out of the doorway and, after giving me a kiss, my guys walked into the house. With onest look at me, Cheng Feng closed the door on me again, but not before giving me a look of disgust.

    Rolling my eyes, I cracked my neck from side to side before I turned around and walked towards the gates that were managing to keep the zombies out of the house full of humans. There was something seriously wrong with this city, and maybe my stalker will have the answers that I am looking for.

    -----

    "What is going on?" asked Chen Zi Han from where he was standing beside Wang Chao. The four men had made it through the door, but none of them were willing to go further in. There was a feeling ofplete wrongness in the air that the men couldn''t quite figure out.

    "The stalker is outside waiting for Li Dai Lu," admitted Wang Chao, his arms across his chest as he leaned against a pir. He made it sound like he wasn''t worried, but Chen Zi Han could see every muscle in his body straining in anger.

    "I assume it''s not safe?" asked Chen Zi Han as his hands balled up into fists at the very thought.

    "That''s the problem," admitted Wang Chao as he watched Liu Wei''s grandfather and Wu Bai Hee walking into the living room and taking a seat in the head chair and the couch to the right of it. "There is nothing that I can tell that says that this is a bad idea."

    "You can get into the stalker''s head?" said Chen Zi Han in surprise. He too watched the old Head of the Dragon Syndicate enter the room with a woman that he wanted to kill.

    "I think so," replied Wang Chao. "I can only assume that it is the stalker, but their thoughts are centered on Li Dai Lu. There is even an underlying need to submit to her. That was the only reason why I thought it would be safe for them to meet. Plus, Li Dai Lu wants to meet them in return."

    Chen Zi Han nodded his head in understanding. And if nothing else, thatst sentence was why Wang Chao would let her go off and meet her stalker. She wanted to meet them. It was really as simple as that.

    "So, you have returned with your tail tucked between your legs, have you?" sneered the old man after a few moments of silence. However, none of the men moved to go sit down on the couches, preferring to stand shoulder to shoulder.

 Chapter 270 Death Was Calling

    ?

    "No," replied Liu Wei as he stared at the older man in front of him. His grandfather lookedpletely different than thest time he saw him. Gone was the older man with the wrinkles and the hunched back. In his ce was a man that looked like he was in his mid-40s.

    Liu Wei and Liu Yu Zeng exchanged a look before turning their attention back to their grandfather. "We are here simply because we are on our way to City A and wanted to check in on you. Last we checked, you were still our grandfather," said Liu Yu Zeng as he leaned against a window, his arms crossed in front of him. He was too ufortable with the situation in front of him.

    He watched as Wu Bai Hee reached over to pat their grandfather''s leg. "Now, Liu Hao Yu," she said, practically purring, "You know that Liu Wei and Wang Chao are important. It is good that they are trying to mend the bridges that they burned before leaving the first time. We should wee them."

    "Fine," sighed their grandfather, and with a wave of his hand, he invited the four men to sit down on the couches. "If that is what you want, then that is what will happen."

    "Thank you so much, Liu Hao Yu," she said softly. "You are so good to me," she continued as she leaned back against the couch she was sitting on.

    Their grandfather grunted in pleasure while he looked at the young woman beside him. However, with his attention so fixed on Wu Bai Hee, he never noticed that the men didn''t do as he asked.

    "You are no longer calling him grandfather," smirked Liu Yu Zeng, his tongue bing as poisonous as his power. "Has your rtionship improved that much?"

    "Get your mind out of the gutter, boy, before I knock some sense into you," said Liu Yu Zeng''s grandfathering out of his chair much smoother than he could even ten years ago.

    "You can try, old man," answered Liu Yu Zeng. Their grandfather might appear and act like he was 30 years younger, but that didn''t mean that he wasn''t still 75 years old. Not to mention a bullet in the right ce will kill him as fast as anything else.

    "Is this what you learned from that whore?" demanded Liu Hao Yu stalking toward his grandchildren. This time all four of the men straightened up,ing to their full heights, and looked down on the man in front of them.

    "That is what we learned from you, so yes, I guess you are correct in that," responded Liu Wei without batting an eye. It took his grandfather a few minutes to understand that he was calling him a whore.

    "How dare you?!?" he started looking between the two boys that shared his DNA.

    "How did you get so young?" asked Wang Chao, interjecting in a conversation that would quickly be a brawl if the others had any say in the matter.

    "What do you mean?" sniffed Liu Hao Yu turning around and walking back to his seat and Wu Bei Hee.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Don''t you think it''s amazing? Now your grandfather can run the syndicate for years toe," added Wu Bai Hee as she put her hand on the other man''s thigh.

    "It is," said Liu Wei with a nod of his head. "Now you will have no reason not to marry him," he continued with a sharp smile that practically drew blood.

    There was silence at his words. Wu Bai Hee''s face turned pale, but Liu Hao Yu smiled in delight. "You just might be on to something there," the older man said with a smile turning to look at the young woman at his side. He either didn''t notice her paleness or choose to ignore it.

    "But we need Wang Chao and Liu Wei, remember?" she whispered to Liu Hao Yu. Maybe she whispered too loudly on purpose or by ident, but either way, the guys were able to hear what she said perfectly.

    "And why do you need us?" asked Wang Chao with a straight face. He walked over to the couch and sat down on the middle cushion. Looking at the woman across from him, he studied her. "Or is it more that you won''t need us until we transform into zombies and control the world?" he continued.

    Wang Chao had originally thought that maybe Wu Bai Hee had either been reborn or had transmigrated before the zombie outbreak because of how she acted thest time they were here. However, knowing what he knew now and knowing that the women who either experienced rebirth or transmigrated were their alleged soul mates, he was going to y for a while before killing her.

    He didn''t want her blood on Li Dai Lu''s hands if he could help it.

    "I know you aren''t here for me," he continued, staring at the woman. He wasn''t concerned that she could get into his head as easily as anyone else''s, so he wanted to make sure that her whole attention was on him and no one else.

    "And if you aren''t here for him, then you must be here for me," continued Liu Wei as he went to go stand behind Wang Chao. "Or are you going to wait until Wang Chao bes the supreme Alpha before you make your move?"

    Wang Chao watched as Wu Bai Hee''s eyes narrowed in anger. "No, this has nothing to do with me," he said slowly, and the expression on her face confirmed his words. "This has everything to do with you. I can only assume that she wants to guide your path to being the Alpha and me being your Beta."

    "Ah, like that girl wanted to do with Chen Zi Han back at the City Y Sanctuary," nodded Liu Yu Zeng, adding his voice to the conversation. Chen Zi Han simply snorted. "I assume that it is going to turn out the same way too?"

    Wang Chao and Liu Wei both grunted in agreement. Wu Bai Hee''s hours were numbered. There was no question about that. Rather they would get whatever information that they could from her before sending her to her death.

 Chapter 271 On Our Side

    ?

    I slowly walked down the steps and towards the metal gates that were like the gates of heaven in front of me. If, of course, there was a whole horde of zombies waiting for you on the other side of heaven.

    Then again, for all I knew, there might be.

    I straightened my back and shed the aspects of humanity that I seemed so desperate to cling to no matter how much I told myself otherwise. Taking my hair out of the bun it was normally in, I let it fall down my back in a ck waterfall until it reached my ass. My hair was growing faster and faster, but I didn''t care.

    I put my right hand to the gates, swinging them back into the crowd of zombies, and stepped forward, unconcerned about the possible consequences. I would take all their souls before they had a chance to harm me as they did in myst life.

    Now, as much as I had prepared myself mentally for what I thought was going to happen, you know, me beingpletely ripped apart before I could consume their mes, I was not prepared for what actually happened.

    "My Lord," said one zombie who was standing in front of all the others. He ced his right hand on his chest before bowing his head and dropping to one knee. His voice wasn''t overly loud or quiet, nor was it said perfectly. But those two words rang through my head as the rest of the horde quickly followed their Alpha.

    I froze, unsure what was going on or even what I should be doing at that moment. Taking a deep breath, I fell back onto one of the most profound sayings that I had ever heard. ''Fake it ''til you make it.''

    I could do that. Pretending that I was the Queen of Country E, I subtly nodded my head in response. "Rise," I said as I looked at the zombie in front of me. As much as I wish I could say that I recognized it, I really couldn''t. It looked male, but with the giant round head, creepy mouth with razor-sharp teeth, pin-pricked eyes, and purple skin, it looked like every other purple zombie behind it.

    "Thank you, my Lord," it-- he, growled as he stood up. The rest of the horde continued to follow his actions. "May I ask what you are doing back in this city? Is there something I can do for you?" The longer he spoke, the more sense he made until he was speaking clearly, if not with a bit of a lisp as he tried to form the words through lips that were not as flexible as a human''s.

    Its words were what sparked a memory in the back of my mind.

    I had gotten into an Alpha battle just as we were leaving the city. This must have been the Alpha I had defeated. And if I had defeated an Alpha, I became the Alpha. That must be why my stalker followed me so often while also disappearing. I was his Alpha, but he still had a city to control.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "I am here to take care of some business," I replied, feeling much more confident now that I knew who my stalker was and why I was being stalked in the first ce. "What has been going on in the city?" I asked because he was far from what I was expecting.

    "Things have been fine. There is a second Alpha that is trying to gain territory, but so far, his efforts have been¡­cking," admitted the zombie in front of me. I tried to keep my appearance cool and collected as if learning that zombies could speak and that I could have a whole conversation with them was nothing to be rmed about. But inside? Inside a part of me was absolutely panicking about what was unveiling in front of me.

    "Do you need help?" I asked, unsure of where the words came from or even why I was offering. If I had any sense, I would be staying far away from anything zombie rted. On the other hand, it was better the devil you knew than the one you didn''t. At least this one considered me his Alpha.

    "Please, my Lord," said the zombie as he once again ced his hand over his chest and bowed his head. The others behind him followed suit like they were puppets led by a puppet master.

    "Fine, lead the way," I said with a nod. ''Wang Chao, I am going to go fight some zombies,'' I said through our link. ''I will be fine, I have a whole horde of my own behind me,'' I added as if that was somehow going to make everything better.

    ''Wait,'' replied Wang Chao quickly and I stopped following the zombie Alpha in front of me. The zombie stopped too and simply waited for my next move. ''I will send Liu Yu Zeng out with you just in case.''

    I hummed in agreement and within seconds Liu Yu Zeng came barreling out the doors and through the gate. He looked around and saw all the zombies on the road. Coming to a stop beside me, I saw that both of his hands were encased in poisonous ck mists.

    "It''s fine," I assured him, touching his hand, bringing his attention to me and away from the zombie in front of me. However, since I touched the same hand that was currently encased in his mist, a snakelike tendril climbed up my arm and now was firmly encasing it. "That''s new," I said with a raised eyebrow before I turned my attention back to Liu Yu Zeng and the zombies.

    "They are on our side," I continued as I tilted my head toward the zombie horde in front of us. The Alpha simply looked at Liu Yu Zeng and bared his teeth in a half-hearted challenge. I understood it more of a he was not willing to submit to Liu Yu Zeng simply because he was beside me. I was still the supreme Alpha as far as he was concerned, and he was my second.

    "Wang Chao said something about fighting another zombie?" asked Liu Yu Zeng as we once again started to walk forward. The horde in front of us parted on either side, allowing us to pass through between them.

 Chapter 272 Enough!

    ?

    "Apparently, there is another horde in City B trying to take over," I said with a shrug. "What do I call you?" I asked, calling out to the Alpha that was walking just in front of us.

    The zombie turned and looked at me over his shoulder, his head tilted so far to the right that it looked like it was about to fall off. "Alpha," it replied after a moment. I snorted in response. "You expect me to call you Alpha?" I asked with a raised eyebrow. I had been living in this world long enough that I knew that if I called someone Alpha it meant that I was willing to submit to them. And I was not the type of girl to submit.

    The zombie thought for a moment before shrugging its shoulder. "That is my name, it is what they call me," he replied, not really understanding. To him, being called Alpha was just a matter of course, however, if he wasn''t the Alpha, there was no way that he would think like that.

    "Fine, I''ll call you my Beta," I said, showing off my teeth in a grin that was more threatening than anything else. The zombie thought for a moment before nodding its head. "I am your Beta," he agreed. I nodded in satisfaction.

    "I feel a bit lost," admitted Liu Yu Zeng as he looked behind him at the over 100 zombies gliding behind us, their movements lending the body to a back-and-forth motion as if they were swimming in the water.

    "You and me both," I admitted. "However, the short of it was that I won an Alpha battle and unknowingly became the Alpha of this horde. The Alpha that I beat," I paused to indicate the zombie in front of me. "Followed me to City J and then to City Y. However, the reason why I didn''t feel my stalker around all the time, was because, in its free time, it was taking over City B."

    I looked at Liu Yu Zeng and gave him a tight smile. "Yeah," I agreed nodding my head at his look ofplete disbelief. "It was not on my bingo card of possible scenarios either," I admitted.

    "Bingo card?" asked Liu Yu Zeng confused.

    "Long story, but it is a game that was yed in my first life," I said with a shrug of my shoulders. "Anyways. I thought that it would be better for a zombie that had submitted to me to be in charge of a zombie-run city than some unknown zombie."

    "Makes sense," agreed Liu Yu Zeng with a nod of his head. Looking down, he saw his mist still clinging to my arm like it was a vine or a snake or something. "You okay with that?" he asked, changing the subject.

    "Yeah," I said with a small smile. "It''s kind of cute," I admitted. Before Liu Yu Zeng I waspletely terrified of anything that had to do with toxic power users, now I had the poisonous mist on me like a pet and I wasn''t even flinching.

    "It''s not hurting you or anything?" he asked concerned as we continued to follow the Alpha down the street. I mean, he could be leading us into a trap, but at this point, I really didn''t care. I was considering this more as a date with Liu Yu Zeng than a potential battle.

    "No," I said as I stroked it gently where it was on my arm. I had a happy, weing feeling, and I wondered if his mist was as sentient as my mes were. "It can stay here for as long as it wants," I continued with a shrug. Maybe my mes would act the same way to the boys. After all, I had yet to burn them with it yet.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Liu Yu Zeng grunted as if I was petting him instead. "Keep it as long as it''s not hurting you."

    We walked in silence for a while longer and I could have sworn that I heard the purr of Cerberus'' engine, but with so many zombies around us, my vision was pretty much blocked.

    "Here we are, my Lord," said my Beta as we came to a stop in front of a mall. "This is where the other horde is." The Alpha of City B tipped back his head and roared out a challenge. A few secondster, there was an answering roar from inside of the mall. It was so loud that even I could hear it clearly.

    Within minutes, a zombie horde poured out of the building and spread out in front of us. I could feel Liu Yu Zeng stiffen as I tried to suppress a yawn. Pulling out another travel mug filled with more sugar and milk than coffee, I took a sip.

    "Seriously?" asked Liu Yu Zeng wide-eyed as he indicated my mug. Written on it was ''I kill zombies''. "What?" I asked a look of confusion on my face, but the smirk I was trying to hide behind the mug told a different story. "I thought it was appropriate," I continued with a shrug. "Besides, it is really hard to stop yawning when you guys keep limiting my coffee intake."

    "Why did youe?" growled a different voice, and I looked over the lid of my coffee to see a new zombieing to stand in front of my Beta. "We have an agreement with the human female."

    I raised my eyebrows to look at Liu Yu Zeng. I understood that it was a big city, but the only human female I could think of was Wu Bai Hee. Was she really making deals with zombies? And if she was, why?

    Liu Yu Zeng looked back at me and slowly shook his head as if to indicate that he didn''t know what was going on either.

    "The human female doesn''t control the city," hissed my Beta. "I do. And I say leave!"

    "No," responded the other zombie. The zombies pacing back and forth behind him hissed in agreement with his words.

    "Then submit!" growled my Beta crouching down and opening his mouth to show off his teeth.

    "Enough!"

 Chapter 273 Still Choosing Death?

    ?

    "Enough!" I shouted again, this time even louder than the first. The two zombie Alphas turned to look at me. The one that dered himself my Beta stood up and took a step back. cing his hand across his chest, he bowed his head.

    "Who are you?" hissed the other Alpha looking me up and down "You look like her, but you are not that human. What do you want?"

    I simply looked at the unknown Alpha in front of me. I could demand answers right now and it may or may not give me the answers I was looking for, or I could issue a challenge of my own, beat the zombie into the dirt, force his horde to be under mymand, and be inplete control of City B without having to lift a finger afterwards.

    If anyone was thinking that I was going for option A, you really didn''t know me all that well.

    I smiled at the unknown Alpha in front of me and tipped my head back and roared a challenge.

    When I was done, I brought my head forward and smiled at the zombie. It snorted and tipped his head back to answer my challenge. As soon as the challenge was answered, the hordes on both sides moved back to give us room. Even the Alpha on my side moved back with the rest of his horde. It only took minutes before there was a space cleared on the road in front of the mall that the other horde was using as its base.

    Only Liu Yu Zeng continued to stand by my side. I looked at him with a smile. Tilting my head to the side, I told him without words what I expected. He pulled me in for a kiss before grumbling under his breath about stubborn women and walking away. He was standing on the invisible line between the two hordes, but I could see the ck smoke billowing at his feet, his mood unstable.

    "You will regret this," hissed the zombie as he paced back and forth in front of me. "I will rip you to shreds and im the city as mine."

    "So, you understand who I am to the other Alpha," I said with a smile on my face. "This will make life so much easier. Submit or die, those are your two choices. Or do you think that he is so weak that he submitted to a human for the Hell of it?"

    "I will not submit," hissed the zombie as he briefly looked over at the other horde before quickly closing in the distance between us.

    "That''s fine," I replied as I ducked under his w. Calling upon a Ka-Bar fighter knife, I slipped it between the zombie''s ribs. It let out a terrifying scream as it jumped back and out of the range of the knife. I twirled the knife around so the zombie could see the purple blood running down the de and over the top of my hand.

    This knife was a thing of beauty that I must have picked up in some random supply run. But after finding it when my aunt had visited, it was quickly bing a favorite. The whole thing, from the tip of the de to the base of the handle was matte ck with a ck hilt over the handle protecting my hand from slipping down onto the de. Yes, I was quickly bing in love with the thing. Not to mention, it cut through zombies like butter.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "If you are choosing death, why are you so far away?" I taunted looking at the zombie in front of me. The ck snake-like mist on my right arm had moved up to create almost a choker around my neck. I appreciated that as I didn''t want to kill the zombie too quickly with a power that wasn''t even mine.

    I called the blue me into my left hand as my right hand still held firmly to the handle of the knife. With a flick, I sent the mes out behind the zombie, creating a straight line between it and whatever it considered to be safe. It also prevented any other zombie from its horde from jumping into the fight when I least expected it.

    I could learn my lesson too, you know.

    "The other human promised me the city," growled the zombie. "She said nothing about you."

    "That was her mistake then. Why don''t you go take it up with her?" I smiled smugly as the zombie was slowly pushed forward by the heat of my mes.

    "She said she knew the future," continued the zombie as his eyes searched me, looking for some type of opening or weakness.

    "She knew that this would be a zombie city and wanted the zombie on her side?" I guessed. I mean, it was pretty much my same n, just with different zombies.

    "Yes," the other zombie hissed before he sprinted in front of me so fast, I almost couldn''t see him. However, almost wasn''t good enough. With a swipe of my knife, I cut off the w that was once again aiming for my head.

    Calling the purple me this time, I sent it out as fast as I could to consume the limb before another zombie could grow from it. I didn''t need two Alphas to fight at the same time. "Close," I said with a smile as once again, the zombie backed up, clutching his severed wrist to his chest. "But close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades."

    It growled and hissed at me as the limb started to regrow. Shaking his hand, he continued to pace in front of me, looking for a weakness. "Still choosing death?" I asked as I stared at him. I now understood why the zombies paced so much, it made its prey dizzy after a few minutes of watching them.

    I closed my eyes and shook my head, trying to relieve myself of the light-headed feeling. It wasn''t until Liu Yu Zeng screamed my name that I opened my eyes to see the zombie inches from my face.

 Chapter 274 She Wants You Dead

    ?

    I couldn''t hold back the smile on my face as I saw the zombie so close to me. I ducked to the left side, making sure that I was out of range of its ws or teeth, and, bringing up the knife in my right hand, I sliced his head clean off his neck.

    Straightening up, I looked at the zombie halves in front of me. Did I burn the head and hoped that the new one was smarter than the old one? Or did I burn the body and not have to worry? Since I couldn''t be sure either way, I walked over to the head and watched as the neck grew longer until there were shoulders. Knowing I didn''t have a lot of time to make my decision, I looked at the head.

    "Submit or die," I told it, and I watched as the circr, ball-like head started to roll around the ground in fury. "Chose now. No matter what the oue is, I am still going to be the Alpha of your horde. The only difference is whether or not you are alive to see it."

    "Die," it hissed as its head finally rolled around enough to be able to look at me. "I will never submit."

    "Understood," I said with a shrug of my shoulders. Either way, the horde would fall in line and be under my Beta. I closed my eyes and saw two small souls flickering in front of me. I sent out my purple me and watched as it engulfed the two smaller souls.

    Feeling energized, I turned my attention to the other horde. "Submit or die," I called out. My Beta let out a roar of challenge after my words, tranting my decree from human to zombie. The entire horde fell to their knees and tilted their heads so I could see their necks.

    Grunting in approval, I turned around to look at my Beta as he walked towards me. Stopping a few feet away, he bowed and dropped to his knee, his neck showing in sign of submission. In fact, everyone but Liu Yu Zeng was kneeling on the ground in front of me, their necks bared and lifted to the sky.

    Humming in approval, I turned around away from the zombies and walked towards Liu Yu Zeng. "We should probably get back to the guys. If I know them, they are going to be going out of their minds wondering what we are doing," I said as I started to walk back in the direction of Liu Wei''s house.

    The sound of an engine roaring caused me to look to the side. There was Cerberus with Lin in the truck bed. "Perfect timing," I called out as Liu Yu Zeng, and I walked toward the truck. The motorcycle was slowly backing out of the ramp that was installed in Cerberus'' bed just for the bikes. The scientists really did think of everything.

    Liu Yu Zeng pulled on the helmet that was hanging off of Lin''s handlebars and put it on his head. "I''ll see you back at the house," he said as he quickly drove away. I waved at him before I climbed into Cerberus.

    "You followed us," I said with a smile.

    "Always," replied Cerberus as he started his engine and took off after Liu Yu Zeng.

    "You can take your time," I said with a smile. "There is no need to rush to a ce where I am not wee."

    "Then burn it down," replied the truck as if it wasn''t a big deal.

    "Why waste so much energy?" I asked as I leaned back in the driver''s seat. I didn''t get the information about the ''human female'' that had a deal going with the zombies, but if it was Wu Bai Hee, then she was in for a rude awakening.

    "Then why don''t we take the scenic route back?" said Cerberus, and I smiled in return.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Sounds perfect," I said with a sigh. The men were more than capable of dealing with whatever mess the Liu family was involved in.

    -------

    "Everything go okay?" asked Wang Chao when Liu Yu Zeng returned to the house.

    "Fine," the other man replied with a shrug. "Other than the part where a human female has an alliance going with one of the zombie hordes upying the city, everything went fine."

    "Human female?" repeated Chen Zi Han, and the four men turned their attention to where Wu Bai Hee was sitting on the couch.

    "What? Like I am the only human female in the city?" she responded with a huff.

    "Besides, it is incredibly smart of her to work out a deal with the zombies," added Liu Wei''s grandfather,pletely outing Wu Bai Hee as the woman.

    "It was," admitted Liu Yu Zeng. "It must have been one of the reasons why you could still live here sofortably while all the other houses I''ve seen so far have been razed beyond recognition." He turned to smile at his grandfather, that looked young enough to be his father. "But the deal that Li Dai Lu offered was such that they just couldn''t refuse."

    "Impossible," snapped Wu Bai Hee, a venomous look crossing her face. "There is no way that that Alpha submitted to anyone."

    "You are right. It didn''t," said Liu Yu Zeng with a nod. "Which was why she cut off its head."

    Wu Bai Hee focused her attention on Liu Yu Zeng. "Cut off its head?" she asked, her eyes narrowing in contemtion. "Is that all she did?"

    Liu Yu Zeng felt something trying to slither through the defenses of his mind. Having expected this, he simply looked at the only woman in the room. "I suggest you stay out from where you are not weed," he said calmly, as if the pressure of her trying to force herself into his mind was not enough to bring him to his knees in pain.

    Unfortunately for her, there was only one woman to whom he would kneel.

    "She wants you dead," said Liu Wei as if it was not that big of a deal. Breaking her attention away from Liu Yu Zeng, Wu Bai Hee turned to look at the other man.

    "Excuse me?"

 Chapter 275 Screwed Up

    ?

    Wu Bai Hee lookedpletely shocked that anyone could want her dead. Watching the expressions shing across her face, Liu Yu Zeng could onlyugh.

    "You seem surprised," he said as he walked over to the couch and sat down.

    "You won''t let that happen, right?" she purred forcing herself deeper into his mind. Unfortunately for her, you have to be susceptible to maniption in order for it to work, and Liu Yu Zeng was not.

    "Even if he doesn''t, I have no problem pulling the trigger myself," replied Liu Wei with a tired sigh. For the life of him, he couldn''t figure out what had called him here. His grandfather pped the armrest of his chair as he waved his finger at Liu Wei.

    "You don''t speak to her like that," growled Liu Hao Yu as he stared down his oldest grandson, wondering how on Earth he raised him to be that disrespectful to someone of Wu Bai Hee''s caliber.

    "It''s fine, Liu Hao Yu," Wu Bai Hee purred in response as she turned to look at the man sitting in the head seat. "Besides, I think that it is important that Liu Wei and I have a chance to talk, just the two of us. We have a wedding to n, right?"

    "Of course, if you want to talk to him alone, you can just use my study," said Liu Hao Yu nodding his head. Turning back to his grandson he narrowed his eyes. "Well? Go talk to Wu Bai Hee. Your wedding is incredibly important to the Red Dragon Syndicate."

    Liu Wei raised an eyebrow but didn''t say anything. Standing up, he walked over to where Wu Bai Hee was waiting for him. "Touch me and I will have no problem ripping your arm off," said Liu Wei as he strolled by. He wasn''t going to put up with anything when it came to her, no matter how innocent it seemed.

    She huffed but didn''t say anything. Following behind Liu Wei, the man wasn''t able to get a glimpse of the malicious look on her face at his words. But it was fine, she would have a long time to break him to her will. There was no need for Wang Chao to be in charge of this city in the next few months, not with her here and Liu Wei in her pocket.

    Liu Wei opened the door to the study and let Wu Bai Hee in first. It felt like a viper was at his back and he didn''t like that feeling at all.

    Watching her going to sit in his grandfather''s chair behind the desk, Liu Wei went to sit down in one of the guest chairs. "What do you want?" asked Liu Wei as the stared at the woman in front of him. Letting his eyes go a bit blurry, he saw her me flickering in the center of her chest.

    "I want to make you an offer," she purred as she let out just a bit of her power into Liu Wei''s mind. Unfortunately, it felt like she hade up against an imprable brick wall. That was not part of her ns.

    "It won''t work," assured Liu Wei as he looked at the woman. He was almost thankful that the apocalypse came just so he wouldn''t have to marry her. Then again, he was thankful for the apocalypse for so many other reasons, most of which revolved around Li Dai Lu.

    "What won''t work?" she asked as a small bead of sweat formed at her temple as she continued to push her powers into Liu Wei more and more.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Your maniption," replied Liu Wei with a tired sigh. "Not only because I am well versed on how to keep a spirit user out of my head, but because you don''t have the strength to manipte me. I am not an old man desperate for power andpany."

    "You know what I am," she said as she sat back in the office chair. "That should make things a bit easier. What are you?"

    "Death," he smiled. There was no way that he would actually tell her what he was. She rolled her eyes at his answer.

    "It doesn''t matter what you are, what matters is what I can give you," she said as she once again leaned forward and folded her hands in front of her on the desk.

    "I don''t want what you think you can give me," replied Liu Wei bored. The feeling that he needed to be here waspletely gone and it was now time to move on.

    "Even if what I can give you isplete power over the zombies and humans?" she purred. There was not a man in the world that wouldn''t want that.

    "Not interested," answered Liu Wei. "If that is all, I am going to have to get going."

    "You are not going anywhere until you agree," snarled Wu Bai Heeing to her feet and leaning toward Liu Wei. "And you will agree."

    "What makes you think that?" he asked, his head cocked to the side.

    "Because I know what is going to happen, I know what this city bes. I can make sure that you are standing on the heads of everyone. Don''t you want that?"

    "Ah," said Liu Wei nodding his head sagely. "I am guessing that you are reborn?"

    She looked startled at his words. Going back to her side of the desk, she took a seat. "I would ask why you would think that, but I assumed that that bitch with you was also reborn. Otherwise, how else would you make it this far and still be human."

    "You didn''t expect me to be human at this point?" asked Liu Wei with a small smile on his face. "Did you think that I would be a zombie and stand at Wang Chao''s side as he took over the entire country?" He remembered what Yang Meng Yao had said about Wang Chao''s future and he assumed that Wu Bai Hee was trying to manipte him in order to get the future she wants. But if she was his soul mate, the fates really screwed up this time.

 Chapter 276 Things You Need To Know

    ?

    Wu Bai Hee looked at Liu Wei, confused. How did he know what was supposed to happen in the future¡­ unless he was reborn too. If that was the case, then that could also be the reason why he wasn''t already a zombie.

    "You were reborn?" she asked as she stared at the man in front of her. If that was the case, then she would have to rethink her n. Maybe he was already in the middle of overthrowing Wang Chao. After all, she didn''t know exactly when he changed, just that sometime in 2122, he and Wang Chao appeared in City B and took it over. It was still spring of 2121, so a lot of things could happen during that time.

    "No," he replied with a shrug. "But apparently, being reborn doesn''t make you as special as you seem to think?"

    "Is that really what you think?" asked Wu Bai Hee with a smirk. "Because I am pretty sure that I am just as special as I think I am."

    "Really? Because including yourself," Liu Wei paused for a second to count on his fingers, "I count five people that have been reborn, and those are just the ones that came up and told me. Still think you are special?"

    Wu Bai Hee paused. Could the Goddess that she had met when she died also have helped other women? If so, why?

    Well, even if She did, it didn''t mean anything. Wu Bai Hee already had a zombie horde ready and willing to take over City B. All she had to do was make sure that Liu Wei was bitten by a zombie or got injected with the zombie blood, and everything would follow along the correct course.

    "I am special, and I will show you the future that is at your fingertips. All you have to do is submit."

    Liu Wei burst outughing at the very idea that he would submit to anyone but Li Dai Lu, especially a woman like Wu Bai Hee. In fact, he wasughing so hard that he let down his guard just long enough to feel the tip of a needle plunging into his neck.

    Shocked, he gripped her arm, calling her me to him. He flung her hand away as she dropped to the floor lifeless. Slowly raising his shaking hand to the syringe jutting out of his neck, he quickly pulled it out and flung it across the room before he sumbed to the darkness that was calling him.

    ----

    Inside of Cerberus, Li Dai Lu sat bolt upright. "Liu Wei!!!" she screamed before slumping over unconscious in the driver''s seat.

    -----

    "Liu Wei!" shouted Wang Chao as he stood up from the couch. Not caring about the old master that was currently yelling at him to sit back down, he bolted up the stairs, Liu Yu Zeng and Chen Zi Han close on his heels.

    ----

    "You aren''t supposed to be here," said a cold voice over the top of Liu Wei''s face. Opening his eyes, he looked into the beautiful blue eyes of Li Dai Lu. Smiling softly, he reached up to stroke her face. However, the woman leaned away from his touch with a firm shake of her head.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "I might look like her, and I might be a part of her, but she will kill me if any of you so much as touch a strand of my hair," she said as she backed away from Liu Wei enough that he could stand up on his own.

    He looked around and saw that he wasying on the ledge of an impressive cliff. The ground was a dark grey, the sky was ck, and the river under the ledge was bright red. "Where am I?" he asked as he turned around in a circle, trying to figure out where he was. It was nothing like the beautiful green fields andke that he sawst time.

    "It was you by theke, right?" he asked, confused. She looked exactly like the Li Dai Lu that he met by theke, that he made promises to.

    "No," she said with a smile. "That was Li Dai Lu that you were speaking to," she assured him.

    "What is going on?" demanded Liu Wei, not liking not knowing.

    "What is going on was that you were stupid, let your guard down¡­ and died," the woman in the white Grecian dress said with a shrug.

    "I can''t die," said Liu Wei in a panic. "If I die then Li Dai Lu will lose her mind."

    "And I can assure you she is. In fact, if she wasn''t frantically searching for you, she would probably be doing something like burning down your house. And even if she isn''t doing it right this minute, I hope that you aren''t too fond of that house because it is going to go up in a spectacr purple me in a little bit. Unfortunately, some rats will still manage to make it out. I don''t think our girl is really going to care about that, but you will need to."

    "I don''t understand," growled Liu Wei. Nothing was making sense. If he was dead, how could he be here right now?

    "You will. But I need to get you back. Do you have a preference as to what timeline you wanted?" she asked casually, like it wasn''t a big deal.

    "Yes, to right before Wu Bai Hee stabbed me with that needle," growled Liu Wei. This time he would kill her much, much slower.

    "That sounds good, but there are a few things you should know," she said as she looked at the man in front of her. She was nothing more than a personality that was shed when Li Dai Lu broke apart. She managed to absorb one aspect of her personality, but there were still many more left to find. Hopefully, she never breaks apart like that again. The world couldn''t survive without her very much longer. It was already falling apart.

    But at least the guys were there beside her now. That should go a long way to making sure that things went back together as they should.

    "What do I need to know?" demanded Liu Wei as the woman in front of him trailed off into her own thoughts. He wanted to shake her, but the idea of touching a woman other than Li Dai Lu, even if they had her face, made him want to puke.

 Chapter 277 A Second Chance

    ?

    "First, the zombie virus is going to be toxic to you. Consider it like an extreme allergic reaction. Try not to get infected again," said the woman as she looked at Liu We.

    "I don''t understand," replied Liu We confused. "I remember that in my past life, I was a zombie so what''s the big deal if I get infected again? Besides I am a power user, aren''t I immune to the virus now?"

    The icy version of Li Dai Lu took in a deep breath. She was not the personality quick to temper, that was the bitch, but she was so very tempted right at this moment. "I am only going to exin this to you once, understand?" she said as she stared at the man in front of her, making sure that he was actually paying attention to what she was saying.

    "First, a power user can be infected by the zombie virus and turn into a zombie. However, that zombie has to be an Alpha, no other zombie can force the change. Understood? The vial that Wu Bai Hee had contained the blood of an Alpha zombie."

    "If that is the case, why didn''t I turn into a zombie? Why did I die?" demanded Liu Wei, needing to know everything he could in whatever time he had left.

    "Because you can''t be turned into a zombie," said the woman in white simply.

    "But I did," reminded Liu Wei. "In myst life."

    "And in the life before that, you probably turned into a zombie, married Wu Bai Hee, and lived happily ever after ording to her ns. That''s the point. There are infinite lives out there with infinite possibilities for the oue. But you are not living in another life. In this life, you met Li Dai Lu, swore your allegiance to her, and are finally taking steps towards taking your rightful ce. Unfortunately, that rightful ce makes Alpha blood toxic to your current form."

    Liu Wei''s head was spinning with all the information being thrown at him. In typical Li Dai Lu fashion, this personality didn''t hold anything back. "Okay, maybe less details," he admitted.

    "Less details?" she repeated with a smirk. "Fine, less details it is. First, stay away from getting infected with zombies, specifically Alpha zombies."

    Liu Wei nodded his understanding. "What next?"

    "Kill the soul mates."

    Liu Wei nodded and thought for a second. "Two out of four have been killed. Three out of four if you count Wu Bai Hee," he said, not sure if Wu Bai Hee counted yet or not. She was technically dead right now, but if he went back in time before he died then that meant that Wu Bai Hee would still be alive.

    "Third, find your weapons," the woman continued as she checked things off on her fingers. "Fourth and most important, do not let Li Dai Lu wander off on her own. One of you needs to stay with her at all times, no matter what she says."

    "And if she just ups and leaves?" asked Liu Wei raising an eyebrow. He knew that Li Dai Lu probably wouldn''t do that in a normal situation, but there was something that she was keeping from everyone that might require her to leave them.

    "Then follow her without her knowing it. Use all that military knowledge that you guys were so proud of and track her down. I don''t care how you do it, just make sure that she is never alone. Plus, your bikes should always be able to find Cerberus. Use them if you need to."<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Onest question?" asked Liu Wei tentatively.

    "Hurry up, she is searching for you right now and losing her mind. If she can''t find you soon the world will go up in mes and I don''t know if that is what she really wants."

    "You said that my current form couldn''t handle Alpha blood. Does that mean I have another form?"

    "You do," replied the woman as she frantically looked around.

    "Will you tell me what it is?" asked Liu Wei. He hated not knowing things.

    "No. You will find out when you need to. Until then, keep on this journey and you will learn everything that you need to," said the icy woman, and with a wave of her hand, the scene changed and Liu Wei was sitting back in the office staring at Wu Bai Hee.

    ---

    "Is that really what you think?" asked Wu Bai Hee with a smirk. "Because I am pretty sure that I am just as special as I think I am."

    As soon as she opened her mouth, Liu Wei was across the desk with her throat in his hand. "I was nning on drawing this out, let you know the price of your ns," he started as he picked her up and dragged her across the desk not caring about theputer or the paperwork that was pushed to the floor.

    Grabbing her right arm, he pulled her hand out of her pocket, the syringe gripped between her fingers. Luckily for him, the cap was still on the needle. Twisting her arm, he watched as the needle fell to the floor before crushing it under his boot. "But now, I am just going to kill you before you can do any more damage."

    With those words, Liu Wei pulled the me out of the woman in front of him and watched as she copsed to the floor, dead for the second time.

    He sneered at the body, the rage coursing through his veins nowhere near satisfied with such an easy death. Turning around he strolled out of the office, closing the door behind him.

    ----

    "Here again?" came a soft, pleasant voice. Wu Bai Hee opened her eyes and saw that she wasying on the grass in the middle of an apple orchard. Sitting up, she couldn''t help but take in a deep breath of the air. It was like she was in a world of perpetual spring, the apple trees blossoming, flowers pushing through the grass around her. That wet smell that came with the changing of seasons. "I am assuming that you want a second chance? Or would it be a third?"

 Chapter 278 Third Timeâ€™s A Charm

    ?

    "I know you humans have a saying; ''third time''s a charm'', but you don''t need to take it so literally," came the voice. Wu Bai Hee sat up in the middle of the orchard and turned toward the voice.

    "I am sorry," she said, "I didn''t expect this to happen."

    "Mmm," hummed a beautiful womaning through the trees. "I don''t imagine most people expect to die when they do." The woman looked young, no more than in her 20s. She had long brown hair that was braided around her head like a tiara and wore a long green dress that danced across the grass beneath her feet. She looked and sounded like the softness of spring.

    "I can do better," promised Wu Bai Hee as she stood up and curtsied to the Goddess before her. The other woman tipped her head in acknowledgment as she fiddled with the basket of flowers in her arms.

    "I am sure that you can do better," repeated the Goddess, "But ites down to whether or not I want to give you a third chance."

    "As you said, the third time''s a charm. I will do what needs to be done, I promise." Desperate, Wu Bai Hee dropped to her knee and rested her forehead on the grass in front of the Goddess''s feet. "As long as I can go back even earlier before he meets Li Dai Lu, everything will be fine."

    There was a pause, even the air itself seemed to pause for a moment. "He met Li Dai Lu?" the Goddess asked slowly. "What about the other three?"

    "What other three?" asked Wu Bai Hee confused. "Do you mean Liu Yu Zeng, Chen Zi Han and Wang Chao? Are they really that important?"

    "My dear, dear human, you have no idea how important they are." The Goddess gentlyid her hand on Wu Bai Hee''s shoulder, encouraging her to stand up. "I will be more than happy to send you back, let you have another chance. But this time, instead of focusing only on Liu Wei, I want you to try and get all four of them on your side."

    "My powers don''t seem to work on them though," said Wu Bai Hee dejectedly.

    "There is more than one way to manipte a man," smiled the Goddess. "I''ll see what I can give you. But you need to remember, you need all four of the men on your side."

    "So you''ll put me back in time before they even meet Li Dai Lu?" asked Wu Bi Hee smiling at the Goddess in front of her.

    "No," said the Goddess with a smile. "I''ll return you to the moment you died. I need you to take the men away from Li Dai Lu, I need you topletely crush her, mind, body, and spirit. The best way is for you to have those men on your side. Do you understand me?"

    "Not really," admitted Wu Bai Hee. "But I will do as you ask."

    "That''s my child. May you go with the blessing of this Goddess to rid the world of the evil that walks amongst you." With a wave of her hand, Wu Bai Hee disappeared from the apple orchard and from the Goddess.

    "Li Dai Lu¡­ Li Dai Lu, you thought that I wouldn''t find you. But I did. I found you and once again I will crush you beneath my heel like the scum that you are." Turning around, the Goddess walked away, not caring that the once vibrant grass under her feet turned brown and shriveled as she passed.

    "I will shatter you over and over again as many times as I need to. And those men of yours were always your biggest weakness."<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    -----

    Wu Bai Hee sucked in a deep breath of air as she sat up from where shey crumpled on the floor of the study inside Liu Wei''s mansion. Resting her arms on her knees, she hung her head and continued to take in deep breaths until her heart slowed down. She did it. She came back for a third time, and this time she would be better prepared.

    Taking a few more steadying breaths, she made her way to her feet and slipped out of the door and into her own room. She needed time to collect herself before she confronted the men.

    ----

    "Liu Wei!" I screamed as I stormed into the mansion. I didn''t care if I wasn''t weed, I had the worst dream ever and I needed to see him. "Liu Wei!!"

    "I''m here, Sweetheart," said Liu Wei as he came walking down the stairs. I studied him up and down making sure that nothing was wrong. Hurrying to his side, I threw myself in his arms.

    Burying my face in his neck, I inhaled the smell that was uniquely him. "You scared me," I whimpered as I wrapped my legs around his waist. I didn''t care if it wasn''t appropriate or if his grandfather didn''t approve, I needed him as close to me as I possibly could. "I dreamt that you died," I whispered against his neck. "I didn''t even think I had fallen asleep. But it was a horrible dream. I need to kill Wu Bai Hee."

    "I''m sorry Sweetheart, I promise you that I ampletely fine," he murmured to me as he walked us over to the couch so he could sit down. "And I already killed her," he continued as he started running his hand down my hair. Shuddering I just nodded my head at his words.

    "I need to burn this ce down," I admitted. "I won''t be satisfied until I do."

    "You do whatever it is that you need to do," he reassured me as he continued the stroke me. I was sure that his grandfather was yelling something in the background, but I wasn''t in a ce where I really wanted to listen to him.

    "You sure you are okay?"

    "I am perfectly fine," he promised with a gentle kiss to my forehead. "But I think it is time to get going."

    "I couldn''t agree more," cut in Liu Yu Zeng. "Let''s get going home."

    "But you''ve never been to the ranch,"ughed Liu Wei from under me.

    "Wherever Li Dai Lu is, is home," the other man said with a shrug, and I couldn''t agree more. Wherever the guys were was home. Simple as that.

 Chapter 279 The Hard Way

    ?

    "Are you sure about this?" Liu Wei asked as we drove away from the mansion.

    I was silent for a few minutes as I thought about it. I had wanted to burn down the house, but at the same time, I didn''t want to burn it down. And yes, I understood how asinine that sounded, but hear me out.

    I wanted to burn the ce down because I hated it. It was ugly, there were no good memories for me there, Wu Bai Hee was there, not to mention, I had a dream that Liu Wei died there. On the flip side, I didn''t think that all those people deserved to die, and I wasn''t willing to take them with me to the ranch.

    By the end of all my hemming and hawing, I decided that since Wu Bai Hee was dead, I could leave the mansion standing.

    However, I was a vindictive bitch, and as such, I set the living room on fire to appease my need for something to burn. But as soon as the couches, chairs, coffee table, d¨¦cor, and rugs were destroyed, I called back my me and turned around to leave.

    There were too many things wrong with that ce to want to stay longer. Liu Wei and Liu Yu Zeng were satisfied that their grandfather was alive and well, and decades younger than before. Whatever called Liu Wei there was no longer a thing. Personally, I believed that it was Wu Bai Hee that called him there and once she died, there was no reason for him to stay.

    Whatever happened in the study caused our reason for being there to no longer be an issue and now we were back on the road.

    To a home that may no longer be my home.

    We''ll see how that went.

    "I''m sure," I replied finally as the men all surrounded my truck with their motorcycles, effectively cing me in the middle of a protective cage. We had just left the city limits and were back on the open road heading north towards City A. The ride was going smoothly for the first 20 minutes or so. The highway was pretty well cleared, simr to City B and I wondered if Beta had something to do with that.

    Not really caring about anything, the music in Cerberus'' cab sting, I allowed myself to rx. I needed to think more positively about the ranch and my future. We had done what we set out to do, and now it was time to go home. And even if it wasn''t the home that I left, I could make it my home again.

    Happier about going back to the ranch than I was before, I didn''t notice Cerberus slowing down until we hade to an almost stop. "What''s going on?" I asked confused. I looked out the front window and saw a giant wall looming in front of us.

    Getting out of the truck, I was quickly joined by my guys on both sides of me. Looking at the impressive blockade, I cocked my head to the side. "So, do we knock or does someone juste and open it?"

    Chen Zi Han adjusted the gloves on his hands and walked forward to knock on the ''door''. Now, I might be using that word very loosely. There was a separate section of the wall that looked like two car doors that had been ripped off their hinges and were ced in front of the only hole in the 10-foot structure.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Anyone home?" called out Liu Yu Zeng as Chen Zi Han returned to our group. There was no answer to either the knock or Liu Yu Zeng. I shrugged my shoulders, unconcerned.

    "Chen Zi Han, knock it down," I called out loudly, enough though the man was standing right beside me.

    "You are from City B, that makes you a zombie. You are not wee here," called out a voice from the other side of the wall. Looking up, I saw a skinny man dressed all in white standing on top of the barrier.

    "Have you seen a zombie?" I called out, not sure what he was talking about. There was no way that anyone could confuse us with a zombie, even on my worst day.

    "It doesn''t matter, I am well aware that there are zombies taking over City B. If you areing from that direction then there is a chance that you might have been infected and now you want to harm our human brothers and sisters."

    I rolled my eyes, who really started a safety zone in the middle of the highway?? "You didn''t answer my question, have you seen a zombie?" I repeated.

    "Of course I have, they have greyish-green skin with huge sores all over them and moan," came the man''s reply from where he stood looking down on us. And just by that answer, I knew that he had never seen a zombie outside of the movies or television.

    "They really aren''t," replied Liu Yu Zeng as he stood beside me. "Now, we need to get through to get home. Are you going to let us? Or are we going through the hard way?" he continued as he put his elbow on my shoulder.

    "We will let you in," said the man in white, raising a hand. The two car doors parted revealing around 20 or so men and women standing on the other side. "You just have to be searched first."

    "Excuse me?" I asked. I must have heard wrong. Either that or the man was delusional if he thought that he would be able to search me and mine.

    "We need to search you to make sure that you are not hiding any zombie bites or scratches. Those unholy beings have no ce in our world," called the man as he started to descend thetter that was perched against the wall.

    "And if we are bitten or scratched?" asked Liu Wei, his arms crossed against his chest.

    "Then you don''t belong in our world either."

 Chapter 280 Lord And Savior

    ?

    "You seem certain that this is your world," I said with a smirk as I watch the man in whitee closer and closer to us.

    "Of course it is our world, ''Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the Earth," said the man as he raised his hands up to the sky. The men and women around us lowered their heads at his words as if they were expecting the blessings of God toe down on them through this man.

    Great, a cult. I sighed as I fought not to roll my eyes. There was a saying that I was very familiar with, and it went: ''If you stand for nothing, you will fall for everything''. I wished that this was that type of situation. I wished that this was a group of people so weak that they would fall for whatever the man in white said, but it was the exact opposite. They were so strong in their conviction that not even death could convince them otherwise.

    "Doesn''t it also say: ''But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.'' I don''t see this abundance of peace, do you?" I replied. I mean, going quote for quote was not always the best way to try and convince people, but I always loved watching them stuttering over it. It was like they purposely didn''t follow the passages that went contrary to their beliefs.

    "This is not the time for peace," said the man as he came to a stop in front of me. Two extremelyrge men were standing on either side of him, protecting him. "And we are the warriors that were called to bring about peace. We do not expect to be living during it. ''And I will execute great vengeance upon them with furious rebukes; and they shall know that I am the LORD when I shally my vengeance upon them''."

    The man then let out a smile of wee as he reached his arms out towards me. "It is always nice to debate the scriptures with a non-believer. I am sure that, like my other brothers and sisters around us, you will change your mind and believe in the miracles of the Lord. Hello, I am Father Ezekiel," he continued as he took a step forward.

    My men didn''t appreciate that, and they formed a protective circle around me.

    "Ezekiel?" I asked with a raised eyebrow. This was the first time that I had ever heard of someone with that name in any of my lives.

    "Hmmm," smiled the man before me. "I had another name long before this one, but this is the one that called to me the most," he admitted with another smile. And for some reason, that didn''t surprise me.

    There was one book with the name Ezekiel in it, and he was also known for saying, ''And I will execute great vengeance upon them with furious rebukes; and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I shally my vengeance upon them.'' Something told me that this was the role that ''Ezekiel'' had chosen for himself, and the poor people around him were nothing more than scapegoats for his fantasy.

    I smiled at the man from between Chen Zi Han''s and Liu Wei''s shoulders. There was another quote by the man that I really thought was appropriate right now; "Destructih; and they shall seek peace, and there shall be none," I whispered to him and watched the smile fall off his face, and a brief look of hatred took its ce.

    The change took mere seconds, but I saw every aspect of it. <novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Take them to be inspected before being brought into the church," said Father Ezekiel with a wave of his hand. There was a mummer of, "Yes, My Lord," from the men and women around them before they tried to grab my boys by the arms and pull them away from me.

    I smirked as Chen Zi Han threw the first punch, knocking out the closest man. It was really too bad for them that they listened to someone that was only interested in leading them to their death.

    I turned around and called up my ice ability to create a seat for myself. Unintentionally creating the same ice throne as thest two times. Walking over to it as soon as it waspleted, I turned around and went to sit down.

    "You dare sit on a throne in front of me?!" demanded Father Ezekiel, ready to storm up to me and rip me off of my seat. "Only the Lord shall sit on the throne."

    "Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall," I said with a smile. "And I think that you have a lot of pride, don''t you, Father?"

    "Jezebel," he cursed at me, his eyes narrowing on my face as his two bodyguards strained against Wang Chao''s and Liu Yu Zeng''s hold. "For the wages of sin is death," he continued to hiss at me.

    "You do like your scriptures, don''t you, Father?" I asked with a sigh as I tapped my fingers against the armrest of my throne. "But the thing about scriptures is that you can''t pick and choose which ones you follow. For anyone can bastardize anything only picking and choosing what they want to believe in."

    "Jezebel, you will die," growled the man, and I could see his fists start clenching in anger. I couldn''t suppress my grin as he literally started smoking out of his head.

    "I will," I said with a nod. "But today is not my day." With a reassuring smile, I pointed to the steaming off of his head. "However, what kind of demon are you that can call fire onmand?"

    His congregation gasped as they, too, saw the smokinging from his head right before his fists caught fire. "Isn''t there a version of some kind or other about people who are cast into the fiery pits of Hell?" I asked as I looked around at the men and women who had turned pale as they saw fireing from their lord and savior.

 Chapter 281 Human Sacrifices

    ?

    Father Ezekiel continued to re at me as the voices of the people behind him started to increase.

    "You haven''t even seen a zombie," I pointed out to the man currently being restrained by my men. "If you had, you would know that they were blue or purple, not greyish green. So why are you lying to your followers?" I asked as I leaned back against my throne. Crossing my legs, I studied the man in front of me.

    He was average looking, not too tall, not too short, not too skinny, and not too fat. His ck hair was neither too long nor was it too short. In other words, he could disappear into a crowd and never be seen again. He was the worst type as far as I was concerned.

    If you looked like a serial killer, people stayed away from you.

    If you looked cute and innocent, people were always around.

    People judged a person''s character on their looks, even if they would never admit it out loud. However, people with looks that didn''t necessarily stand out, others always just assumed that they were harmless. Truth be told, there are more serial killers that don''t look like serial killers than there are ones that do.

    "I am not lying to them. You are!" he shouted as he pointed his finger at me. "You im that the zombies are blue or purple, but I have never seen a zombie like that! You im that I am some demon from the depths of hell, but I have bruised my knees every night praying for the people behind me. Can you say the same?"

    "No," I replied with a shrug of my shoulders. "But I also don''t im to. You are literally so hot you are smoking, and yet you don''t think that you are a demon. Isn''t that what a demon would say?" Okay, so I waspletely ignoring the fact that I have been calling upon fire a lot longer and better than he has, but that was also part of my point. You would only speak the narrative that you wanted people to believe, not necessarily the whole one.

    "Listen to this Jezebel!" he shouted as he turned around to face the people behind him. "She is so good at maniption and seduction that she can corrupt four brothers at once to do her bidding," he continued as he desperately shook his finger at me.

    "She is the false prophet that we warned against! She is everything wrong in the world today! We must not let her leave here alive!"

    I had to chuckle as he managed to stir up his congregation. They no longer looked at him like a demon breathing fire but had gone back to looking at him like the man that was their savior. I was themon enemy, the stranger, the Jezebel.

    "If ever the Devil was born without a pair of horns, it was you, Jezebel. If ever an angel fell, Jezebel, it was you," I sang the first few bars of a popr song back in my first life, the wordsing to my head the more Father Ezekiel called me Jezebel.

    "So you admit it!" shouted the man as he turned around to look at me, his eyes so wide that there was only white.

    "Sure," I said with a wave of my hand as my men let go of the bodyguards and came to surround me. "You think that I seduced and manipted these men to bow before me? Sure. You think that I am a false prophet? Sure. But do you know what I am not?" I continued with a smile on my face.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "I am not a liar," I finished before I let out a giant roar.

    Father Ezekiel and his congregation, so quick to swarm us and bring us into the fold, forgot one small, little detail¡­ they left the front door open. And we were not that far outside of City B.

    There was a moment of silence as I let the echoes of my roar continue bouncing off of the object around us and carry the sound even further down the road. "Are you trying to prove that you are, in fact, a demon?" smirked Father Ezekiel after a few moments of silence.

    "No," I said with a shake of my head and a smile on my lips. "I am just trying to prove that Imand them." I finished just as an answering roar reached our ears. My smile only grew as the face of Father Ezekiel turned pale, and he looked around frantically.

    It took the poor, frantic man minutes that he didn''t have to realize that my throne was built smack dab between him and the open door.

    "Close the door!" he shouted frantically as more roars echoed around us. It seemed that there was a whole horde out there just waiting for someone stupid toe by. In this case, there were plenty of stupid people signing up to be part of the buffet.

    And as their Alpha, it was only right that I feed them.

    I chuckled at the thought as zombies came pouring through on either side of my throne. I let out a low growl, and they didn''t venture forward, rather standing in a straight line, swaying back and forth.

    "These are zombies," I said, holding my hands out on either side to gesture towards the zombies. You know, in case they somehow missed them because they weren''t green or whatever.

    "Jezebel!" shouted Father Ezekiel as the yelling and screaming of his flock got louder and louder. "She is controlling the demons! Look at her! She is controlling them!"

    "I am," I said in a reassuring manner as I quickly counted the people standing behind the false lord. There were 25 of them, not including the preacher and his two bodyguards¡­ so 28 in total. Counting the zombies next, I saw that there were 30 of them. The front-line team for the City B horde, then. Well, if they were protecting their borders, then they should get their fair share of food.

    Never in a million years did I ever think that I would have one day been sitting on a throne offering up human sacrifices to the zombies. Then again, never in a million years did I ever think that I would have been reborn twice into the same apocalypse.

 Chapter 282 Hungry Sharks In A Sea Of Prey

    ?

    I used to think that Colin was in the wrong, offering up humans to zombies in order to gain more power, but now that I take a critical look at my actions, could I really say that I was doing anything different?

    Yes, I was.

    I was not doing this because I made a deal with the zombies to save my own life at the expense of others. Rather, I was powerful enough that I was the Alpha of an entire zombie city, something that no other human (that I knew of) was able to say. I didn''t need them to be more powerful. Instead, they needed me.

    And that was all the difference in the world.

    I smiled as I looked at the preacher in front of me. "These are zombies," I repeated. "Notice the blue and purple hue to them. Not a speck of green to be seen. So, did I lie, or did you?" I continued, stressing the biggest difference between what he said the zombies looked like and what I did.

    As far as I was concerned, you (a) couldn''t set up a safe zone in the middle of a highway and not expect some resistance, and (b) you couldn''t im to have seen a zombie if you haven''t actually seen one. It was a cheat or something. It essentially meant that you had crawled out of the woods somewhere, realized that the world had gone to pot, and decided that now would be a good time to make a ce for yourself.

    And that was what Father Ezekiel had done. He had probably started his own cult somewhere where the outside world didn''t affect him and, upon realizing that his predictions of doom and gloom had actuallye true, brought his congregation out to see it for themselves.

    Their problem was me.

    If they had only let me keep going on my way, this would not have been an issue. As it was now, it was a huge big deal. Not to mention constantly calling me Jezebel. I mean, did they really think that they could just run roughshod over any other human and have it work out? Maybe in the world before the apocalypse, but not now when the strong made the rules and the weak submitted or died.

    "You know you are Jezebel, a devil, a fallen woman. There is no hope for you but to repent, and maybe I will take pity on you and bring you into the fold," said Father Ezekiel, trying to gain the upper hand in this situation. The problem was that the only way to gain it was to get me to fall in line. And I wasn''t much in the mood to do that right now.

    "I would rather be a devil without horns than submit to you," I replied with a smile as I held up my hand.

    "Wait!" screamed a voice in the back of the congregation. "Wait!" the voice came again.

    I cocked my head to the side as a woman stumbled through the crowd, carrying a bundle in her arms. "Please," she said as she held up a swaddled baby to me. "Please look after her once I die," cried the woman. <novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    I studied her, trying to understand what was happening. Don''t get me wrong, I wanted to protect that baby. I needed to protect that innocent soul. But I didn''t know if the mother was offering up the baby, hoping that I would spare her in the process, or if she genuinely only cared about the baby.

    Then again, she was part of a religious cult, so I didn''t think that her scheming went all that deep. She probably truly cared for her child and thought that I would be the best chance of her survival. At this moment, I wished that I could know for sure which one it was. However, because I could only see her soul, not know what was in it, I had to either take a chance and live to regret it or kill them both now.

    "Fine," I said with a breath. "You can leave out of the door behind me and make your way into City B. Find the Alpha and let him know I sent you."

    "Thank you," she breathed, not once asking if it would be safe to go through the line of zombies that stood between her and the outside. She just followed my order. Clenching the baby tight to her chest, she took in a deep breath. She eyed one male zombie as she took a step toward him. "Excuse me," she whispered as she brushed past him and out through the door behind me.

    I tilted my head towards the zombie. "Follow her," I said, hoping that he would understand. "Make sure she gets to the Alpha." The zombie roared before turning around and left in the same direction as the woman and baby.

    The rest of the congregation just looked at each other, and I could practically read their minds. They were looking for a baby of their own to be able to use it to get a ''get out of jail free'' card. Unfortunately for them, I was fresh out of those.

    I let out a roar, and the remaining zombies descended upon the humans like hungry sharks upon their prey. I watched as the zombies ripped the humans apart in their frenzy to feed. The problem with a newly founded zombie city like City B was that there were not that many humans left to feed on.

    I would leave it up to Beta to try and figure out a solution to that problem. Maybe that was where the human farming eventually came into y, where the zombies herded and took care of arge number of humans in a simr way to how humans looked after cattle.

    I guess everything really went full circle.

    "Jezebel!" screamed a bloody face as it raced towards me, unmindful or uncaring about my men around me. "You are the devil!"

    "No," I said with a shake of my head. "That title falls firmly on you," I continued with a smile. "Just think about it. If it weren''t for you, they wouldn''t be here. If they weren''t here, they wouldn''t have met with me. If they hadn''t met me, they wouldn''t be eaten right now. Therefore, at the end of the day, this is all on you for your decisions. Not mine."

 Chapter 283 Choices And Consequences

    ?

    It always blew my mind how some people werepletely unwilling to face the consequences of their actions.

    I mean, I knew that I had a choice not to do this, that I could choose not to have all these humans killed by zombies. Hell, I still remember the feeling of the zombies ripping through me, so what type of person did that make me to let someone else experience that pain and hopelessness?

    On the other hand, this might be a lot more of a merciful end than what these people might experience if a group of asymptomatic came across them or even if the Reavers did.

    Was I trying to justify my actions? I really didn''t know.

    However, nothing was going to change this course of action, so I would just have to live with the consequences.

    I didn''t bother to respond to Father Ezekiel. I just stared at him as a zombie came up behind him and took a chunk out of his neck. I watched as his still-beating heart shot arterial spray on everything around him. Luckily, I was out of the ssh zone. Otherwise, I was going to have to grab a shower in my space before we went back on the road.

    That and throw out my clothes. Blood was a pain in the ass to try and get out sometimes.

    "Jezebel," said the man whose pristine white clothes were being saturated with the red of his own blood.

    Once again, I didn''t bother to really respond. I never believed that Queen Jezebel was as evil as the bible made her seen. In fact, there are a lot of situations where a woman was nothing more than a scapegoat for the decisions that a man made.

    Take Eve, for example. She was not the only one to take a bite of the apple of knowledge, but she was credited with the downfall of man. In fact, even the pain that a woman experienced inbor was called the sins of Eve, a punishment for tempting Adam to eat an apple.

    In the Middle Ages back on Earth, it was even believed that if a woman didn''t experience enough punishment throughbor (if it wasn''t painful enough), then she was evil and couldn''t ever step foot inside the church again.

    All that to say, I didn''t mind if a narrow-minded, maniptive man called me Jezebel. I would wear that name with pride.

    I smiled as a second zombie came up alongside the first and took out another chunk from the priest''s throat. Now his head was being bnced on nothing more than a thin spinal cord and maybe a few blood vessels. His mouth was still going as he continued to curse me for his choices, but without his vocal cords, he couldn''t make a sound.

    I never looked away from his eyes as he bled out, four zombies descending on his remaining corpse to feed.

    "You okay?" asked Liu Yu Zeng from where he stood to the left of my throne.

    "Yes," I responded with a shrug. When thest body fell to the ground, I stood up and, with a wave of my hand, dissolved my throne. "Chen Zi Han, can you please destroy this wall?" I asked, not really looking at any of my men.

    For some reason, I was feeling a bit vulnerable right now, but I couldn''t figure out why. Until I could, I would go back to Cerberus and avoid the boys.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Maybe I was feeling vulnerable because of what the boys just witnessed, but I didn''t think that I had done anything wrong. I mean, it was his fault for building this thing in the middle of the road. I didn''t go looking for him. He was literally blocking me from getting to where I needed to be.

    Taking in a deep breath, I closed my eyes. Maybe I was now the one ming others for my choices instead of owning them.

    Fine¡­.

    He deserved to die, so I killed him. It was really that simple.

    But the people with him? Did they deserve to die simply because they followed him?

    Yes, they did.

    They might have been innocent at one point in time, but to have been able to follow him this far meant that they were either blindly obedient or that they had a simr mentality as the Father. Either way, they were too stupid to live and continue to infect thest of humanity.

    I made the decision to kill them. And I am not sorry¡­ I just don''t want the men to hate me because of it.

    "We couldn''t hate you if we tried," said Wang Chao as he came up behind me just outside of the walls blocking our path forward. Putting his arm around my shoulders and pulling me back into his embrace, he kissed my forehead. "And we agree with your actions," he continued as Liu Wei and Liu Yu Zeng came up on either side of me.

    Comforted by my men, I watched as the zombies nodded their heads at me before wandering off and disappearing back into the forests around us. They didn''t even seem to notice their face, hands, and clothes stained with the blood of the fallen.

    "Do you really think that I am the Devil without horns?" I asked as I cocked my head as a huge hole appeared under the ''safe zone'' causing the whole thing to copse. Dust and debris rose into the air as thest stone fell into the crater before Chen Zi Han filled it back in until the roadway was smooth again.

    Probably smoother than it was before the end of the world.

    "No," said Liu Wei as he lifted my hand and brought it to his lips. "I don''t think you are the Devil."

    That was it, simple and to the point. No justifying his response, no giving me a long list of reasons why I wasn''t the Devil on Earth, nothing. Just a simple ''no''.

    And that was enough.

    Humming in agreement, I watched as Wang Chao opened the door of Cerberus and smiled as Liu Wei set me down gently inside. "Evil people will always find a way to be evil," said Chen Zi Han as he buckled me into my seat. "Don''t let the evil taint of that man infect you in any way. You are so much better than that."

 Chapter 284 Supply Run

    ?

    "Thank you," I said to my protector as I kissed his cheek. "It means a lot that you don''t think that I am some sort of evil creature bent on destroying the world."

    "Nah," answer Liu Yu Zeng with a smile. "You are much too cute to be an evil creature. And why would you bother destroying the world? It seems like a lot more effort than you would be willing to put into something."

    "What do you mean by that?" I yelled at him, a pout forming on my face. "Are you saying that I am not willing to put in effort when ites to some things?"

    "Not necessarily. I mean, when ites to interacting with other people, you give off the impression that you would rather be home with a cup of coffee in front of a firece than deal with them," exined Liu Yu Zeng, his hands raised into the air like I was going to bite off his head or something.

    Then again, the man wasn''t wrong. I would much rather be at home somece than deal with people. I didn''t actively go out and find them, and if they were stupid enough to sign their own death warrant, then that was on them.

    Blowing a kiss at the man, I closed the door to my truck and gotfortable with a coffee and my nket.

    "Are you feeling okay?" asked Cerberus as the men climbed onto their motorcycles, and we drove off. The unexpected stopsted for a few hours, and it was going to be dark soon. We would need to find a ce to camp for the night.

    "You are the second person in thest 10 minutes to ask me that question. Yes, I am alright. In fact, I managed to save a baby¡­ hopefully¡­ probably¡­" I said with a smile as I brought my mug up to my lips for a little taste of heaven. This time my mug said, "Let me check my giveashitometer¡­ nope, still nothing." I felt that it was very appropriate, given the circumstances.

    Wait¡­ "Do you guys need gas to run?" I asked Cerberus. If they did, I should have enough for all of them, but we might want to stop in at a few gas stations to make sure that we had enough for future use. Besides, it never hurt to gather some supplies.

    Thinking about supplies, I realized that we hadn''t gone out for a while. If I was a normal person without a space, I would have been in trouble by now.

    "Yes, we run on gas," said Cerberus, bringing my spiraling thoughts back to the topic at hand. "I do have some jerrycans in the back of my bed, but it wouldn''t hurt to get some more if possible."

    "How many more kilometers do we have until we run out?" I asked, unknowingly converting things back to the metric system that I was most familiar with.

    "We can go probably about three or four more days straight without needing any gas," admitted Cerberus, and I was impressed. When it came to highway driving, I was used to filling up a car with gas at least once a day. To know that they could go three or more times that distance was impressive. Then again, they were impressive vehicles to begin with.

    "Well, the next gas station you see, let me know, and we can stop in. I would rather have too much gas than not enough," I responded with a shrug. I could always just take the tank at the gas station and throw it into my space. I had done it before, and the gas was still good.

    "Understood," chuckled Cerberus. Turing on some quiet music, I watched out the front windshield as the sun continued to set and daylight turned into darkness.

    That was one of those things that I always marveled about¡­ that no matter how much your world had been knocked off its axis, some things still remained the same.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    The entire human race was reduced to 25% of the poption, and yet, the sun still rose every morning and set every night. This ritual repeated around the same time every morning and then again every night to the point where there wasfort in the routine.

    "Did you want to try and get some sleep?" asked Cerberus as I fought off another yawn. "I''ll let you know when we need you again."

    I chuckled at his statement. "Are you that sure that you are going to need me again?" I asked with a smile on my lips.

    "Of course," replied Cerberus, and I felt the heat being turned on. Letting out another yawn, I put my cup of coffee in the holder and leaned back against the seat. "We''ll always need you."

    "So sweet. Alright," I said. "Then wake me up when you need me for something."

    "Sound good. Sweet dreams," he said, and I closed my eyes, letting the tiredness of the day float away.

    ----

    "She wants to do another supply run," said Cerberusing through Chen Zi Han''s helmet. He figured that the rest of the guys had heard it, too, since Li Dai Lu''s truck would not bother to speak to only one of them. "You guys have been dropping the ball on that."

    "Sorry," scoffed Liu Yu Zeng as his voice came over the speaker loud and clear. "We''ll get right on that."

    "You are trying to sound sarcastic, but you are only managing to fail spectacrly," interjected Lin.

    "We were a bit busy fighting off a zombie tide and finding you guys," snapped Liu Yu Zeng in reply.

    "And technically, we managed to get a few good supplies from the Sanctuary before we left it," added Liu Wei.

    "Well, stop at the next gas station anyways," said Cerberus, not really caring about the petty squabbles going on around him. "She wants gas and supplies."

    "Understood," growled Ares as he sped up, Wang Chao gripping the handlebars tightly in case the bike decided to ditch his driver in favor of pleasing Li Dai Lu.

    "Anything that she wants," agree Reaper as he, too, sped up. Liu Wei simply smiled his response while Chen Zi Han and Cronus remained silent.

 Chapter 285 Surrender Or Die

    ?

    There was the sound of arge explosion and Cerberus shook under me, causing me to wake up. Out of all the things that I ever thought I would say, ''I was tired of being woken up by explosions'' was not one of them.

    "What''s going on?" I murmured as I rubbed my eyes,pletely unconcerned. "Who pissed Lin off this time?"

    "Go back to sleep," soothed Cerberus. However, thest time that this happened, we were being chased by a pissed off biker gang, and as far as I could remember, that didn''t turn out too well¡­ for them. "They have things under control, I promise," he continued as he swerved around obstacles that I couldn''t see.

    Probably because I hadn''t bothered to actually open my eyes, but that was only a possibility.

    All of a sudden, Cerberus mmed on his brakes, and the back end of the truck went fishtailing. Holding onto the steering wheel, my body jerked from side to side before almosting to a stop. Grumbling under my breath that road trips never seemed to go ording to n and that the universe seemed to be holding a grudge against me, I opened the door and got out of the truck.

    The low light of dusk didn''t give me too good of an idea of what I was dealing with, so I asked Cerberus to turn on his headlights.

    The road brightened up, revealing a horde of zombies in front of us. Turning around, I noticed that we were, in fact, dead in the center of a circle of zombies.

    I had forgotten that dusk was one of those times when the zombies liked to hunt. Stupid shark DNA.

    Walking up to where Chen Zi Han was sitting on his bike, I put my head on his shoulder. "What''s up?"

    "Not much," he replied, and I am sure that if my head wasn''t on his shoulder, he would have shrugged them. "Just a few zombies. But Lin seems to enjoy trying to blow them up, no matter what we said."

    I raised my eyebrows and looked over to where Liu Yu Zeng was sitting on his bike. "Well, that wasn''t very helpful, Lin," I said with a smile on my face so the bike knew I wasn''t overly mad at it. "But that''s okay. Just don''t use up all your bombs. We might need them for the pesky humanster."

    "Sorry," said Lin, his voice subdued.

    "All good," I said as I left Chen Zi Han and walked over to Liu Yu Zeng and his bike. Crouching down by the front wheel, I rubbed the front of the bike like I would a puppy dog or something. "Just next time, let the guys take care of things."

    "But they weren''t," pouted the bike, and I couldn''t help but chuckle. Standing up, I walked to the center of the men and tipped my head back. Letting out a roar, I called the zombie Alpha to me. We were far enough away from City B that I knew that these zombies didn''t belong to me.

    There was an answering roar, and a blue zombie made its way toward the front of the horde.

    "Surrender or die," I said to it. Now that I knew that at least the Alphas seemed to be able to understand English, I might as well try to have a conversation with them. <novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Never surrender," hissed the blue zombie, his body swaying back and forth even as his feet were firmly nted.

    "Then you die," I said. With a wave of my hand, I turned to look at my men. "Anyone wants to be an Alpha?" I asked. I mean, I didn''t really know what to do with a horde following us, but it couldn''t be all that bad of a thing¡­ right?

    "I will," said Wang Chao as he got off his bike and went to stand in front of the Alpha. He tilted his head back and roared.

    The blue zombie shook his head at Wang Chao''s challenge. "Not you. Her," he hissed, pointing towards me.

    "Why me?" I asked, confused.

    "You challenge first," replied the zombie with a very human shrug. Were these things evolving? I couldn''t be too sure, but between human gestures and humannguages, I didn''t know if they could be considered to be evolving or devolving.

    Wang Chao turned to look at me, and I could only shake my head. I didn''t know if there was a first challenge, first served type of thing, but either way, it didn''t matter too much to me. Letting my vision change, I saw the blue me swaying back and forth in front of me.

    It was taking me less and less time to switch back and forth, and I patted myself on the back for that. I reached forward and grabbed the me before pulling it back into my body, where the purple, blue, and pink mes descended upon the intruder and consumed it.

    I smiled as I watched the body drop to the ground before calling on my purple me to consume it.

    The remaining horde paused for a moment before they began swaying back and forth again. They turned as one to look at me, and unfortunately, I had no idea where I was going to go with this. I mean, with Beta, it was easy because he controlled all the zombies, and I controlled him.

    "Beta?" I called out, knowing that this horde needed to have someone in that position. This time, a lighter blue zombie appeared just behind me at the edge of the zombie line.

    "Surrender or die?" I asked again. I should, by default, be able to take over the horde, but having a Beta would make life easier for me. Now, the biggest question¡­ do I send them to City B or do I let them follow us?

    What were the benefits of either decision?

    "S-s-s-urrender," hissed the Beta, not quite being able to work his mouth around the human word but was understandable enough.

    "Understood. You can follow us but remain hidden. Do you understand?" I asked, going with my gut about what should happen next. I would keep this horde with me just to be on the safe side. You never knew when your own zombie horde woulde in handy, especially in this world.

 Chapter 286 Couldnâ€™t See A Downside

    ?

    The light blue zombie in front of me cocked his head to the side and just stared at me for a few seconds. Almost as if he was trying to process my words, I could see his eyes and mouth moving. After a bit longer, he looked at me and nodded his head.

    Letting out a loud roar, he paused and waited to see what the rest of the horde would do. I could only assume that this was some type ofmand or another. When the other zombies roared back before tilting their heads to the side to expose their necks, I understood that this was a change ofmand.

    The light blue Beta had announced that he was going to be in control of the horde and the others acknowledged the change in leadership when they exposed their necks.

    However, this did not make a part of me happy. With a snarl on my face, I side-stepped the boys and walked towards the Beta now turned Alpha.

    I would like to say that I got into his face, but the reality was nothing like that. Mostly because I only went up to his chest level. I took a step back so I didn''t have to expose my throat to him, I growled low before tilting my head back just enough to let out an impressive roar.

    And when I say impressive, I mean, I have never roared like this in any of my lives. In fact, I think the ground even shook with my promation. As soon as I was done, I went back to staring at the Beta. I would not let the horde think that they answered to him and not me.

    That was a recipe for disaster and I was not going to have a ticking timebomb following me across the country.

    The Beta stared at me for a few seconds before he dropped to his knees and exposed his throat. Within seconds, the rest of the horde followed suit. Letting out a low grumble of displeasure, I turned my back on the zombie, wanting to know what he was going to do next.

    When nothing rushed me from behind, I knew that he understood his position. The Alpha might be dead, but that didn''t automatically make him an Alpha. In fact, there was no way for a Beta to truly be an Alpha, no matter how much they wanted to. It was a ranking that you were either born into or you weren''t. There was no changing simply because you weren''t happy with your ce in the horde.

    There was another roar and then nothing but silence.

    Looking off into the darkness, I saw that all the zombies had disappeared. Hopefully, it would work out okay and I wasn''t going to go along the same lines as the leaders of the safe zones that thought that they might be able to tame the zombies only to have them turn on them.

    Then again, unlike those leaders, I had the ability to kill the zombies with a single thought so that was a point in my favor.

    "Ready to go?" I asked as I looked over my shoulder to the boys. "Or should we find a ce to set up camp?"

    "Honestly? I am good to keep going for a while," said Liu Weiing up behind me and wrapping his arms around me. Giving me a kiss on the top of my head, he then rested his chin on it. He was damn lucky he was hot and gave me good sex because being treated like a chin rest made me cranky.

    "There is a gas station about 3 miles out," added Wang Chao as he walked around in front of me until I was squished between him and Liu Wei.

    I quickly did the math and realized that that was just under 5k away. Well, that was if I did my math right. Honestly, it was a 50/50 chance.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Sure," I said as I tilted my head back into Liu Wei''s chest to be able to look up at Wang Chao.

    The man swooped in and took my lips into a hard, possessive, kiss. "Wanted to do that for a while," said Wang Chao once he pulled back. My body wanted to follow his and I swayed towards him, only to be pulled back into Liu Wei''s arms.

    "Feel free to do that any time," I said with a dreamy smile.

    "Alright you three," interjected Liu Yu Zeng from where he sat on Lin. "Let''s get going. It will take us less than 10 minutes to get to the gas station, depending on the road ahead. Apparently, we need to ount for any zombie hordes or strange cults when nning our routes. Do you think those would show up on any map apps?" he continued with a smirk.

    I could onlyugh at the idea. Not because it was a bad one, but because if we still had working technology, that would be a fantastic idea. "Turn right to avoid the zombie horde up ahead," I said out loud, trying to sound like a mechanical voice reading the directions.

    "Road closed due to cult activity," added Liu Yu Zeng, joining in on the fun.

    "Biker trap ahead, use alternative route," continued Chen Zi Han and we all started tough.

    "Alright, alright," said Liu Wei, adjusting his sses with his right hand while still holding me against him with his left. "Let''s get going then."

    "Party pooper," I grumbled and stuck out my tongue as I looked up at him.

    "Careful, Sweetheart," he purred into my ear causing my face to be bright red. "I can think of a lot of things to do with that tongue other than sticking it out at me."

    The look in his eyes drew me to him as I got lost in the thoughts ofst night.

    Honestly, I didn''t see a downside.

    Ducking under his arm so that I was out of his embrace, I turned around and stuck my tongue out at him again before I sprinted over to Cerberus, his door left open so that I could easily dive into the driver''s seat and close it behind me.

    Once I was safe, I turned to look at Liu Wei who hadn''t moved from his original location. His eyebrow raised, he smile at me.

 Chapter 287 Have A Problem With Me?

    ?

    The three miles that it took us to get to the gas station went by fairly uneventfully. Then again, I think that we had enough issues between City B and here that we were due for some smooth sailing at this point.

    Pulling up to the gas station, we lined up in front of the door, still on or in our vehicles, and waited to see if something was going toe out and attack us. It was the very typical bright yellow building that seemed to glow in the darkness, even without the help of lights. However, inside the building, it waspletely dark. I didn''t know if it was because there were people inside that were purposefully trying to block out their light or if the building itself was empty, but either way, I knew I was going to try and find the answer.

    I looked over to my left and saw all of the pumps standing guard in the darkness, hopefully with more than enough gas inside of them to make me happy.

    With a wave of my hand, I managed to take the storage tanks of gas out of the ground and put them into my space without anyone being the wiser. I debated not bothering to even enter the building now that we got the things that we were looking for but knowing that there was the potential for supplies just feet in front of me make me want to risk venturing into the unknown.

    "Ready?" I asked as I looked at the men around me.

    "Sure," replied Liu Yu Zeng with a shrug of his shoulders. Leave it up to my joker to be willing to jump into the unknown with both feet.

    "Might as well," added Chen Zi Han with a shrug of his shoulders.

    The two men got off of their motorcycles but kept their helmets on. Walking towards the front door, Chen Zi Han raised his hand to knock on the door. "Hello?" he shouted. "We areing in. If there is anyone in there, know that you can open the door, or we can kick it down. If you chose option two, you won''t be able to rece the thing any time soon."

    There was a brief shuffling on the other side of the door, and we could hear the echoing of a lock being opened from where we stood. "Good n," said Liu Yu Zeng with a smirk on his face. My two syndicate men looked like they were having a very fun time with what was going on. In fact, if I didn''t know better, I would go as far as to say that they were in their element.

    The door swung open, and the boys were greeted with what looked to be a sawed-off shotgun. I couldn''t make out the person holding the gun, as only the muzzle and barrel were visible. However, there was lighting through the door which made me believe that there was more than one person staying there. "What do you want?" demanded a very feminine voice, the owner of which was nowhere to be seen.

    "Just looking for some supplies," said Liu Yu Zeng with a smile, looking so rxed that you wouldn''t believe that he was being held at gunpoint. Then again, I wouldn''t put it past him to use the cover of night to seep some of his poisonous mist into the building, ready to take a few hostages of his own.

    "We have none," snapped the woman, clearly not willing to share whatever she found. Not like I med her. I wasn''t willing to share any of my stuff either.

    There was a scream behind us, and one of the bikes revved his engine before taking off down the road. I didn''t bother turning around to look at what was going on. That was something for the bikes to deal with. <novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "What did you do?" demanded the woman as she pumped her shotgun and rose it up higher.

    "I think it is more of a question of what did you do?" I said,ing to stand in between my men and right in front of the gun. "And did you really think that it would work?"

    "I did nothing," she replied, and I couldn''t help but roll my eyes.

    "Sure," I sighed as I closed my eyes. I was at my limit dealing with people. "Let''s go with that. Then I will let Lin know that you don''t know the guy on the bike, and it is okay to kill him."

    "You can''t kill him!" she yelled.

    "Sure I can. It is really simple," I said with a smile. "And the longer that you hold that shotgun at me and my men, the messier his death is going to be."

    ''Tsk,'' came a voice inside of my head, and I could only sigh in frustration. I was so sure that I had managed to get two voices to shut up (the icy one had a mind of her own), and now out pops a fourth one. ''Still so weak. I had thought that you had been cured of that. Just kill them and take what you want. You are stronger anyways. You would actually be doing both them and the world a service.''

    I was not in any position to deal with a new personality, nor did I really want to waste the energy arguing with a voice that was essentially myself at the end of the day.

    "Fine," said the woman on the other side of the door. I wasn''t paying much attention, but the boys ushered me into the building as soon as they deemed it safe to do so. I was still dealing with the headache of a new voice. I mean, I knew there was a joke that all women had multiple personalities, but this was getting a bit ridiculous.

    "You can take whatever you see," continued the woman. Putting aside the voice, I studied the woman in front of me. She was wearing a Country K military uniform, and I couldn''t hold back my groan.

    There were some days that made you wonder if it was even worth waking up that morning. This was a whole decade like that¡­ and we were only into the first year.

    "Have a problem with me?" the stranger snarled as if I was the problem in this situation.

 Chapter 288 Potential Trouble

    ?

    "I am not sure yet, but I am probably going to have to go with ''Yes, I have a problem with you''. Unless you happened to pick up that uniform on the side of the road somewhere?" I asked. I mean, I knew that the chance of that happening was less than 0.000000001%, but seeing a military uniform after everything that I had been going through this year so far was enough to make me break out in a rash.

    "You dare to disrespect this uniform?" she demanded, bringing the shotgun back up. "I shed blood, sweat, and tears for this uniform. No one is going to disrespect it in front of me."

    I sighed and rubbed my forehead as I skirted around her and her gun and went deeper into the convivence store section of the gas station, only to be greeted by even more guns.

    "Wang Chao!" I shouted, using my ''get out of shit with the military'' card.

    "Yes?" came the deep baritone voice from the front door. I turned around to look at him, wondering what was taking him so long toe in.

    "A little help?" I asked cautiously.

    "Sure. But can you get Lin to bring that man back? I might know him," sighed Wang Chao as he rubbed his forehead.

    "You doing okay?" I asked as I walked towards him and the door to yell at Lin.

    "No," he said with a shrug. "I am now understanding your opinion on the military."

    "Oh, don''t get me wrong," I interjected, my hands raised in defense. "I had massive respect for the military before the end of the world. I think that they were the most courageous group of people you would ever meet. I mean, being willing to put your life on the line for people that you never met just so that they could sleep peacefully at night couldn''t be easy. I just don''t think that mentality trantes all that well in the current setting."

    There was no way that I wanted Wang Chao to think that I didn''t appreciate the military and what they did for the average person. But right now, everything was different.

    "It''s all right," he replied, smiling at me. "I understand what you are trying to say. However, if I am correct, the man on Lin should be someone that I went through basic with." He let out a big sigh as the screaming man came back into hearing distance.

    "Cerberus, can you let Lin know I need that guy?" I called out, hoping that Cerberus or even Lin would be able to hear me over all that racket. I was just happy that my newfound zombie horde didn''te out of the woods to investigate what was going on.

    Within minutes, Lin slid to a stop in front of me. "Thanks, Lin," I said to the bike as Wang Chao walked over to the man still seated on top. "You can drop him now."

    "What the fuck is that thing?" demanded the man that practically fell to the ground in his haste to get away from Lin.

    "A possessed motorcycle," I said,pletely seriously.

    "Bull fucking shit," replied the man as he red at me,pletely ignoring Wang Chao. I didn''t know if that was because he didn''t care about him or if he was so focused on Lin that he was oblivious to everything else.

    "Then what do you think it is?" I asked, confused.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "A fucking demon from Hell," he growled as he stalked towards me, a very pissed off look on his face.

    "I wouldn''t do that if I was you," I said with a sigh. The man paused and took a second to look around.

    "Wang Chao?" he asked, a look of confusion crossing his face. "What are you doing here?"

    "I think a better question might be, what are you doing here?" returned Wang Chao as he came to stand behind me, his arm around my stomach.

    "Mission," came the abrupt reply. Then there was the pointed look at me that this mission was highly ssified and was not to be discussed in front of this dumb civilian. I sighed as I looked up at Wang Chao.

    "Can you at least get the guys inside to stop pointing their guns at me? I am going to start taking it personally," I grumbled to him as I tilted my head toward the men and womening up behind us.

    "You talk to him," said Liu Wei, pulling me out of Wang Chao''s arms. "I''ll look after Sweetheart."

    "Liu Wei?" asked the man in front of us as if he couldn''t believe what he was seeing.

    "Commander," replied Liu Wei with a slight nod. He then ced his hand on my back and guided me back into the convivence store and towards the back, where the chocte bars and snacks should be.

    The man knew me so well.

    "How do you feel about going back to the ranch right now?" asked Liu Wei softly, causing me to stiffen under his hand.

    "Why?" I asked, not saying anything one way or another. I would be the first to admit that postponing going to the ranch was high on my list of things to do, but at the same time, I wasn''t too interested in going across the country to save some military personnel again. Been there, done that, bought the T-shirt, and hated every second of it.

    "Because if Commander Huang Nianzu is here with a team, then there is going to be trouble," said Liu Wei warily as he looked at me.

    "And you and Wang Chao are going to volunteer your services to help him out?" I said with a sigh. Looking around the shelves, I saw that they were bare. Completely understandable, given the fact that the military unit that was camped out in here would take everything, but a chocte bar would have gone a long way in making this news easier to swallow.

    "I don''t know," replied Liu Wei honestly. We both knew that that decision would be made by Wang Chao.

    "Then let''s cross that road when wee to it," I answered, bringing out a giant piece of chocte cake from my space and taking a bite. I tried to think if I had an appropriate mug to go with it¡­

    And yup¡­ I think I found it.

 Chapter 289 Past Potential And Straight To FUBAR

    ?

    Liu Wei and I walked back to the front of the convivence store section of the gas station. Liu Wei carried my slice of cake, and I carried my mug.

    "Really, Princess?" asked Chen Zi Han with a sigh.

    "What? You don''t like it?" I said with a smirk on my face. It was a smaller mug for me, more in line with what an actual coffee mug should look like and not the monstrous ones that I normally went for. But there was a unicorn with a bunch of stars around it, and on it was written, ''Back the fuck up, sprinkle tits, today is not the day. I will shank you with my horn.'' I thought it would be perfect for most situations, but more specifically for when someone (mostly from the military) was going to ask for our help with something.

    "It''s perfect," said Liu Yu Zeng,ing over to give me a kiss on the forehead. I smiled at him, happy that he understood.

    "Trouble," called Wang Chao, looking for me. "Can youe here for a second?"

    "Why do I feel like I am being called to the principal''s office?" I asked, rolling my eyes and looking at Liu Yu Zeng.

    "Probably because you are," smirked Liu Wei, giving me a kiss on my cheek before pushing me toward Wang Chao.

    "My cake!!" I yelled, looking over my shoulder at Liu Wei. He simplyughed at me, that ass.

    "I''ll keep it safe," he promised.

    "If it is missing so much as a single bite, I will kill you," I told him,pletely serious. I mean, this was a piece of cake that we were talking about. That stuff was not easy toe by.

    Pouting over the fact that I had to leave my cake behind, I took a sip of my coffee, grateful that I wasn''t dumb enough to let him hold onto that one too.

    "Yeah?" I asked as I came up to Wang Chao''s side. I had a very good idea of what wasing, thanks to Liu Wei, but that didn''t mean that I was going to make life easy for him.

    "I would like to introduce you to Commander Huang Nian Zu," said Wang Chao as he pulled me into his side. "He is themander for one of the Sea Dragons Teams that is posted to the City N Naval Base."

    "Nope," I said automatically. "Not going to happen."

    "Excuse me?" demanded Huang Nian Zu as he stared me up and down.

    I looked up at Wang Chao with a sigh. "Sorry, knee-jerk reaction to anything involving the military or navy," I said with a strained smile.

    "I understand," answered Wang Chao, stroking my hair and giving me a kiss on my temple. "But please, just hear me out." I blinked for a second. Was Wang Chao really going to plead on themander''s behalf? Clearly, he considered this to be an important matter.

    "And if I say no at the end of hearing you out?" I asked,pletely ignoring the re that wasing from the military members around me.

    "Then it is no," he answered, reassuring me.

    Taking in a deep breath, I braced myself.

    "His team was on a special mission right before the EMP hit," started Wang Chao, not paying attention to anyone but me. <novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "You can''t tell her that!" snarled the woman that opened the door with a shotgun. "It is a sensitive military matter that does not involve a civilian."

    "Lieutenant," growled hermander, and I was impressed when she no longer pressed the issue. I looked at the man standing in front of me with new eyes. To have that much control over your team member, you were either a good leader or one that was feared. And I didn''t see any fear in the woman in front of me.

    "They have been trying to get to City A all this time, but there have been a few issues," continued Wang Chao, not paying attention to the woman''s outbursts.

    "A few issues," scoffed themander. "I think that losing a bunch of my men counts as more than a few issues."

    "How many have you lost?" I asked, cocking my head to the side. I quickly counted the people around me.

    "Six," came the terse reply from the woman.

    "Six out of 16? That doesn''t seem all that bad. Where were you that you lost them?" I asked, curious.

    "Trying to get from City N to here," replied themander as he studied me. I didn''t mind, I knew what I looked like. Besides, at this point in time, if I stopped being underestimated, I might start to worry.

    I smiled at the man before turning my attention back to Wang Chao.

    "They need to go back to the river between City B and City N, retrieve the device that they were required to get, and return it to City A," finished Wang Chao quickly as if I would be more likely to agree with helping if he took less time to tell me about it. He looked at me as if gauging my reaction.

    "Can I now say no?" I asked with a tired sigh. I know that Wang Chao wanted to help, but I was not sure why he wanted to go.

    "You can," replied Wang Chao slowly.

    "Why are you going with what she says? Admiral, please, we really need your help. The government needs your help," said the woman as she looked at Wang Chao.

    "I am starting to lose count of how many military ranks you have," I grumbled under my breath as I looked up at the man beside me.

    "None of them matter," Wang Chao assured me. "At the end of the day, the decision is yours."

    Fuck my life.

    We went from the potential for trouble right into FUBAR territory.

    "Let''s go," I said with a sigh. If it wasn''t for the fact that I was really on the fence about going back to the ranch, I might have put up more of a fight. As it was, maybe this wouldn''t be that bad of a thing.

    What the Hell happened to Step One? I asked myself with a sigh.

    "Thank you," whispered Wang Chao, and I had never heard him so relieved. That tone alone made me realize just how important this was to him.

 Chapter 290 Trouble... In More Ways Than One

    ?

    The Sea Dragon unit, headed by Commander Huang Nian Zu, had unanimously agreed to stay inside the gas station convivence store¡­ and all the power to them. Me? I was going to go out and sleep in my RV.

    Wang Chao and Liu Wei stayed with themander in order to discuss ns, or whatever else they felt they needed to discuss while Chen Zi Han and Liu Yu Zeng (the other civilians) came with me.

    "So, your new nickname is Trouble?" smirked Liu Yu Zeng as he and I sat on the couch while Chen Zi Han made ate dinner in the kitchen.

    "Apparently," I grumbled not impressed. Out of all five of us, I was the one that was the least amount of trouble. "But I think it would fit you four better."

    "Oh, definitely," purred Liu Yu Zeng. "But I can think of a few more names that suit you¡­"

    I raised my eyebrows and looked at him. "Oh really? Like what?"

    "How about Firecracker or Angel Eyes?"

    "I vote for Angel Eyes," said Chen Zi Han without turning around from the stove. I had no idea what he was making, but whatever it was, it smelt good.

    "My vote is for Delicious," said Liu Wei as he walked into the RV.

    "Why don''t you rub it in more," grumbled Liu Yu Zeng. "You know that not all of us have had that¡­ pleasure."

    "Oh I am more than aware," smirked Liu Wei as he came to sit down on the couch on the other side of me. "In fact, I am pretty sure that I am the only one who knows how good she tastes¡­ from the source that is."

    I could feel my face turning bright red and I frantically tried to change the conversation. "Where''s Wang Chao?" I asked quickly.

    "Still with Huang Nian Zu," said Liu Wei with a shrug as if it was none of his concern. "I didn''t agree with their ns so I left."

    "What didn''t you agree with?" I asked confused. I mean, it wasn''t like the ns were thatplicated; go back in the direction we came, grab what we need to be grabbed, and then head home. Wait¡­

    "Where did they say the device was that they wanted?"

    "East Sea," said Liu Wei with a shrug like it wasn''t that big of a deal.

    "Are we talking like onnd around the East Sea or in the actual East Sea? Because those are two very different things," I said as I started to panic.

    "In the actual East Sea," said Liu Wei slowly and all three men looked at me. I closed my eyes, wondering just what the fuck I had gotten us into. Wait¡­ not me¡­ what the fuck has Commander Huang Nian Zu gotten us into.

    "Did themander say that it was in the water before we agreed, or was this something that came about in this nning meeting?" I demanded, no longer leaning on my guys and instead sitting forward on the couch staring at Liu Wei.

    "After," admitted Liu Wei.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "And the six men he lost; did he happen to tell you the exact location?" I pushed.

    "No," said Liu Wei, no longer in a good mood. Even Liu Yu Zeng and Chen Zi Han looked at me with concern.

    "Fuck. Go get Wang Chao. We are going to need a meeting of our own," I said with my eyes closed.

    "Done," said Liu Wei as he stood up and left the RV.

    "Is dinner ready soon?" I asked Chen Zi Han with a small smile. I should eat dinner before digging into all the cakes I was going to need to get through this next adventure. Good thing I did a lot of baking that week I wasid up.

    "It is," Chen Zi Han assured me and put a chicken pot pie in front of me.

    ----

    Liu Wei pushed past the two guards that were standing just inside of the convivence door only to be met with some resistance. "Wang Chao and the Commander are talking right now," said Jiang Chang Ming as he put a hand on Liu Wei''s chest.

    Liu Wei looked at the man for a second before he took his left hand and twisted the other man''s arm until it threatened to break. Meng Yu Seng, the other guard, attempted to get Liu Wei off of Jiang Chang Ming but ended up getting kicked in the chest for his efforts.

    The front kick was strong enough that it sent Meng Yu Seng into the emptied shelves creating a giant racket.

    "What the hell is going on here?" demanded Commander Huang Nian Zu as he and Wang Chao exited the back office and walked in on the scene. Liu Wei didn''t even bother to look at themander as he twisted the guard''s arm just a little bit more, causing him to groan in pain.

    "Liu Wei?" asked Wang Chao confused. He knew that Liu Wei didn''t exactly agree with the ns that he and themander discussed, but he was definitely not that upset when he left.

    Liu Wei looked up at Wang Chao, his face an expressionless mask. "Li Dai Lu would like to speak to you."

    "Since when do you speak to Wang Chao like that?" demanded themander, not impressed with Liu Wei''s actions. Those were two of his best men that were tossed around like a rag doll by the man in front of them. And he still wasn''t letting go of one of them.

    "Understood," said Wang Chao simply. He understood that something was seriously wrong if Liu Wei was acting like this. He might have been his second all of their lives, but things have changed now that they all met her.

    Wang Chao walked to the door and waited for Liu Wei.

    "Please keep your hands to yourself from now on," advised Liu Wei with a smile that was not a smile. He released his grip and let Jiang Chang Ming fall to the ground.

    "Fucker," growled Jiang Chang Ming as he quickly got to his feet, ready to fight if necessary. What he didn''t understand was that Death was minutes away from killing everyone just to make his Sweetheart happy.

 Chapter 291 Natural Environment

    ?

    "What is going on?" asked Wang Chao as soon as he walked into the RV. I looked at him up and down as I continued to pace back and forth inside the small confines.

    "Has he told you any more details?" I demanded. I would fully admit that I was letting my stress take over, but I was going to me it onck of sleep andck of sugar.

    ''Force him to submit,'' growled the new voice inside of my head. As if I didn''t have enough to deal with, I now somehow managed to unlock a new personality that seemed to demand submission and obedience from everyone around me.

    And while the Alphahole personality did have its uses; this was not one of them. I didn''t want any of my men to submit to me. Even the very idea made me upset. Themander, on the other hand¡­

    "Not really," replied Wang Chao confused. He went to sit down at the ind where there was currently a chicken pot pie covered with hot sauce on a te just waiting for him. As soon as he sat down, Chen Zi Han quickly swooped in to take the te away.

    Wang Chao looked at the other man confused. Chen Zi Han simply raised an eyebrow. "You can eat once we figure out what situation we have justnded in the middle of. You know, Syndicates aren''t this much work. Even if one needed help, they would have taken care of it themselves without dragging anyone else into the mess."

    "He hasn''t told you where his six men died?" I continued to press. I mean, how did no one else seem to know where all this stress wasing from? Were they really that slow?!?

    "No. Just that he lost them somewhere between City N and here."

    "Is the East Sea somewhere between City N and here?" I asked with a tight smile on my face.

    "It is," said Wang Chao slowly.

    "And the object that they need is somewhere in the East Sea?"

    "They do have the exact location, but yes, it is in the East Sea."

    "And is there exact location andmark in the middle of the ocean or coordinates¡­ you know¡­something that needs electricity and a GPS to be able to find. Or¡­ are they true sailors and can use the position of the stars to find the exact location?"

    Now all four men were looking at me like they were more than a little concerned. Chen Zi Han walked over to my fridge and pulled out some ice cream from the freezer. Grabbing a fork (because yes, I ate my ice cream with a fork) he came over to me and led me to the couch.

    Sitting me down, he grabbed a pillow and my nket and tucked me in. When he was satisfied that I was nice andfy, he then handed me my mint chocte chip ice cream.

    "What is going on?" he asked softly as he crouched down to be able to look me in the eyes. "Is there really something on this that we cannot kill? Or dominate? Or otherwise set on fire?"<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "You really don''t understand, do you?" I asked looking him in the eyes and trying to see if he was being serious or just trying to calm me down.

    "Then tell us," demanded Wang Chao. "Tell us what we are walking into."

    "But that was the thing. I have told you. You just don''t seem to put them together."

    "Then spell it out."

    "The retrovirus, the whole reason why the military even attempted it was because they wanted a better navy force. That is why the species that they chose for desirable characteristics were aquatic creatures. Like starfish, like hydras¡­"

    "Like sharks," interjected Liu Yu Zeng as he caught on to what I was trying to exin. "They wanted to build a better force underwater, and instead created a creature that was impossible to kill, let alone remain dead."

    "Yes, but what makes you think that the military didn''t get what they wanted at the end of the day?" I asked with a tired sigh, digging into my ice cream and taking another bite of the minty goodness. I could take or leave the chocte, but that mint was everything right now.

    "Trouble, just tell me," said Wang Chao as he came to crouch down beside Chen Zi Han.

    "I''m not trouble, you''re trouble," I pouted, not looking at either man. I didn''t know why I was putting off telling the guys about what we were getting into. Maybe it is because I never really experienced it firsthand, I have only heard second-hand stories from the survivors. But I was not one of the dumb ones that needed to stick my hand into a fire to know that it was going to hurt if I did it.

    "The zombies," said Liu Yu Zeng from where he was leaning against the kitchen ind. "Country M military seeded in creating an invincible aquatic fighting force, and Country K followed. The zombies that we have been encountering onnd are also in the water."

    "And the water is their natural environment," I confirmed taking another bite of ice cream before it got too melted for me to eat. "I have heard that they are at least 10 times faster in the water than onnd, they hunt in packs and their diet consists of sharks, whales, dolphins, andrge fish. Humans are an easy target because water is not our natural environment. We are slow, clumsy, and our powers are useless underwater."

    There was a brittle smile on my face as I looked at the four men in front of me.

    "I don''t suppose that we can do guard duty onnd and leave them to their own devices when ites to water?" I asked with a grimace. I was not a fan of open bodies of water¡­ and when I say not a fan, I mean I would rather be in the middle of a sea of clowns than in an actual sea with things swimming under me.

    In fact, for three lifetimes, that was still the worst way to die as far as I am concerned¡­ and I have been ripped apart.

    That should tell you something.

 Chapter 292 Aim For The Stars

    ?

    "Themander specifically requested that I go down with them to find the device," admitted Wang Chao, not looking too impressed. He stood up and walked back over the ind. Chen Zi Han followed him and put the pot pie back in front of him.

    "Any idea what the device is?" I asked as I rubbed my eyebrow in frustration.

    "It is a device that gives the user ess to the weapons system on a few of our satellites," said Wang Chao, not bothering to hold anything back. Now that he understood what he just volunteered us all for, I was sure that he would be going back to themanderter and demand more answers.

    "Why would they need ess to those weapons? What kind of weapons would they be?" asked Liu Yu Zeng confused. Hell, even I was confused. I think that there was enough shit to deal with on Earth without bringing weapons from outer space into the mix.

    "There are five different categories of space weapons or anti-satallite (ASAT) weapons," said Liu Wei as he adjusted his sses. "They are nuclear weapons, direct-ascent weapons, orbital systems, energy weapons, and jamming systems. There is¡­ sorry, there was a space arms race going on between County M, County K, and Country S right before the retrovirus was introduced to the poption."

    "Was there nothing restricting this arms race?" asked Chen Zi Han.

    "There were treaties and agreements, but they basically only banned the use of nuclear weapons as well as any weapons of mass destruction. Everything else was not really regted," admitted Liu Wei. I was impressed with all the information stored in that man''s head at any given time. I didn''t even know that satellites were capable of having weapons. I thought they were only formunications and GPS.

    Shows you what I knew.

    "One country even came up with fighter satellites," shrugged Liu Wei.

    "And if Country K was able to install nuclear weapons on theirs?" I asked, already dreading the answer. I was pretty sure that humanity was trying to kill itself and doing a damn good job of it. First the retrovirus, then mass EMP strikes, and now a potential nuclear attacking from our own country.

    "Then whatever weapons they managed to install up in space, they would haveplete ess to right now," nodded Liu Wei. The four of us turned to look at Wang Chao.

    "What are your thoughts?" I asked him. He was suspiciously silent throughout the whole conversation and that was worrying me.

    "I think that we¡­ I¡­ am being used," admitted Wang Chao after a few seconds. He opened his bottle of water and took a sip before turning his attention to me. "And I don''t know what to do."

    "You know, for a cold-blooded CEO, you have a soft spot the size of a country. Country K to be exact," I said with a sigh. I couldn''t understand it really, I didn''t have that type of loyalty to any country, and maybe that was more of a mark against me than it was against Wang Chao.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Maybe in the future, we should just go around anyone in a military uniform. They seem to bring us bad luck," joked Liu Yu Zeng as he took a sip from the ss of whisky that I had found in my space.

    "I second that motion," I said, raising my arm straight up in the air. "All in favor?" The four men, including Wang Chao, raised their hands in agreement. "Motion passed, four yays, zero nays. After this, we will be avoiding any and all military," I joked and the men around me smiled.

    However, when we heard a knock on the RV and then the handle turning, the smiles on our faces were quickly erased. Liu Yu Zeng, our unofficial butler, went to unlock the door before letting themander in.

    "You should be more careful," said themander as he went to the ind where some fruit was sitting in a bowl on the counter. Picking up an apple, he rubbed it clean on his shirt before taking a big bite out of it. "There are a lot of zombies around here."

    "I know," I said from where I was cuddled up on the couch. I handed my melting ice cream to Wang Chao and he put it back in the freezer. "But zombies are a lot less scary than humans. Don''t you think?"

    Themander simply looked at me and continued to eat his apple. There was nothing that I hated more than people stealing my supplies right in front of my face. With a flick of my wrist, I pulled the apple in his hand into my space and into the pig pen. At least one of them could benefit from the apple.

    "What do you want, Commander?" I asked as I looked at him. When I saw him eyeing my fruit bowl a second time, I vanished the whole thing into my space refusing to share with a man that clearly wanted one of mine dead. And even if he didn''t want it, he was definately steering us in that direction.

    "Where did the fruit go?" asked themander, cocking his head to the side like the bowl was going to magically appear in front of his eyes if he just stared hard enough. I mean, if I was in a good mood, that might happen. But I was not in a good mood.

    "It''s gone. Now, answer my question," I snapped. It waste out and I was tired. I wanted to get thismander out of my home and get some sleep. I didn''t think that that was too much to ask.

    "I don''t want anything from you," snapped themander back. The poor man, it must be so hard being that stupid. Then again, we agreed to help him without knowing all the details, so maybe we were the stupid ones. I titled my head to the side as if to consider who was stupider.

    Nope, he still won.

    "If you want the help of anyone in this room, I suggest you be a bit more¡­ polite," I said with a smile as I rested my head on my hand.

    "I need to talk to Wang Chao," admitted themander after a few minutes of silence.

 Chapter 293 Sharks... Really?

    ?

    "He''s right there," I said as I pointed to Wang Chao who was sitting right beside themander, finishing off his dinner finally. "So talk."

    "I want to talk to him privately," replied Commander Huang Nian Zu as he stared at me from across my RV. After he ate my apple. And wanted to talk to my man. If he thought that we were going to roll over and let him be in charge, he had another thinging.

    ''Force him to submit,'' growled the voice in my head for the second time that night, and in this case, I was inclined to agree. Themander would have to learn his ce, and it was not as the alpha male that he thought he was.

    "You can speak to me here," replied Wang Chao as he turned around and rested his arms behind him on the countertop.

    "It is ssified," snarled themander turning to look at my man.

    "There is no central government, no ruling party, no military. Even if it was ssified before the end of the world, it is not anymore. Talk or leave. We are tired and want sleep," responded Wang Chao raising his brow in challenge.

    The man wasn''t wrong.

    I sat back on the couch and gotfortable. Wang Chao would handle this, and if not, I could step inter.

    ---

    Wang Chao looked at the man that he considered to be a good friend in the military. They went through basic together, and even though they chose different career paths, they still managed to retain their friendship. It was really too bad that Huang Nian Zu chose to throw all that away for the sake of a mission.

    Then again, it was understandable at the same time¡­ at least it would have been understandable if the world still worked the same way.

    "Did you decide to finally tell me what we were getting into by agreeing to help you?" asked Wang Chao as he continued to study the other man.

    "What do you mean?" asked Huang Nian Zu as he stiffened up defensively. "I have no idea what you are referring to," he repeated himself.

    "Your six men that died," stared Liu Wei as he went to sit beside Li Dai Lu on the couch. Wang Chao was happy with that move. Someone needed to be close to her and Liu Wei made the most sense. "It didn''t ur to me until a few minutes ago that they were your six top divers."

    "What does that have to do with anything?" snarled Huang Nian Zu as he looked around the room. Wang Chao''s and Liu Wei''s facial expressions never changed. Thanks to their woman, they now knew exactly what they were getting into¡­ and it was a death sentence for most people.

    "The zombies in the water," smiled Wang Chao. "Or are you going to say that you had no idea what killed an entire scuba team?"

    "It was zombies?" repeated Huang Nian Zu as he looked around and took a seat in the booth on the other side of the RV. <novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Are you saying that you didn''t know?" asked Liu Wei, his eyebrow raised in disbelief.

    "I didn''t know," insisted Huang Nian Zu. "We thought it was sharks. When the bodies floated to the surface, there were bites taken out of all of them. Inside of a few of the wounds were shark teeth."

    Liu Yu Zeng scoffed when he heard the other man''s exnation. "How many missions did you go on where you were swimming with sharks and not a single one attacked you? And yet, for some reason, on this one everyone you sent into the water died?"

    "I mean, of course, it was weird," admitted Huang Nian Zu as he looked at Liu Yu Zeng. "But at the same time, every mission we go on, we assume that we will die on it."

    "And the zombies?" asked Wang Chao. "How did you justify the zombies?"

    "We hadn''t actually seen zombies," admitted Huang Nian Zu. "We met people on the roads that warned us that we would want to find a safe ce at night because that was when the zombies attacked."

    "Wouldn''t you have to go through City B in order to get here?" Li Dai Lu asked curious.

    "We avoid cities when we are on a mission," said Huang Nian Zu and Wang Chao was happy that he was starting to show a bit more respect to her. "In this case, we took a boat from City N to the device location and then after we were attacked, we made it to River W before we were hit and capsized."

    Wang Chao raised his eyebrows in surprise. "And yet you still thought that it was only sharks that attacked you?"

    "After the initial attack and the bodies floated to the surface, there was a pod of orca whales that breached, almost falling on our boat. We barely got out of their way, however, they continued to pursue us until we reached the river where one finally managed to capsize us."

    Wang Chao looked at Li Dai Lu to give her opinion on the matter.

    "Humans tasted weird, orcas are a staple on their menu and a pod of them came around at the right time. The zombies probably chased them down until they were able to get at least one," Li Dai Lu said after a few minutes of thinking.

    Wang Chao agreed with her. If the zombies in the water did not have humans as part of their normal diet then the Sea Dragon team was probably just a prime example of wrong ce, wrong time. Then when their normal food appeared, they hunted them, causing the orcas to freak out. While Huang Nian Zu on the surface thought that the orcas were pursuing them, the orcas were, in fact, just trying to get away.

    This was turning into a huge nightmare.

    "How do you know where the exact location of the device is?" asked Chen Zi Han as he started to clean up the dishes.

    "We know it is about 45 minutes outside of City N base going northeast using one of the newer model missile boats," admitted Huang Nian Zu.

 Chapter 294 Please Donâ€™t Give Up On Me

    ?

    "That isn''t even remotely helpful at all," I grumbled under my breath, wondering once again at the level of stupidity of the man in front of me.

    "It was all we could go on without a working GPS. The EMP strike managed to take out the navigation systems,munications, and propulsion systems. Luckily enough the missile boats used diesel engines so while the propulsion systems were fried, we were able to create a new system that didn''t rely on electricity to control the engines," admitted Huang Nian Zu.

    Leave it up to the military to be somewhat capable after an EMP strike.

    "Can you find the device if you have a working GPS?" asked Wang Chao and I did a double take for a second.

    "I thought we were on the fence about the government having ess to weapons of mass destruction and nuclear capabilities," I said as I raised my arm into the air. I mean, that was what we agreeed on after Liu Wei gave us the crash course on satellite weapons.

    "I''m sorry," growled Huang Nian Zu as he stood up from his seat at the table and strolled toward me. "Do you question County K''s government?"

    "Yes, considering there is no central government right now," I replied. I mean, there were very loose, local governments if you considered the leader of any safety zones to be their own government. "We are more in the warring states period than modern day."

    "The government is an unshakable entity," said themander as he puffed up his chest. Liu Wei stood up from where he was sitting beside me on the couch and intercepted the iratemander.

    "It was," I agreed. Hey, I was all for governments. Humans did much better with structure than they did on their own and the current apocalypse was a prime example of that. "Now it''s not."

    "That''s fine, you don''t need toe then," said Hunag Nian Zu with a shrug as he looked around the room.

    "Are you expecting one of the men here to agree with you?" I asked, somewhat curious. "Because that really isn''t going to happen."

    "Do you have any idea who he is?" scoffed themander as he pointed to Wang Chao. "He practically controls every aspect of City A."

    I nodded my head in agreement. "And Liu Wei is a prince of City H and second to Wang Chao. Liu Yu Zeng is the head of a Criminal Syndicate and Chen Zi Han is his enforcer. I am well aware of who each and every man in this room is. But you are missing the most important thing."

    "And what is that?" sneered themander. I looked at him and smiled. "They are all mine. I control everything. You want their help? You ask me. Anything that involves them, you can bet your ass it goes through me first."

    "Not possible," stuttered themander as once again he looked around the room. Liu Yu Zeng simply shrugged his shoulders and gave his typical smirk.

    "What can I say? We''re whipped," chuckled Chen Zi Han as he threw the dish towel over his shoulder and smiled at the man.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Wouldn''t have it any other way," continued Liu Wei.

    Themander then turned to Wang Chao as if there was no way possible, he was going to admit to being ''whipped'' by me. Then again, I really didn''t think that they were whipped. Just smart.

    "What?" asked Wang Chao as a small smile appeared on his face.

    "Do you agree with what they are saying?" demanded themander, his eyes wide.

    "Completely. But since I keep screwing up and agreeing to things that might get us all killed, I think I need a bit more training," said Wang Chao with a smile as he winked at me.

    I rolled my eyes. "You are fine as long as it doesn''t involve the military. I swear it''s like it is entwined into your very soul," I groused not overly mad. I didn''t want to change who he was and the military was very much who he was. Now¡­ taking it down a notch or 15 was apletely different story.

    "I''ll do better in the future," he promised as he stood up and came over to me. Giving me a soft kiss on my forehead he looked deep into my eyes. "I will do better in the future," he repeated and I could feel his sincerity. "Please don''t give up on me."

    "I couldn''t even if I wanted to. I have part of your soul inside of me, remember?" I said with a smile as I pulled him down into a toe-curling kiss.

    "So, you are stuck with me for all eternity," he smirked before straightening and going over to stand beside the couch.

    "Apparently," I said with a shrug, not bothered by that idea at all. "Now, back to you, Commander," I said turning my attention back to the outside. "You will have your bodyguards to get you back to where you need to be. But you will be doing it my way, so I suggest you don''t fuck it up. We might, and I mean this as a very slight ''might'' also help you once you get to the water. That is going to depend on my mood on the journey, so we are going to go back to the statement¡­ ''Don''t fuck it up''. Whether or not I let you keep a device that could wipe out what little remained of humanity will be something else entirely."

    "You cannot prevent us frompleting our mission," said Huang Nian Zu, and the man actually meant it.

    Bless his little heart.

    A small part of me was wondering if this was just a giant conspiracy thought up by some really smart Reaver to take over the world. I mean, the only beings that would be able to survive a nuclear attack would be the zombies. They would just regenerate. They wouldn''t have any food outside of what could be found in the oceans, but apparently, it would be enough given the fact that zombies currently are doing quite well underwater.

    However, that would also mean that a Reaver would either have to go back in time or be reborn, create the Retrovirus, then the antidote to zombie-ism, and finally know about the space arms race that could bring about theplete downfall of humanity.

    That could never happen¡­ right?

 Chapter 295 First Time For Everything

    I shook my head, not wanting the idea of a Reaver conspiracy to take hold too deeply. I had enough things on my te to worry about the entire human race being wiped out.

    "Do you have any questions, Commander?" I asked with a smile. I really was too tired to deal with any more bullshit today.

    "Yeah," snorted Commander Huang Nian Zu as he looked at me from his ce across the RV. "Who the Hell do you think you are?"

    I smirked at his question, but just as I was about to open my mouth to respond to him, Liu Yu Zeng cut me off. "Your Savior," he said with a smile on his face. He then turned and gave me a wink.

    "You remembered," I said with a smile of my own remembering the time that I had said that very sentence to Liu Yu Zeng. It was always my response to that particr question simply because what did you say? And it was not like I was wrong.

    Themander only raised an eyebrow at the answer and I shrugged my shoulders, not really caring what he thought. He would learn the hard way or die. Those were really the only two options.

    "Whatever," growled themander as he looked around the kitchen. "Don''t you know it is bad manners not to feed a guest as soon as they arrive?"

    What was it with everyone trying to teach me manners?!? I mean, I was starting to take offense.

    "Maybe before," I replied with a shrug, "But now that supplies are limited, it is even worse manners to go over to someone''s ce and expect to be fed. Or are you just tired of eating whatever convivence food you had found and wanted something different."

    "I want to finish the apple I was eating," grumbled Huang Nian Zu as he looked around the counters.

    "Fine, I''ll give you an apple in exchange for 6 chocte bars," I bartered with a shrug. I didn''t need apples. I had an entire orchard of apples that could never go bad in my space, not to mention all the other fruits and veggies I grew.

    Chocte bars, on the other hand, were in really short supply.

    "Fine," agreed Huang Nian Zu with a small smirk. "Give me the apple first and then I will go back and bring you the chocte bars after."

    Did this man really think that I was that stupid? I shook my head with a sad smile on my face. "I wasn''t born yesterday. Do you really think I am that stupid? You get my apple now, eat it, and then when I ask for payment, you just shrug your shoulders like you don''t understand what is going on. I repeat, do you really think I am that stupid?"

    He simply stared at me in return, not saying anything one way or the other.

    "Now, you go get me my chocte, and when youe back, I will have a somewhat shiny apple ready and waiting for you."

    "How many apples do you have?" asked themander looking at me from the corner of his eyes.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Now it was my turn to snort. "For every 6 chocte bars you give me, I will give you an apple," I answered with a shrug.

    "What about other snacks?" he asked, fully getting into the spirit of bargaining.

    "It will dependpletely on what you have and what you want," I responded. I was not going to give him any additional information. I have seen people being raided for having particr supplies and I was not going to give anyone the chance to do that to me. Not like it would work, but still. No point in giving false hope.

    "And if I want a chicken?" he smirked, thinking that he had me in a bind.

    "Then you are going to need a lot of snacks and also some day to day supplies that aren''t food," I replied, not at all phased. "But you and I both know you don''t have enough supplies for your team, let alone enough to trade 6 bars for a single apple."

    "It would probably be in your best interest not to underestimate her knowledge of supplies," interrupted Liu Wei, not wanting the conversation to continue. I could only smile. I was more than happy to keep talking about supplies, or theirck of them.

    "We have enough," insisted themander and I could only sigh.

    "That''s good then," I saidpletely unconcerned. Not my circus, not my monkeys. But if any of them thought that they were going to be able to mooch off me and mine, they had another thinging. "There''s the door," I continued pointing to the only door to the outside of the whole RV. "Please feel free to leave."

    I stood up and Liu Wei quickly grabbed my nket before it hit the floor. Smiling at the man, I gave him a kiss on the lips before going into my room for the night. The guys could deal with themander. I was going to bed.

    -----

    "Now that she is gone," said Huang Nian Zu, going to sit down on the couch. "Are you really going to go with what she says?"

    "I don''t know," replied Wang Chao as he went into the kitchen and took a beer out of the fridge. Passing each one out, and excluding themander, Wang Chao opened his. "It would depend on if I wanted to get out of this situation alive or not, I guess," he continued with a shrug before taking a sip from his bottle.

    "You really think that there are zombies in the water preying on humans?" asked Huang Nian Zu, stunned.

    "I think that that woman has never been wrong once, in all the time that we have known her," answered Liu Wei as he too took a sip of his ice-cold drink. Huang Nian Zu could only swallow in frustration that no one was offering him a drink.

    "There is a first time for everything," he pointed out before standing up and walking over to the kitchen fridge. Opening it up, he saw that it waspletely empty. He then started to open up the cupboards inside of the kitchen looking for something to eat.

    The four men just watched him search frantically, not saying a word. They had a feeling that Li Dai Lu would have taken all of the edible stuff, just so nothing like this happened.

 Chapter 296 Speak Of The Devil

    ?

    I took my time waking up the next morning, not at all in a rush to start the day. And unfortunately for everyone else, that meant that they were working on my timeline and I was thest one prepared to leave. Ask me if I cared.

    "Are you sure that you have searched everywhere for supplies?" I asked as I narrowed my eyes at themander in front of me.

    "Did you see anything on the shelves?" he said, returning my question with a question.

    I groaned in response, not at all impressed. Not so subtly shoulder-checking themander out of the way, I walked into the gas station convivence store. I knew that I had already emptied all of the gas at the pumps, and, as the man pointed out, all of the obvious shelves had been emptied, probably a direct result of the Sea Dragon team staying there.

    I walked through the empty store and up to the door that was marked ''Employees Only''. I turned the handle, only to discover that it was locked. Debating all the different ways that I could get into a room with a locked door, I chose the easiest one.

    "Wang Chao!" I called out as I red at the door that was standing between me and my supplies.

    "Trouble?" he said in return,ing up behind me. I turned my re from the door to him.

    "Is that a statement, a question, or a nickname?" I asked. "Never mind. Just opened the door, please, and thank you." I gestured to the door in question as if it was not brutally obvious which door needed to be opened.

    Huang Nian Zu came up beside Wang Chao and I chose to ignore him in favor of supplies. Wang Chao ced his hand on the knob and in seconds it melted and dripped down to the floor at our feet. Without the handle to keep it in ce, the door swung open to reveal a set of stairs going to the basement.

    "Fuck no," I grumbled, wondering if I wasn''t right in the idea that the entire universe was out to get me. "Chen Zi Han!" I shouted this time and impatiently tapped my foot.

    "What? The big, bad Savior won''t go into a basement?" smirked Huang Nian Zu.

    "With you standing at the top of the stairs? No way in Hell," I said just as Chen Zi Han strolled up to me.

    "Basement?" he asked with a smile and I smiled back. He knew me so well. Taking a pair of gloves out of his back pocket, he put them on carefully before starting down the dark stairs.

    It took maybe a few minutes when he yelled back up that it was clear. I looked between my remaining three men for a second. "Liu Yu Zeng, can you stay and guard the top of the stairs?" I asked. I knew without a doubt that he would not hesitate to kill everyone and anyone that tried to lock me in the basement. It wasn''t that I doubted Wang Chao and Liu Wei, but I also didn''t want to put them in that position to have to choose either. <novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    I knew it might not even happen, that not everyone was waiting for me to go into a basement and then lock the door behind me. But have it happen to you once and I promise you that it would be thest time.

    "Of course," he said with a smile as he called up his ck mist to coat his hands. A small section of the mist flew away from his hand and shot towards me. Wrapping itself around my arm, I could only smile. Apparently, this was now going to be a thing.

    "Thanks, Babe," I said as I started down the stairs, keeping my fingers crossed that there wasn''t going to be a kidnapping ring, a serial killer that liked to rip things apart, or scientists that created the Reavers. Thinking about it, nothing good ever came from being in a basement.

    That was, until now.

    Chen Zi Han was waiting for me at thest step and took my hand. I was oblivious to everything except for the rows upon rows of supplies. There had to be more than 100 shelves all lined up from one end of the room to the other, and each one waspletely filled with boxes.

    And unless there were body parts in those boxes, I think that the basement curse has been officially broken.

    I pulled Chen Zi Han to the closest shelf with a brown cardboard box on it and, letting go of his hand, I pulled off the one that was at eye level. Now, normally I wouldn''t bother to do this, I would just send them all into my space and deal with themter, but I had freaked myself out about body parts and just wanted to double-check.

    I put the box on the ground and Chen Zi Han quickly took out a knife from who knows where and cut through the tape keeping it shut. I looked down as my protector opened the container and rows of chocte bar boxes were exposed.

    I didn''t know how long they had been down here and frankly; I didn''t care. I finally got my hands on my elusive chocte bars and I was happy.

    With a smile and a flick of my wrist, the box as well as every other thing in this storage room was quickly stored away in my space. I even included the shelves simply to keep things organized.

    My smile spanned from ear to ear. An entire room of snack food was almost worth having to put up with themander and his suicide mission. Almost. But still¡­ it was chocte.

    "Coming down!" shouted themander. Speak of the Devil and all that, I guess. I shrugged my shoulders and struggled to wipe the smile from my face. These men needed to get a lot more resourceful if they were hoping to keep any supplies for themselves.

    Then again, Commander Huang Nian Zu did say that they had enough to do them for a while. So really, it was their decision for me not to share with them.

 Chapter 297 Because You Are An Idiot

    ?

    "See, told you," said Commander Huang Nian Zu as he descended the steps into the basement of the convivence store. "Completely empty."

    "You were right," I said with a smile, not even bothering to hold it back anymore. I stuck my hand into the ck cargo pants that the boys always seemed to make me wear and pretended to pull out a chocte bar. Opening it up in front of the man, I took arge bite. "There was absolutely nothing down here. But now that I am convinced, we can head out any time."

    Practically skipping up the stairs, I paused long enough to give Liu Yu Zeng a kiss on the lips before heading out into the middle of the road. I finished off the rest of the bar, licking my fingers clean, before looking around me.

    To my front was a forest, to each side was a road, and behind me stood the gas station with all of the military members lounging around outside, waiting for their next order.

    ''Onest thing to do,'' I said to Wang Chao. ''Keep the military calm¡­ if you can.''

    ''Will do,'' replied Wang Chao as he, Liu Wei, Liu Yu Zeng, Chen Zi Han, and Commander Huang Nian Zu came out of the convivence store.

    Satisfied that the military was not going to fuck up this next part, I tilted my head back and roared. I wait for the answering call, but instead, I saw the Beta of the new horde exiting the forest in front of me while the other zombies remained swaying in a single line at the forest''s edge.

    "What the fuck!" was shouted behind me and I sighed. Turning to look at the members behind me, I saw that each one of them had their guns up and ready to shoot. Well, if they shot first then I would let the zombies just eat them. I could consider it to be an act of self-defense.

    "Shut up, guns down," growled Wang Chao. I saw the Beta staring off in the direction of the military, his swaying intensifying until I could feel the blood lusting off of him. Fuck my life.

    I let out a sharp, piercing whistle, trying to bring his attention back to me. But when that didn''t work, I sighed. ''Let me out,'' the new voice said, practically purring with excitement. ''I can do what you can''t.''

    For a second, I was almost willing to let the voice take control, but then I was worried that I might never be able toe back, that I might just turn into a voice inside the head of someone else.

    Letting out a frustrated breath, I let loose a bloody aura of my own. Closing my eyes, I could feel my mes dancing around my feet, ready to go out and y. Four mes shot out of my hands, and I could only assume that they were rushing to the guys, I could feel the mes'' desire to be closer to them.

    There was a yelp of fear behind me and another yelp of pain, but I didn''t bother to look to see what was going on. My purple, pink, and blue mes continued to pour out of me, creating an outfit of pure fire. The Beta, sensing a danger close to him, shot back towards the treeline and turned to look at me.

    I snarled at him, baring my teeth and mes, and pushed my dominance to him.

    I watched as he dropped his head first. Then, after a bit of a fight, his shoulders hunched down, forcing his upper body into a bowing position. ''Not enough!'' hissed the voice inside of me in glee. ''More!''<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    I pushed even further and watched as his knees bent and dropped to the ground as the weight of my supremacy forced him toy practically t on the ground. He turned his head towards me and let out a whimper. When the sound was echoed, I turned to look at the line of zombies just inside the forest and saw that they were in a simr position to the beta.

    I snarled again, reinforcing the fact that I was the Alpha of our pack before backing off just enough that they could get to their feet.

    "We are leaving," I said as I looked at the Beta. I didn''t know if he understood me or not, but I figured I might as well try. "You will follow. Understand?"

    "Yesssss," the Beta hissed as he looked down at the ground, refusing to meet my eyes.

    "Good."

    I spun around and walked over to where the boys were standing, not bothering to look back and see what the zombies were doing. I knew that they were now my horde. They would have no choice but to obey.

    "What happened?" asked Liu Wei. "I haven''t seen you have to go that far before. Not since the Alpha battle had you evene close."

    "Someone here attracted their attention and they are hungry," I said as if it wasn''t that big of a deal, but I could feel the drop of sweat rolling down the back of my neck with the effort that it took to make them submit.

    ''Good job,'' hissed the voice quietly. Ipletely ignored it, my mind on the next problem at hand. In fact, not only did I ignore the voice, but I also didn''t notice the feeling of eptance and a click inside my body as if another puzzle piece had fallen into ce. All I knew was that I felt lighter than I had before, more in control.

    "Ready to hit the road?" I asked. The boys hummed in agreement, and all of a sudden, there was the sound of engines approaching the station. Spooked, the military raised their guns once again.

    ''Are you ready to hit the road?'' came Cerberus'' voice inside my head. The five vehicles came to a stop just behind me and the guys as if I had called them to me.

    "Where the hell were you guys, and why didn''t I notice you were gone?" asked Liu Yu Zeng as he climbed onto Lin.

    "Because you are an idiot. I thought we have already established that fact."

 Chapter 298 True Power

    ?

    "But seriously," I said as I turned to the ck truck behind me. His engine was running, but I couldn''t sense any impatience. "Where did you guys go, and why didn''t I realize that you were gone?"

    "We are here when you need us, and we disappear when you don''t," answered Cerberus out loud and the four motorcycles simply revved their engines in agreement.

    "And if we aren''t in the same location that you dropped us off in?" asked Liu Wei as he got onto Reaper and pulled his helmet on.

    "We are with you all the time, even if you don''t see us," replied Reaper.

    "Sweet," said Liu Yu Zeng. "Now why couldn''t you have said something like that?" he asked Lin.

    "I did," grumbled the bike and I swore that if he had a face he would be pouting right now.

    "Did not," replied Liu Yu Zeng as he put on his helmet.

    "Did too."

    "Did not."

    "Did too, times 100," replied Lin.

    "Did not, times a million," shot back Liu Yu Zeng. There was something almost heartwarming about how those two squabbled like little kids. No matter how stressed you were, youpletely forgot about it when confronted with them.

    "Did too, times infinity, no take-backs, no add-ons," said Lin as he shot out from the gas station with Liu Yu Zeng on his back to prove a point. I could onlyugh and shake my head.

    "I''ll get on with Wang Chao," said themander as he walked over to where Wang Chao was sitting on his bike.

    "Not a chance in Hell, buddy," growled Ares as he revved his engine in displeasure.

    "Really, Wang Chao?" asked Huang Nian Zu stunned.

    "Didn''t say a word," replied Wang Chao,pletely non-pulsed. "But he was right, you aren''t riding with us."

    "Then how the Hell are we supposed to go with you guys? Climb into the truck?"

    "upied!" I shouted out from Cerberus'' driver-side window. There was no way I was driving them around in Cerby. The poor truck would definitely think that I didn''t like him or something.

    However, as much as I didn''t want to admit it, the man had a point. They would need a vehicle of some kind to be able to catch up and not turn to zombie food. Debating for a moment, I took out the day and night SUVs that I had put away in my space since Cerberus and the others appeared.

    I technically didn''t need them anymore. And as much as I hated sharing my supplies, (yes, SUVs were considered to be supplies), it would make more sense to have them drive the vehicles and take them back afterward.

    "Use these only until we get to where we need to go," I said, yelling out of Cerberus'' window. There were 10 members in the Sea Dragon team including themander and each SUV had 5 seats. It worked out perfectly.

    "Where did you get them?" demanded Commander Huang Nian Zu as he and his team approached the two SUVs.

    "Out back," I said with a shrug, not caring if they believed me or not. <novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Bullshit," replied Jiang Chang Ming as he opened the driver''s door of the ck SUV and pressed the ignition button. "There is no way you found them there."

    "You are sadly mistaken if you think that I care what your opinion is," I said looking at the man. "If you don''t want to use them, you can just walk."

    "Who said that it was even possible?" demanded the man as he pressed the button and the engine hummed.

    "You were saying?" I asked with a smirk.

    "Never mind."

    "Your options are to get in and we leave, or not and we still leave, you just have a harder time trying to keep up. What''s your decision?"

    The man said nothing, only climbed into the vehicle, followed quickly by four other people. Huang Nian Zu tilted his head in the direction of the light blue day SUV and the remaining four individuals got in, waiting for themander to go sit in the back seat.

    "You owe me some answers, Wang Chao," stated themander as he sat in the back seat.

    "I owe you jack shit," scoffed Wang Chao from where he was seated on Ares'' saddle. "In fact, when this is all done, you owe me."

    "That depends if we get the device or not," shrugged Huang Nian Zu as he shut the door. The ck SUV took off down the road first, followed by the light blue one.

    "Ready?" I asked with a sigh and the four boyos grunted in agreement. Liu Yu Zeng and Chen Zi Han went in front, followed by Cerberus and me, while Liu Wei and Wang Chao brought up the rear.

    Well, kind of.

    Following a few kilometers behind the guys was a horde of zombies slowly keeping up with us, but not too close. I grunted in satisfaction when I saw it in the rearview mirror. Taking a sip from my unicorn mug, I marveled at how well my space kept things hot. I could really get used to it.

    "You good?" asked Cerberus after driving for about 20 minutes or so.

    "I really am," I nodded, happy for a change, because even though we were going to a ce where there was a good chance of getting our asses kicked, we were at least together while doing it.

    Not to mention I really wanted to see what these underwater zombies were like myself. I wonder if I could be an Alpha to them too and get a horde onnd, on sea, and in a city. I never heard of zombies in the air, but I wouldn''t discount those either if they popped up.

    Why not be the most powerful being in the world? The men seemed to have done a good job of that in their previous lives if what their soulmates said was anything to go on.

    And not only would I be powerful in my own right, but I would be powerful enough to not even have to lift a finger to prove it to anyone. That that¡­ that was true power.

    "Thinking about world domination?" asked Cerberus.

    "How did you know?" I chucked, not at all put off by the fact that Cerberus knew what was going on in my head.

    "Just lucky I guess," replied my truck somewhat sarcastically.

 Chapter 299 Submit

    ?

    "Was I always into world domination?" I asked slyly, trying to see if he would let something slip.

    "No, the exact opposite actually," admitted Cerberus. "And don''t think that I don''t know exactly what you are up to."

    "Me? Up to something? Never," I gasped in mock outrage. "But seriously, could you tell me?"

    "You always felt that trying to control the world was nothing but a headache waiting to happen. However, at the same time, you also felt that people needed justice."

    "So, you are saying that I controlled my own world?" I asked, even more in the dark than ever as to what or who I could be.

    "I am saying that you aren''t going to get any further information from me, so stop trying," chucked Cerberus as we continued down the highway. It must have been close to noon now, but no one seemed to be stopping for lunch. I wonder how they were doing when it came to their supplies.

    "Everything good with the guys?" I asked, taking a sip of my coffee. Even if they didn''t stop for lunch, there was no reason for me not to enjoy mine. I took out a peanut butter and banana sandwich with bacon and started to dig in. Elvis would have been so proud of me.

    "They are fine," said Cerberus reassuring me. "Just giving Wang Chao a hard time about agreeing to help without fully knowing what was going on."

    "Well, not much we can do now, especially after we made a promise. Besides, everyone should have seen thising since it involved the military." Cerberus only hummed in agreement, but the way that he did it made him seem that he knew something that none of us did.

    "You know, keeping secrets could shorten your life span exponentially," I said with a smile as I bit into my sandwich.

    "Why do you say that?" asked Cerberus with a chuckle.

    "Because I have no problems killing people to get their secrets," I exined after a moment.

    "Yes, well, you like me too much," replied Cerberus and I couldn''t help but grumble under my breath. The frigger was right, I did like him too much. Fine, let him keep his secrets.

    Concentrating more on my sandwich than the outside world, I smeared peanut butter all over my face when Cerberus mmed on his brakes.

    "We really have to stop doing that," I grumbled, taking out a wet wipe and wiping my hands and face.

    "Sorry about that," said Cerberus apologetically.

    "Hardly your fault," I replied with a shrug before getting out of the truck and going to see what was going on out front.

    As I approached, I could hear an argument between Commander Huang Nian Zu and Wang Chao.

    "You are not taking them with us," said Wang Chao with a growl. "Weren''t you the one that said we were on an important mission? They will only slow us down."<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "What is going on?" I asked as I approached the two men. On the other side of them, I saw a group of about 30 people standing in the middle of the road. They definitely looked the worst for wear but seeing as the world had ended over six months ago, that wasn''t a surprise.

    "They are asking for help and Huang Nian Zu has decided to take them with us to City N," said Wang Chao as he turned to look at me.

    "Oh? Is it annoying when people offer their services to help others?" I asked, tilting my head. I smiled to let him know that I wasn''t mad, but it was definitely a case of the pot calling the kettle ck.

    "Point taken," sighed Wang Chao.

    "Good, they can follow between our two groups," nodded themander. I didn''t know if it was ack of sleep or ack of food that was screwing with his head, but he would have to fix that soon.

    "They won''t be following us anywhere," I said with a shrug before skirting around themander and up to the group. I didn''t know if they were Asymptomatic or not, but they were not following us anywhere.

    Unless of course, I wanted to use them to piss off the Commander and teach him a lesson about being too kind for his own good. However, on the downside, since we were traveling together, it would literally be cutting off my nose to spite my face. And I wasn''t into self-masochism.

    "Who is your leader?" I asked, sounding more like a sci-fi character than I wanted to.

    "I am," said a woman pushing her way through the crowd. "What do you want?"

    I could only smile at her response. I didn''t want anything but peace and quiet, and seeing as I wasn''t getting that, she could deal with me pissed off and cranky.

    "I only want to inform you that you will not be traveling with us," I answered with a shrug of my shoulders like it wasn''t that big of a deal.

    "That''s too bad, the militarymander already gave us his blessing," she smiled in return.

    "Why doesn''t a man lead your group?" I asked, throwing her off bnce.

    "Because I do," she threw back.

    "And if one of the men in your group made a decision that you did not agree with, would you sit back and just allow it to happen?" I continued, cocking my head at her with a smile. She was a bit taller than me at 5''8" I was guessing, but I refused to tilt my head back to look up at her. Instead, I only moved my eyes.

    One thing that I had learned through dealing with zombies was how your head went unconsciously decided whether or not you were submitting to another. If I tilted my head back (my chin up) to look at her, I was exposing my throat. A sign of submission. And there was no way that I was willing to submit to her.

    "Of course not," scoffed the woman in front of me. Her jeans were ripped in several ces, and I couldn''t tell if they were designed that way, or if it was something done through natural wear and tear. She wore a form-fitting pink turtleneck and her hair was up in a messy bun. All in all, she could have passed for a supermodel back in my first life.

    I wondered which head themander was thinking with when he allowed her to join our little band of merry men.

 Chapter 300 Follow The Leader

    ?

    "Why not?" I pushed, maintaining the smile on my face.

    "Because he is not the leader," she replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. And it was. No one other than the leader had the right to decide what was going on within a group.

    "Exactly," I said, my smile never wavering. "And themander is not the leader of this group. I am."

    "That is not possible," she chuckled, shaking her head. "He is themander of a military team. Of course he is in charge of the team."

    "His team, yes," I said with a definitive nod. "But not the whole team. I am the one that he had to turn to for help when he needed it. That means that he cannot make the decision for the team as a whole. That lies firmly on my shoulders."

    She scoffed at that remark and shrugged her shoulders. "That''s fine," she quickly agreed with a smile of her own. "We will not be part of your team."

    "Ah, let me guess¡­ the road is a public space. You can follow along behind us, and we can''t say a word because you are not technically part of our team. Right?" I said with a smirk. "But since we all have cars, can you really keep up with us? Or are you going to take your time because you think that we will clear the road of any dangers for you?"

    There were many problems with my brain. I will fully admit that. But one of the top five was definitely overanalyzing every oue for any situation that I could possibly think of. All within a matter of minutes.

    I hade up with at least ten possible oues for this scenario. And eight of them ended up with her and her group being zombie food. I was actually impressed that only two of them involved me throwing them to mine.

    I didn''t bother waiting for her to answer but instead turned and walked back to where themander and my men were standing.

    "You have two choices," I said, not bothering with any sort of politeness. "You can either take them with you, and we go ahead and meet you wherever you decide, or you leave them here to fend for themselves and travel with us. The choice is yours."

    "When I first went into the military, I made a vow to protect the citizens of Country K for as long as there was breath in my body. I will not turn my back on people that need me," said Commander Huang Nian Zu, crossing his arms in front of his chest. I nodded my head in understanding.

    "I understand vows, and they are something to take extremely seriously, just like promises," I assured him with a smile. "But I made a promise to myself that I would let them all die, people, that is," I tilted my head to the side and looked at him. "Which means that one of us will have to break their promise."

    I smiled at themander. "Now, I have been breaking my promise left, right, and center," I said with a nod. "But that needs to end. So, I will not kill them, but I will not save them. You want to? That is your decision, but I will have no part of it."

    "And are you okay with that?" demanded Huang Nian Zu, turning to look at Wang Chao.

    "Completely," replied Wang Chao with a shrug.

    "And what about your vows?" sneered Huang Nian Zu.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "What about them? No one else seems to care unless it helps them get what they want, so why can''t I change my vow of protecting the citizens of my country to protecting only my family?" demanded Wang Chao, not caring if the neers could hear him or not.

    "What do you mean?"

    "Well, first, there was General Yang Bo Wen," said Liu Wei ticking the names off on his fingers. I would have to admit, though, I didn''t remember a General Yang Bo Wen. Maybe it was something from before the men started traveling with me.

    Wang Chao looked at me with a smirk on his face. "Not quite, but I think you referred to him as General Fuck Face. Liu Wei just said his given name for Huang Nian Zu''s sake."

    Ah yes, General Fuck Face¡­. Wait, wasn''t he eaten by zombies sometime after we met Liu Yu Zeng and Chen Zi Han?

    "After General Yang Bo Wen took in a bunch of citizens, he put the lives of his men and us on the line. He was eaten by zombies. But not before he told us that it was our responsibility to help Rear Admiral Zhou Gang Jia. We met up with the Rear Admiral, and that decision blew up in our faces as well when he tried to force us to teach his units but was willing to kill Li Dai Lu because she was a citizen."

    "Don''t forget Deng Jun Hie," interjected Liu Yu Zeng, getting into the spirit of things. "Wasn''t he in the military too?"

    "He was," nodded Chen Zi Han, "If I remember correctly, he was a Major General."

    "And what happened to him?" asked Liu Yu Zeng, trying to think, his index finger slowly tapping on his chin.

    "He tried to kidnap Li Dai Lu so that we would be under hismand for the rest of our lives and protect his safety zone," answered Wang Chao with a smile on his face. I couldn''t miss the brief sh of anger on his face as he said that though.

    Mind you, I didn''t know that everyone that tried to fuck us over were all military. In fact, the only people we have really been in contact with were the military, bikers, and Reavers. Zombies didn''t count. They weren''t exactly people. Then again, maybe I should take Reavers off that list, too, since they were technically zombies, to begin with...

    "And I think we can all agree that after this mission where the lovelymander tries to fuck us over, we will be avoiding the military for the rest of our lives, right?" I asked, looking around at all the guys.

    "Yeah," said Wang Chao with a definitive nod of his head.

    "So, like we said. You can go do whatever you want with those civilians. The choice is yours. But we want nothing to do with them," I said, recapping our entire conversation.

    "Follow whatever leader you want," said Liu Yu Zeng. "But don''te crying to us afterward."

 Chapter 301 Pave The Way

    ?

    "We promised them protection, and I will not be the one to break a promise," said Commander Huang Nian Zi of the Sea Dragon''s team, his arms crossed against his chest. Sensing conflict the remaining nine members of his team came to stand behind him, wordlessly offering their support.

    "Understood," I said, and with a flick of my wrist, I brought the two SUVs back into my space. They wanted to go ahead and rescue everyone they could, all the power to them. But they would be doing it without the luxuries that I provided.

    "We''ll see you at the Navy Base in City N," said Wang Chao with a nod as we all turned around and went back to where the truck and bikes were waiting for us.

    "What did you do with the SUVs?!?" demanded Huang Nian Zu looking around.

    "They are mine," I said, not bothering to turn around. "And since we are splitting up, of course they would stay with me! Have fun!"

    I climbed into the cab of the truck and waited for the boys to get on their bikes.

    I had to wonder if the zombies behind us would attack the humans now that I wasn''t there, or if they would leave them alone. I didn''t care either way, but I also wasn''t willing to wait around City N for an extended length of time either if they weren''ting.

    Oh well, maybe we could find something fun to do in City N to pass the time.

    Once everyone was all set, Ares and Lin started off first with me in the middle followed by Kronos and Reaper, however, we were quickly stopped.

    "You can''t leave!" shouted the woman as she, stupidly, walked in front of Ares.

    "Why not?" asked Wang Chao from behind his helmet.

    "You agreed to help us, to bring us to a safe ce," she replied as she stepped close enough to put a hand on Ares'' handlebars. Now that was a dumb move.

    Ares jerked forward fast enough to knock the woman down to the ground and its back wheel started to turn frantically, kicking up dust all over the area and threatening to run her over at the same time.

    The woman let out a piercing scream, and I would admit that if I didn''t know Ares as well as I did, I would have been intimidated, however, she really should have kept her hands to herself.

    "The one that agreed to look after you is that man right there," said Liu Yu Zeng from where he sat on Lin, watching the show. He didn''t bother to take off his helmet either. Probably a good thing. Thest thing I needed was more women looking at my men as if they were avable.

    "He said that there would be vehicles, and the only cars around here are yours. We can''t walk any further," she said as she struggled to get to her feet. I would have to give her props for wearing smart, heavy-duty boots, even if her outfit looked like it had juste off the runway.

    I took in a deep breath, trying to restrain my thoughts and behavior. I tilted my neck from side to side, trying to loosen the tense muscles. I knew that I shouldn''t be that catty to another woman, but sometimes I just couldn''t help myself.

    "You are not my problem," I said to the woman standing in front of Wang Chao once again. "And I don''t think that it is in your best interest to be my problem. You want someone to save you? There he is," I continued, jutting my chin out in the direction of Huang Nian Zu.

    "Not to mention he just put his life and the lives of all of his men on the line for you and yours. You could at least be a bit more grateful," added Liu Yu Zeng.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "I want to travel with you guys," insisted the stubborn woman.

    "You can''t," said Liu Wei, driving up between Wang Chao and Liu Yu Zeng. Chen Zi Han came up to wait beside Cerberus. For some reason, none of the men were letting me out of their eyesight. Not that I was reallyining.

    "Besides, what about your people?" continued Liu Yu Zeng as he rested his arms casually over the handlebars in front of him. Even Lin must have hated her enough that he didn''t do anything to Liu Yu Zeng.

    The enemy of my enemy and all that, I guess.

    "What do you want?" I asked with a sigh.

    "To go with you," came the immediate reply.

    "Then I will be dropping you off in City B. Is that okay with you?" I asked, not really caring about her answer. I mean, since I was the official Alpha, I should make sure that my hordes were well-fed, right?

    "I heard that the city had been taken over by zombies," said a man,ing to stand beside the leader of their group.

    "And?" I asked, not knowing where they were going with that statement. I was sure in less than a month, it would bemon knowledge that the city was run by zombies. And it wouldn''t be thest one.

    "If we go, we will die," said the man like it was an obvious conclusion.

    It was because that was my n. But I wasn''t exactly going to say that to them.

    "If you chose to follow me, then that is the oue," I said with a shrug.

    "We can''t follow them," said the man, looking at the woman beside him. "We''ve done fine getting to this point; we can keep going on our own."

    The woman simply red at the man. It wasn''t that he was wrong, but he didn''t take into ount just how hard it was to be a leader. Especially if supplies were running out.

    Not my circus, not my monkeys.

    "Let''s go. If she wants to get in the way again, just run her down," I instructed, no longer in the mood to deal with the crap and drama in front of me.

    Everyone had their own path, it was not my ce to pave hers for her.

 Chapter 302 Not As Prepared As I Thought

    ?

    The woman turned out to be incredibly intelligent and didn''t push me any further. Ares started forward and she quickly got out of our way and allowed us to get back on the road without any further interruptions.

    I debated going through City B again (for the third time) but decided against it. There was no need to get off the highway at the City B exit and instead, we continued straight along the coastal highway. It almost felt like a summer road trip, except we didn''t have to deal with long lines of traffic as there was no one on the highway apart from us.

    "We areing up to a small beach, did you want to go?" asked Cerberus.

    "Sure," I said with a nod. We hadn''t reached any of the bridges yet, hopefully, they would all be in one piece, but I wanted to get a close-up look at the water before we got to City N.

    "I''ll let the others know," continued the truck as he took the next exit off of the highway. Just like the rest of our trip so far, there was no one around, only a lot more broken-down vehicles on the road. "I can''t go further," said Cerberus as he came to a stop.

    There were three cars stopped haphazardly on the road, preventing anyone in a vehicle like a car or truck from continuing forward. I didn''t think much of it as I got out of Cerberus and looked at it. "Will you be okay?" I asked.

    "I''ll be fine," replied Cerberus. "I follow you, even if you can''t see me, remember?"

    "As long as you are okay, that is all I care about," I said with a smile as I heard the motorcyclesing closer.

    "Is everything ok?" asked Wang Chao as the four came to a stop in front of me.

    "Yeah," I said with a nod. "But Cerberus is too big to keep going."

    "Hop on," said Liu Wei as he handed me a helmet that seemed to have appeared out of thin air. "Reaper has beenining that you are always driving Cerberus when he has a spot for you on him."

    "Lucky," grumbled Liu Yu Zeng. "Lin just keeps telling me that he will kick me off to let Sweetness ride him instead.

    I chuckled and went over to Lin. "I have never ridden a motorcycle before. So, I think it will be best for my first time to be with someone else. However, once I get used to it, I will definitely take a turn on you. How does that sound?"

    "Absolutely!" said Lin eagerly. I almost felt bad for Liu Yu Zeng, but honestly, he and Lin were perfect for each other.

    "Thanks," I said as I patted the handlebars. Walking over to Liu Wei, I put on the helmet, surprised at howfortable it was. I had always assumed that it would feel like I had a giant bobblehead, but that wasn''t the case at all. In fact, I would have sworn that this helmet was made for me.

    I tried to swing one leg over Reaper, but unfortunately, I was much too short. With a chuckle, Liu Wei lifted me up and put me on the passenger seat behind his. "Remember to hold on tightly," said Liu Wei, his voiceing in through the built-in speakers. He then climbed onto the bike and straightened it between his legs.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    The lucky bastard could easily sit on the seat and have his feet t on the ground. Must be nice to be a giant.

    I leaned forward and wrapped my arms around his waist, my hands gripping his leather jacket. He gently patted them and turned to look at me. "Don''t worry, I got you."

    I nodded in understanding. I knew he got me, there was never a doubt in my mind about that.

    The bike under me roared to life and I could feel the vibrations of the engine in between my legs and where I was sitting. It was a bit weird, but I quickly got used to it. stering the front of my body to Liu Wei''s back, I turned my head so that the side of my helmet was resting between his shoulder des.

    "You want to go to the beach?" asked Wang Chao as the four bikes took off. I sat up for a second to look behind me. Cerberus was nowhere to be found. Satisfied that he wouldn''te into any trouble, I went back to leaning against Liu Wei.

    "Yeah," I said, the mic in the helmet catching my voice without the annoying echo that you sometimes get. "I want to see what we might be getting into."

    I wanted to see if I could control the zombies in the water as easily as I could onnd. Not to mention seeing if my mes could work underwater.

    I didn''t want to be down in the depths of the East Sea, surrounded by zombies, only to realize that I couldn''t take their mes.

    "Does anyone know what types of weapons work best underwater?" I asked curiously. I didn''t believe in leaving anything to chance. If our powers didn''t work, then we would need a backup option¡­ and make sure we could easily get our hands on them.

    "I should have some underwater guns in my collection," said Liu Wei with a shrug as if it wasn''t that big of a deal.

    "There is such a thing as underwater guns?" I asked intrigued. I had always assumed that guns were naturally ineffective underwater as the pressure of the water would naturally slow the bullets down.

    "There are both underwater rifles and underwater pistoles," said my genius of everything weapon-rted. "Both ''guns'' fire flechettes which are spear-like bolts instead of the standard bullet. Since the flechettes are narrower, they don''t produce as much drag as the rounded bullet does."

    "However, even if we don''t have guns, spears, harpoons, tridents, and knives would also be effective," added Wang Chao.

    "Too bad I didn''t think to stock up on spears, harpoons, or tridents," I grumbled sarcastically. I mean, who really thinks about those things when fighting zombies?

 Chapter 303 Fuck It

    ?

    I tried not to think about myck of underwater supplies, but honestly, it never urred to me that I would be going into the zombie''s natural environment. Not willingly at least.

    The ce where we were might offer some good supplies, seeing as it appeared to be one of those small, seaside viges that might only see tourists in the summer, but in the winter, it would be deserted.

    We followed the signs to the beach and that was when we hit pay dirt. There were several¡­ shacks¡­ forck of a better term that lined the beach, each one promising either fishing supplies, scuba gear, surfing, or whatever else a tourist might want to do on an ocean vacation.

    The men got off the bikes at the edge of the sand, and Wang Chao picked me up from behind Liu Wei and carried me to the first hut with a palm tree roof and white walls. It looked like it could fall over any minute, but I didn''t think that that had anything to do with the end of the world.

    There was no sign as to what could be in it, and it was still boarded up nice and tightly. Hopefully, we''d be able to find something useful.

    With a giant gust of wind, Liu Wei managed to open the door, causing it to m against the opposite wall. Chen Zi Han, walked in first before calling out to the rest of us that it was safe. I walked into what looked to be a very small lobby, maybe five feet by five feet, and a front desk with a cash register along the back end.

    Liu Yu Zeng jumped over the desk and pushed on the swinging door into the back room. Within seconds, he was back out with a giant smile on his face. "Come, check this out."

    There was a flip-up section to the counter and Chen Zi Han lifted it up in order to let me pass through. It was so much easier than trying to jump over a counter that went up to my chest. Giving the man a quick kiss as thanks, I strolled into the back office.

    On the right side of the back section, were maybe about 50 scuba tanksplete with regtors, an alternate air source (octopus), lights, and instruments. There were also a BCD (buoyancy control device), wet suits, emergency regtors, fins, and air hoses. There was still more stuff, but since I made it a point never to be underwater, I had no idea what a lot of it was for.

    Each one of the scuba tanks had its own gear in and around it so that there was enough diving equipment for 50 people. Or 25 if you wanted to have two air tanks. Me? I wanted at least 3 air tanks if I was going anywhere underwater.

    "This is helpful," said Liu Wei as he walked over to the scuba equipment and checked it out. He even pulled out a knife from on top of a wet suit that I hadn''t noticed before. "Can we take it all?"

    I scoffed at his question. It was like the man didn''t know me at all! Of course I was going to take everything. Even if it weren''t useful, I would still take it. With a flick of my wrist, I brought all of it into my space.

    Then I turned my attention to the left side of the hut. Along the wall were various types of masks, vests, and snorkels while right under them was a whole case of diving knives. Pleased, I took all of that stuff into my space, not caring that Ipletely emptied the hut. Well, I didn''tpletely empty it. I left all the information brochures.

    I wouldn''t need those¡­right?<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Ah, fuck it. I quickly swiped that into my space too. You never knew when something random would be useful. And no, I was not a hoarder¡­ not yet at least.

    Satisfied that I had taken everything that the little scuba shop had to offer, the boys and I went to the next hut right next door.

    This one was clearly a snack shop, and although everything would have been in here for a while, I took them anyways. Besides it is more beneficial to barter with the sketchy shit than it was with my fresh stuff. It was less suspicious to have beef jerky that only had a year left on the expiration date than it was to have fresh fruits and vegetables.

    Once again, I emptied the shop, taking all that I could.

    We then moved on to the third shop. This time Liu Yu Zeng just kicked the door instead of bothering with his powers. I walked in and practically squealed in delight. This one was a fishing tour shop that offered tours out into the East Sea to catch the bigger fish like tuna and several species of carp. Yes, I stole all the brochures that showed the best ces to fish, and where whales could be seen.

    But more than the brochures, I took all the harpoons, spears, and knives that I could get my hands on. Apparently, this ce also specialized in spearfishing, so they had several different tools that would prove helpful for us.

    "You look happy," said Wang Chaoing up beside me with a smile on his face.

    "I am," I said with a nod, looking up at him. "I might have been a little stressed about not getting everyst supply that we needed, but this has taken a lot of pressure off. I would like to say that we had enough underwater supplies, but you know how I feel about that."

    "There is no such thing as too many supplies," he repeated, still smiling.

    "Exactly. And there are only three more shacks for us to go through and then onto stage 2 of my master n."

    "And what is involved with that n?"

    "The best I coulde up with was ''fuck it''."

 Chapter 304 Going To Be A Shit Show

    ?

    "The best that I coulde up with was ''fuck it''," I said with a smile on my face. I was sure that Wang Chao wouldn''t understand the reference that I was trying to make. Hell, I didn''t even know if there were cowboys in Country K, but it was still a damn good quote to use for this situation.

    "Fuck it?" he confirmed, unknowingly following the script.

    "Yeah. Jump into the water, find a zombie, and figure out how to kill it. You know, fuck it," I continued with a shrug of my shoulders.

    "Sure," replied Wang Chao with a smile. "In some weird way, that almost makes sense."

    "I try," I said with a big smile.

    But all joking aside, I had no idea how I was going to be able to pull this off. I needed to find a single zombie. And yes, I knew how hard that was. Then I needed to make sure that I could try fighting it without any other zombiesing to help.

    On top of all that, the only thing that I knew killed a zombie dead was fire. Not the bullets, the flechettes, or whatever was fired from an underwater gun, not a harpoon, not a, and not a mermaid''s trident.

    Fire. Andst I checked, fire didn''t exactly work underwater.

    I also didn''t know how I was going to get the zombie out of the water to be able to burn them. Maybe if I threw one up high enough, and called the purple me, then it could destroy the zombie before it touched the water again.

    And doing all this in the middle of the East Sea was not going to be easy. Humans were not aquatic for a reason.

    There were two situations in that we came out on top. The first is if I could defeat the Alpha and take his horde as my own. The second is if I or one of the boys was able to take the mes from the zombie while still underwater.

    Yeah, no matter what, it was going to be a shit show. Thus the ''fuck it'' n.

    My anxiety was on the rise again as I thought through all the possible situations, so Wang Chao, ever my hero, took me by the shoulders and led me to the fourth shop. Liu Wei, Liu Yu Zeng, and Chen Zi Han were already waiting for me, the door open.

    Walking inside, I saw nothing but a sea of surfboards. With a nod, I took them into my space. I had no idea how they would be useful since I had never surfed a day in any of my three lives, but I knew that they floated.

    Anything that kept me on top of the water and not under it could only be a good thing.

    I also took the bathing suits, UV protective clothing, hats, and sunscreen (because you can never be too careful). And yes, I even threw in the brochures. In fact, I could have taken all of the shelving, but I was nice enough to leave it still screwed into the floors. <novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Turning around, I rose to my toes and gave Liu Yu Zeng a kiss. "Where to next?" I asked as I waited on the little porch for the other guys toe out.

    "That should be thest one," he said as he pointed to thest shack in this line. I was sure that there would be more further down the beach, and I would go and take what I needed from them too, but I needed to implement the fuck it n soon.

    The sun had not begun to set just yet, but we were only a few hours away from dusk, and I didn''t want to step foot into the water then. If the actual sharks didn''t get you, the zombies would. And if I had learned anything from Shark Week, it was always the ''onest swim'' when you were attacked.

    Have you noticed that? It was never, "It was my first swim," no, that would be too easy. Instead, all the victims say the same thing. "We were nning on leaving but just wanted to go in for onest swim."

    It was like the sharks heard that sentence and knew that that might be their only opportunity to try that particr delicacy.

    Sorry, end of rant, I promise.

    But yeah, no entering the water at dawn or dusk. Let all the apex predators fill their stomachs first before I jumped in.

    I shuddered at the thought of jumping into the wide-open water. But if my men were going to do it and it was dangerous, I would follow them just to watch their backs.

    Once Wang Chao and Liu Wei made their way over, the five of us went into thest hut on this section of the beach. Once again, we walked into the small lobby with a front desk with a cash register on it. In fact, it looked so much like the first shack that I actually had to leave and look down the line to the first one to make sure that I didn''t identally screw up and enter the wrong shack.

    "In the back," shouted Chen Zi Han, and I re-entered the hut. I had no idea what this one sold, but hopefully, there was something there for me.

    "What do you think?" asked Liu Yu Zeng as soon as I passed the desk and went into the back. Behind the door was what I could only describe as a grown man''s yground. And that was probably the reason why all four of my men were running around like kids in a candy store.

    On one side of the good-sized back room were maybe 20 or so skidoos¡­ sorry, my Canadian wasing out. Sea-doo¡­ jet-skis? Whatever they are called. Outside of those were a few underwater jet skis, a few hoverboards, an aquatic fly board, and some sea scooters. Essentially every man''s wet dream when it came to water toys.

    Now, I would fully admit that everything back here would be beneficial as long as it didn''t get hit with the EMP.

    "You''re taking these too, right?"

 Chapter 305 Does It Even Work?

    ?

    I watched as Liu Yu Zeng came up to me with an underwater jet ski in his arms. I narrowed my eyes at him. "Does it even work?" I asked.

    "Only one way to find out," he said with a shrug. Like he wasn''t holding onto it like a two-year-old might hold onto a stuffed teddy bear.

    "I take it you really want it?" I said with a sigh. Meh, it was not like I was the one that had to buy it. Everything was possible with a five-fingered discount. Or in this case, a limitless portable space.

    Liu Yu Zeng looked at me and nodded his head. "Fine," I replied and brought everything in the back room into my space. "You''ll have to wait until we get into the water to see if it works or not. Fingers crossed it does."

    Satisfied that I had once again emptied out an entire shack of its contents, the five of us left. I threw four light grey wetsuits at the guys and sent them to one of the shacks to get changed while I quickly darted into my space to get dressed and check out all my new supplies.

    I looked through a few of the diver''s knives, but I still preferred to have my K Bar instead. In situations where everything was up to chance, I didn''t want to add an unfamiliar weapon into the mix. I quickly suited up and went into the farmhouse kitchen to fill up more random mugs with coffee.

    I couldn''t help smirking to myself with some of them. I was really happy that I put in an effort to find them because, in thest days, it was the little things that made you smile.

    I tucked my hair in the hood of my own grey wetsuit and double-checked that everything was where it was supposed to be. Thest thing I needed to do was put this thing on backwards or something equally embarrassing.

    At least Shark Week also taught me that the zipper was supposed to go in the back. Well, that and never take onest swim.

    I sent a little prayer to the Fates, asking them to kindly leave me the fuck alone for a few hours while I did something incredibly stupid. However, these were the same women that thought it would be funny to send me back two more times when all I wanted was the peace and quiet of death.

    Blinking my way back to the beach, I checked the time on my cellphone. 4:00 pm. Still two more hours until dusk, and I was not nning on going too far out.

    I saw my four men walking towards me, and I almost swallowed my tongue. Wang Chao had zipped his up properly and every inch of the suit was clinging to his muscles, putting them on disy in a way I had never seen before. Liu Yu Zeng and Chen Zi Han were both walking around with the tops of their suits around their waists, showing off their impressive upper bodies and 8-packs. The tattoos on both men seemed to shine under the sunlight, giving them a dangerous vibe.

    Liu Wei¡­ he went one step further than Wang Chao and was wearing his wetsuit properly, but with the hood on like me.

    It was official. My men were sexy as hell. And I didn''t have to choose.

    "Alright," I said as they came closer, looking like something out of a GQ magazine than four men going into zombie-infested waters. "Are we clear on the n?"

    "Fuck it," said Wang Chao with a nod of his head. "I assume that that is along the same lines as SNAFU?"<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    I blinked a few times as I tried to remember what that one stood for.

    "SNAFU?" I asked, quickly giving up.

    "Situation Normal: All Fucked Up," replied Liu Wei with a smile and I just realized that the man was not wearing his sses.

    I shook my head, trying to get my brain away from Liu Wei without sses (although I think I preferred him with them, but either way he was¡­yummy), and back to the SNAFUment.

    "Then yes, this n is SNAFU," I said with a nod. "I am going to go in the water and see if there are any zombies around. I need you four to set up a perimeter so that if more than one zombie arrives, you can keep the others upied." I waved my arm and four underwater guns, four harpoons, multiple knives, and even a few spears appeared on the beach in front of the men.

    "Take what you need," I said, tilting my head.

    "Give nothing back?" smirked Chen Zi Han as he picked up a few of the bigger knives as well as a gun and a harpoon.

    "Absolutely not," I said with a shake of my head. "These are all my supplies, you will be giving them back or you will be responsible for getting me more," I assured him.

    "Understood," heughed in return.

    Once all the men were armed ording to their preference, I brought the remaining weapons back into my space and walked towards the water''s edge. I was in no way prepared for this, but there was one lesson I learned early on in my second life: there was always going to be shit that you weren''t prepared for. The key was to not let that stop you. In many cases, it was the difference between life and death.

    And apparently, I always chose life. Or life always chose me. I wasn''t sure exactly how that worked.

    I let the waves cover my feet marveling at how warm it was. Or at least it wasn''t the 5 degrees that I thought it was going to be. I just stood there, letting the soft sounds of the waves give me a sense of peace. It amazed me that something that terrified me could also give me peace.

    But I think we have all agreed that I wasn''t right in the head anyways.

    I took a deep breath and then proceeded to slowly walk in, letting the water first cover my feet, then my ankles. I had on the scuba goggles along with my wetsuit, but that was it.

    I was not prepared to go underwater this time.

 Chapter 306 The Best Laid Plansâ€¦

    ?

    ''The bestid ns of mice and men often go awry in the end'' had always stuck with me from my high school English ss. It was from a ssical book that was now banned, and truth be told, I can''t remember a single thing about it except for that one quote. It basically meant that ns never go the way you want them to.

    My n was to get my hands on a zombie and see if it was even possible for us to fight them underwater. The way I had it set up in my head was that I would be looking down on the swimming zombie from rtively shallow water and throw fireballs at him and see if that would do anything.

    There was a n B that involved forcing the zombie out of the water and seeing if an Alpha challenge would work on the more ''wild'' zombies as they did on the ''domestic'' ones onnd.

    But once again, the bestid ns and all that crap.

    I had entered the warm water of the East Sea, well within eyesight of my four men, and hadn''t gone any deeper than getting my calves wet when a hand reached around my ankle, pulling me forward and down.

    I fell backward into the water, my arms flying over my head as I tried to regain my bnce. But before I could so much as take a breath to fill my empty lungs, I was dragged deeper into the water.

    I struggled to get to the surface to be able to breathe, but the more I fought, the more I started to panic.

    I tried to calm myself down, to think things through, but as my lungs screamed for oxygen, my ears popping from going deeper and deep into the water, the harder it was to even form a thought.

    I tried to kick at the hand holding my left ankle, but it proved futile as the nails of what I could only assume to be the zombie dug deeper into my wetsuit, causing pain, but thankfully not breaking skin.

    I was pretty sure that the only thing worse than the situation I was currently in was to add actual sharks into it. Unless the zombie would be more interested in eating the shark than me. But I couldn''t understand why it had chosen me to attack.

    I wasn''t part of its normal food, and I didn''t think that the navy divers would have been pleasurable enough to give them a desire for human flesh. So why me?

    And why was it trying to drown me instead of just eating me? Was it trying to vor my flesh like the zombies onnd enjoyed doing? Were the two groups exchanging points on food?

    Was there a zombie foodwork with different recipes?

    Apparently, when my body wascking oxygen, my thoughts went a bit¡­ crazy.

    Ah, who was I kidding? This had nothing to do with ack of oxygen. These were just the regr thoughts in my head.

    But, now that I got them all out, I was able to calm down a little bit more. I called up my ice power first and tried to freeze the zombie. I thought that it might be easier to manipte underwater since the ice was just a different form of water.

    It didn''t work. I think the water was too warm to easily freeze and I still wasn''t strong enough in my ice to be able tobat the natural warmth.

    Strike 1.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    I looked around, wondering if they guys were following me, or if they had run into simr trouble. Truthfully, I was hoping that they would still be safe on drynd, but I also knew that they would never be willing to leave me to my own devices in a bad situation.

    And given how much my lungs were hurting; this would definitely qualify as a bad situation.

    Fuck my life, I am too stupid to live sometimes!

    I blinked out of the ocean and away from the zombie who was dragging me to God only knew where and into my space.

    I copsed onto the ground, my fingers wing into the dirt under my hands, thankful for this ce. My screaming lungs filled with air for the first time since I was dragged under, my heart absolutely pounding inside of my chest.

    I rolled over onto my back and waited for a minute as my body started to calm down. My head started to pound due to ack of oxygen and fear. Calling some painkillers to me, I quickly took two and justid back down.

    I closed my eyes as my breathing evened out.

    Worried about the men, I tried something for the first time. Not sure if it would work, I called my men to me, picturing me dragging them wherever they were into my space. I was honestly winging it, but it worst thing to happen was nothing.

    All of a sudden, there were four men in wetsuits coughing and panting beside me.

    I smiled, too tired to move.

    "You guys good?" I asked, knowing fully well that they weren''t good. But they were alive, and at this point, that was what I was going for.

    Liu Yu Zeng was on his hands and knees on the ground beside me, puking up water. His arms shaking from pure exhaustion.

    "Princess?" groaned Chen Zi Han as he rolled over onto his back, his arm flung over his eyes. "You safe?" he continued, not caring about himself at all.

    "I am good now," I said.

    Liu Wei was the only one getting to his feet and looking around. "Where are we?" he asked as he took off the hood of his wetsuit and unzipped his top half.

    Bad girl, we almost died not even five minutes ago and now all I am thinking is how much I wanted to climb that man like a tree.

    "My space," I said as I tried to get my libido to calm the fuck down.

 Chapter 307 Loaded To The Gills

    ?

    "I am going to assume that I am in one of the empty fields, maybe even in the pasture," I said, still refusing to stand up. I was pretty sure that my legs were not going to be able to hold me up, not with how hard I was still shaking.

    I had never been so grateful for my space as I was at this moment. I had always assumed that in an emergency, it would be next to useless simply because it would put me back in the exact same situation that I was trying to get out of. But at least this way I could get my scuba gear on before going back to being dragged underwater.

    Small things that were actually really huge things at the end of the day.

    Liu Wei nodded and took his sses out from where I had no idea, but I was d he had them.

    "How long can we stay here?" asked Liu Yu Zeng, no longer expelling the water from his lungs.

    I shrugged my shoulders. "We can stay here indefinitely," I admitted as I turned my head to look at him. "The only problem is that as soon as we want to go back to the real world, we will go back to the exact same situation that we just left."

    "That would be a minor inconvenience," chuckled Liu Wei as he ced his sses back on and looked at me. "Do we have to go back to the same state that we left?" he asked, his right eyebrow raised as he looked at me.

    "No," I said shaking my head. "I only do that when I am around people that I don''t want to know that I have a space."

    "So essentially, we can get loaded to the gills and then go back?" smirked Wang Chao, clearly the mostposed out of all of us. He was simply sitting near my head, his arms draped over his knees as he looked around.

    "Too soon," I said shaking my head. I knew the expression, but after almost drowning, anything with the world gills, zombies, sharks, or anything sea rted was not something that I wanted to touch with a 10-foot pole.

    "Sorry," he said with a shrug and a smile.

    "But yes, you are right. We can put on the scuba gear, get loaded for bear, and then go back better prepared," I agreed, thinking that being loaded for bear was much better. At least bears needed to be on drynd. Unless they were pr bears, but I wasn''t going there right now.

    "Alright," said Liu Wei walking towards me anding to sit beside my head. "What happened?" he asked.

    "No idea," I admitted, not worried at all about sounding like an idiot. I honestly had no idea what happened. "I was slowly going into the water when a zombie grabbed my ankle and pulled me under. It then proceeded to drag me further out, keeping me under the water."

    "What did the zombie look like?" asked Chen Zi Han. If it was anyone other than one of my guys asking, I would think that they didn''t believe me. But since they were my guys I knew they weren''t trying to be condescending.

    "No idea," I admitted. "I never saw it."<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "I saw the one that was dragging me under," said Liu Yu Zeng as went toy down on his back like me and Chen Zi Han. "But it looked a lot different than the zombies onnd. Could they have mutated?"

    "I have no idea," I said honestly. "What did it look like?"

    "Their heads were more streamlined, more like a shark''s head than the round ball-type head of the zombies onnd. Mine was also a darker blue color. Not navy blue, but also not light blue either."

    "The teeth were the same," added Chen Zi Han as he started to sit up. "The three rows of shark teeth were the same."

    "The hands were the same too," continued Liu Wei. "The ws at the end of abnormally thin fingers." He reached down and stroked the shes at the bottom of my wetsuit. It looked like I was mere millimeters away from bleeding in the water.

    "No idea if the social structures are the same," said Wang Chao. "After all, for the most part, sharks are solitary creatures. Maybe the water zombies are solitary too."

    "No, I don''t think so," contradicted Liu Wei. "After all, there were at least four more of them just waiting to ambush us as soon as we went into the water to rescue Sweetheart."

    -------

    Wang Chao nodded his head in agreement with that statement. However, that was the closest that he had evere to death in his life, and that stressed him out. He knew what he was dealing with, but the sheer power of those zombies was like nothing he had experienced before.

    He thought that the ones onnd were nothing more than a joke, something that was as easy to kill as an ant, and just as annoying. However, what he experienced underwater was something entirely different.

    He couldn''t even use his powers since he was caught off guard so much. Hopefully, this situation was the exception and not the rule. He was not prepared to be that weak, to be so easily dominated by something that he never really put in his eye.

    In fact, the more he interacted with zombies onnd, he wondered why Li Dai Lu was so scared of them. Now he understood. She didn''t have the ability to truly take them out en masse like she had now.

    Still, he would have preferred to go back to thinking that the zombies were nothing more than a joke.

    And if he ever found out that Command Huang Nian Zu knew more than he let on, he would personally rip his friend''s head from his spine and toss it into the water.

    "What about you guys?" asked Li Dai Lu, not moving from her spot. Wang Chao could feel her fear racing through her body even now. He still remembered hearing her thoughts. Mind you, those thoughts were interesting, to say the least.

 Chapter 308 Seventh Circle Of Hell

    ?

    "Same situation as you," said Liu Wei as he looked at his Sweetheart. "We went in after you and were grabbed by the ankle and dragged in different directions."

    "I wonder why," sighed Li Dai Lu, and Liu Wei just wanted to go over there and wrap her in his arms.

    "Let''s get a warm shower, something hot to drink, ande up with a better n."

    "What? You didn''t like my ''fuck it'' n?" smiled Li Dai Lu.

    "No," admitted Wang Chao. "I really didn''t."

    "Meh," she said with a shrug. "I wasn''t that big of a fan of it either, but I really couldn''te up with anything better."

    "I think anything is better than ''fuck it''," grumbled Liu Yu Zeng as he came to his feet. He swayed for a few seconds before straightening up and taking a step toward where Li Dai Lu was still on the ground. Holding out his hand, he offered her help standing.

    "Everyone''s a critic," she grumbled as she took his hand. As soon as she was standing, Wang Chao came up behind her and wrapped his arm around her waist.

    "It''s fine," he said giving her a kiss to the top of her head. "Let him n the next one."

    Li Dai Lu chuckled and the five of them walked towards where a giant red barn decorated thendscape. Hopefully, the barn would be close to the house. But Liu Wei was pretty sure that if they were going in the wrong direction, Li Dai Lu would let them know.

    ----

    It might have taken us a while to reach the house. I hadpletely forgotten that the horse barn was at the other end of the field from the house so by the time we got there, we had to turn around and walk all the way back again.

    Apparently, I would have to spend more time in my space to get a better sense of direction. At least by the time I got home, my legs were shaking for apletely different reason.

    "Make yourselves at home," I said with a wave of my hand as we all walked into the farmhouse. My head was already focused on the bath that was calling my name. The only issue would be trying to get out of this wetsuit. If it was anything like trying to get out of a bathing suit, I might need help.

    I groaned at the thought as I climbed up the stairs, not really worried about where the guys were or what they were doing. I was pretty sure that each one of them had been here at least once. And if I was wrong, well, then they would learn the hard way where everything was.

    I reached back and tried to grab the string that was attached to the zipper at the back of the wetsuit. Why on Earth the designer thought that was a good idea, I would never know. It must have been a man though because all women knew the pain of trying to dislocate their shoulder trying to get a dress zipped up without help.

    I had just managed to reach the string when it was taken out from my fingers. <novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Let me get that," purred Wang Chao as he slowly unzipped the back of the suit. I would love to say that what happened next was so steamy that it would cause you to have a nosebleed, but the truth of the matter was the exact opposite.

    Have you ever seen an elephant seal molt? I think it was called catastrophic molting. And I was doing my very best to replicate that scene.

    There was a lot of squirming as both Wang Chao and I tried to get me out of a wet¡­wetsuit. I moaned and groaned in frustration at how the wetsuit refused toe off and I think at one point in time I was even crying.

    Yeah, so not sexy.

    But finally, I was naked and ready to step into my ever-so-hot bath to burn off what little skin I had left after that experience.

    Wang Chao? Yeah, that bastard simply undid the zipper and managed to pull the suit off, starting at his shoulders, then his arms, over his torso, and finally to his feet where he stepped out of the contraption.

    If you thought that I was staring at his body, thinking about how much I wanted to lick every drop of water off of his chest and abs, you were very much mistaken.

    In fact, I was trying to hold back a murderous rage right now at how easily he got out of that thingpared to me.

    The man needed to die. It was just that simple.

    Wang Chao put his foot into my bath water and hissed at the temperature. "How can you stand it so hot?" he asked as he took the appendage out. The part that was originally underwater had turned bright red while the part outside was still pale.

    I looked at him and raised an eyebrow. Apparently, he was not as unfathomable as he thought he was. Poor baby couldn''t stand hot water.

    "I am cold," I said with a shrug, lowering myself even deeper into the bathtub until only my head was above water.

    "How? I am pretty sure that this temperature is the same as the seventh circle of Hell. Hell, maybe it''s even hotter, I am not sure," grumbled Wang Chao as he quickly got into the tub. He hissed again before settling down.

    "Is that the same circle as those that can take off their wetsuits gracefully? I can never remember," I said as I stuck my tongue out at him.

    Okay, I will fully admit, I knew my baths were overly warm. In fact, if I don''t have an issue getting into the water, it wasn''t hot enough for me. See, my problem was that after a few minutes, the water started to quickly cool down. So, if my water was simply warm, within seconds, it would be cold enough that I wanted to add hot water.

    But then my body got used to that hot water so I would have to increase the temperature until the bath waspletely full and I was sitting there, my teeth chattering.

 Chapter 309 Blame Yourself

    ?

    (NSFW)

    "If you can''t stand the heat, get out of the bathtub," I said with a pout. There was no way I was adding cold water to this just to make it more pleasurable for him.

    Stupid man.

    Wang Chao chuckled and moved over to where I was sitting.

    Maybe I should take this time to rify that when I say bathtubs, I don''t mean those ones that a parent might bathe their child in. This one could easily fit ten people and was a nicer version of an indoor hot tub than anything else.

    I loved it.

    "You can stop pouting. I thought you were very cute," he said as if he could read my mind. Oh, right, the bastard could. "Yes, I can, and yes, you were. And elephant seals can be very cute."

    I shook my head. Did he not realize just how deep he was digging that grave of his?

    Once again chuckling at my expense, he picked me up and brought me over to a different bench where he was seated. cing me on hisp, he gently moved my hair over my left shoulder and started to kiss and nip at my neck.

    "Do you know the thoughts that went through my head?" he murmured, his arms tightening around my waist as if he was scared about letting me go. I could also feel something growing under my ass, but I was trying to be nice and ignore that particr appendage. I really thought the water would have been too hot for it to want toe out, but apparently, I was greatly mistaken.

    "All I could think of was that I would never be able to hold you in my arms again. I could never taste you, smell you, feel you pressed up against me. But it was also more than that. I panicked when I realized that I would never hear your thoughts again, never see you roll your eyes, never see your lower lip curl down into a pout."

    Once again, he continued to kiss up and down my neck until I was squirming on hisp as need built up in me.

    "And I knew that I would be the one to me," continued Wang Chao with a shudder. "If any of the other guys would have survived, they would have killed me, and rightly so. It was my decision to help a friend, and if that choice led to your death?''

    Wang Chao took in a deep breath and buried his head between my shoulder and my neck. I could feel his body shaking as cold drops of water ran down my back.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "I am so sorry. All of it is my fault," he said, drawing in a trembling breath. "If it weren''t for me, you would still be on your ranch, living the life you deserved, instead of traveling up and down the eastern coast of the country."

    I nodded my head at his statement. "You are right," I said tly, not denying what he said. He and Liu Wei were the main reasons I even left my ranch in the first ce. "But I don''t regret it," I continued with a shrug.

    "If it wasn''t for you, I never would have met Liu Yu Zeng and Chen Zi Han, two men that also hold a portion of my soul. If it wasn''t for you, I wouldn''t have discovered how strong I actually was. If it wasn''t for you, I would still be scared of the zombies, not wanting to leave my house."

    I leaned to the side and looked at the man with red eyes behind me. "If it wasn''t for you, I wouldn''t be me. So, maybe it wasn''t that bad of a thing to leave my home. Not to mention I am starting to realize that anywhere where you and the others are, is my home. I can restart anywhere. But I can''t restart without your four. So don''t me yourself. I don''t."

    I captured his lips under mine and tried to show him how I felt about him.

    He growled and took possession of the kiss. Without taking his lips off mine, he picked me up and spun me around until I was sitting on hisp once again, my knees on either side of his hips, his cock straining against my entrance.

    I moaned at the feeling of him between my legs, enjoying the fact that I controlled everything from my position.

    He ripped his lips away from mine and tilted his head back.

    "In my head, I would have taken my time, worshiped your body how it deserved to be worshiped before I slid between your thighs and experienced heaven. But I don''t think I can wait, I need you," he admitted as his hips rocked in rhythm with mine.

    His cock was wedged between my thighs, not able to gain entrance unless I shifted my weight. But I was more than enjoying where he currently was. I rocked back and forth as my clit rubbed against his shaft, creating a different kind of wetness between my legs.

    The water in the bathtub created a wave in time with my movements as I enjoyed the experience. This was only the second time I had done something like this. And I didn''t think that it would be an hour after I almost died. But I wouldn''t live with regrets.

    I reached down between us and grabbed his shaft in my hand, drawing it out from where it was trapped to standing upright like a proud soldier. I stroked it a few times before I held him still and rose to my knees. I was now at the perfect height to simply sink down onto him, and that was what I did.

    I could feel Wang Chao''s head as it just breached my entrance, forcing me to stretch around his girth. I tilted my head back as I enjoyed the feeling of fullness as my body amodated the man under me. Slowly, using every muscle that I could, I sank down, centimeter by centimeter, inch by inch, wanting this feeling tost forever.

 Chapter 310 Worth It

    ?

    (NSFW)

    I eventually sunk downpletely so that Wang Chao''s entire cock was inside of me and our hips were perfectly lined up.

    I couldn''t tell you if the bath water had cooled down too much, or if we had sent water cascading over the edge, all I could tell you was that his pubic bone was applying the perfect amount of pressure to my clit that I couldn''t help clenching in pure pleasure.

    When my internal muscles mped down, wanting to keep Wang Chao inside me for as long as possible, Wang Chao groaned in response.

    "Am I hurting you?" I panted, not sure what I was doing or even if I was doing it right.

    "You couldn''t hurt me if you tried," said Wang Chao as he ced hisrge hands around my hips and pulled me up, causing my pussy lips to struggle to keep his cock inside of me. I whined, not in pain, not in pleasure, but out of pure need.

    But then he tilted his hips just a fraction and pushed me back down hard until he was once againpletely sheathed inside of me. I moaned with pleasure as my head tilted back, my eyes closed. However, having my eyes closed like that made everything that I was feeling that much more intense, and I love it.

    I love the power and strength that Wang Chao had as he once again lifted me up, as my muscles clenched against his cock, not wanting it toe out of me. Once again, he pulled me back down hard back onto him as my clit rubbed against the base of his cock.

    He started slowly, lifting me up like a rag doll only to be brought back forcefully onto his cock. Then, as my mind went nk with the pleasure of it all, he started to speed up until my mind went nk and I screamed my release.

    Wang Chao wasn''t that far behind me, still pumping me up and down on his cock as my entire body started to tremor.

    He quietly groaned into my neck as he bit down hard, forcing another orgasm out of me as his thumb stroked my clit and his teeth dug into my sensitive neck.

    Completely spent, I copsed into his arms, resting my head against his chest. I could hear his heartbeat rapidly and I gained a certain amount of satisfaction in knowing that I did that to him.

    "I love you," he whispered into my ear. "I don''t care if you say it back, I don''t care if you never love me the same way. Just know that I ¡­ I love you."

    I froze as his words prated my lust-drunk mind. Wang Chao, the CEO who controlled most of the GDP of Country K, the Prince of City A, and the Hero of Country K''s military. The man that thought I was a terrorist the first time he met me¡­ that man, was in love with me.

    There was a click inside of me as if something crucial had settled into ce and I could finally breathe.

    "I love you too," I whispered back, a smile on my face. This was what I was missing in my first two lives. Maybe I should start thanking the Fates for bringing me back a third time in order to meet my men. To finally feel whole.

    It was worth it.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    There was a soft knock on the door just before Chen Zi Han came into my bathroom. Looking at the two of us in the bathtub, it didn''t take a genius to know what had happened. "Come on love birds," he said gently. He reached over and pulled me up and off of Wang Chao.

    My pussy didn''t like it and tried to clench itself around nothing as the cold air caused me to shiver. Chen Zi Han simply chuckled as he wrapped a towel around me and started to dry me off. "As much as I hate to interrupt, we still need toe up with a n for when we get out of here."

    All dried off, Chen Zi Han once again wrapped me in a towel and picked me up in his arms. "Can''t we just stay here forever?" I asked as I rested my head on his shoulder.

    Wang Chao stood up from the tub and quickly dried himself off before wrapping the towel low around his waist.

    "I don''t see why not," he said with a smile as he came over to where I was and gave me a soothing kiss to my forehead. "Look after her, don''t let her get cold," he said to Chen Zi Han, seemingly not caring about the man holding me right after he confessed his feelings.

    Then again, it made it a lot less awkward.

    "Of course," scoffed Chen Zi Han as if it wasn''t him that always seem to tend to my needs before I even realized that I had them.

    He carried me off into my attached bedroom and gently pulled back the covers with one hand. Laying me down, he pulled the covers up to my chin.

    "Are you feeling alright?" he asked concerned as he searched my face for any sign of difort. I shook my head ''no'' as I let out a loud yawn. I felt so drained that all I wanted to do was sleep for a few hours before I dealt with the world again.

    "Sleep," he whispered as in crawled into bed beside me. "I''m here, just sleep."

    Cuddling into Chen Zi Han''s arms, I let the draw of sleep carry me off.

    ---

    Wang Chao walked downstairs and into the kitchen after getting dressed. Both of the Liu brothers were sitting at the kitchen table staring at a bunch of coffee mugs. There were four in particr that seemed to capture their attention.

    "What''s going on?" asked Wang Chao,ing to stand beside them. Liu Yu Zeng looked up at him and smirked.

    "Nothing nearly as mind-blowing as what you just experienced," he assured the other man, not in the least bit jealous. "But Sweetness seems to have a thing for coffee mugs," he continued pointing to the four matching ones off to one side.

 Chapter 311 Vulnerable

    ?

    Wang Chao picked up the olive green mug with white writing closest to him: "Five things you should know about my wife," he read, his eyebrows scrunching in confusion. "1. She is my Queen. 2. She is a bit crazy and scares me sometimes. 3. She can''t control her mouth. 4. She has anger issues. 5. Mess with her and they''ll never find your body."

    Finished reading the mug, Wang Chao looked up at Liu Wei and Liu Yu Zeng. "Well, it''s not like it''s wrong," he said with a shrug and went over to the coffee pot on the counter to pour himself a drink in his new mug. He had to fight hard to notugh out loud at it.

    Liu Yu Zeng picked up one for himself and followed Wang Chao. "I think I am finally learning why she has such an extensive collection of mugs," he said with a shrug as he waited for Wang Chao to pour his coffee before taking the pot for himself.

    "She would have made a great Syndicate leader," said Liu Wei with approval as he took his matching mug over with the others. Points 2 through 5 spoke to that.

    Wang Chao and Liu Yu Zeng only hummed in agreement with the other man''s statement. "She would have made a great matron for the Wang family," said Wang Chao with a smirk as he looked at the other two men. Finally filling up his cup, he handed the pot of hot coffee to Liu Yu Zeng.

    "And an even better matron for the Liu family," countered Liu Wei with a smirk of his own.

    "Or we would make great patrons for the Li family," pointed out Liu Yu Zeng as he took his coffee over to the table and sat down.

    "I think I like that one better," admitted Wang Chao as he too went over to the table and continued to look through the mugs on it. They were all clearly meant for Li Dai Lu''s different moods.

    "Would make the most sense," added Liu Wei as he finished the pot of coffee and immediately started a new one. He knew that Li Dai Lu was sleeping right now and would probably want a cup as soon as she woke up. He just wondered what cup it would be in.

    "But we won''t be part of any family if we can''t figure out a way to get out of our current situation," said Liu Yu Zeng as he put his feet up on the chair beside him and stretched out.

    "True," agreed his brother as he pushed Liu Yu Zeng''s feet off of the chair, brushed it off, and then sat down. "So, what is the n?"

    Wang Chao let out a snort of disdain. "No idea," he admitted with a sigh as he sipped from his coffee. "We will need the scuba gear on and working," he said slowly, a n starting to form in his head.

    "That is a given," snorted Liu Yu Zeng. "Unless you and I can create a bubble of air around our heads in order to be able to breathe underwater."

    "Let me guess, you saw that in an anime once," sneered Liu Wei, not really considering the idea.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "I also saw zombies in a movie and multiple tv shows, but that doesn''t mean those don''t exist," retorted Liu Yu Zeng. He would not be upset that he enjoyed anime in his downtime, as little as there was.

    "Ah, but our zombies are not the same," rebutted Liu Wei looking at his little brother with the superior air that only an older brother could pull off.

    "And maybe the air bubble would need to be done differently too," said Liu Yu Zeng with a shrug. As far as he was concerned, it was always important to have a backup n. Or in this case, a backup air supply that couldn''t be ripped off of his back.

    He thought about it a bit longer. "I think there are a few ponds around here, should we test out the theory?"

    "You are more than wee to," said Liu Wei with a shake of his head. "I am going to get the water guns in order and make sure that we have plenty of ammo for them."

    "The guns won''t help if you can''t breathe," snorted Liu Yu Zeng.

    "Then you go out and figure out the mechanics of using the air power to supply yourself with oxygen. Once you have it figured out, you cane back and exin it to Liu Wei," said Wang Chao effectively putting an end to the bickering.

    "Liu Wei, you will make sure that the weapons are in order. We know the flechettes won''t cause permanent death, but maybe it will cause enough pain that they either let us go or swim off."

    "Understood," said Liu Wei as he adjusted his sses. He was finally back in hisfortable clothes of a three-piece suit with a white dress shirt under his jacket. Even Wang Chao had gotten dressed in his pre-apocalypse style of a suit and tie.

    Liu Yu Zeng was in a simple pair of dress pants with a bright red dress shirt. The arms were rolled up to his elbows and he had on his shoulder holsters with two guns in them. If Liu Wei was a betting man, he would put money on the fact that his brother had at least four knives strapped to various areas of his body.

    All four men were shaken up by their near brush with death. In fact, if Li Dai Lu hadn''t brought them into her space, then they would have been dead by now. That type of vulnerability wentpletely against the men''s core belief that they could survive anything and everything.

    And when that happened, you reverted to a time when you felt inplete control. In their case, that was power suits and hidden, or not-so-hidden weapons.

    Liu Yu Zeng even had taken his rings out and was ying with them on his fingers. They were thin bands of silver that, if a switch was triggered, would have a spikee out from on top. They were a modified version of brass knuckles that his grandfather gave him when he first became an enforcer.

 Chapter 312 Absolutely Not

    ?

    (NSFW)

    Liu Yu Zeng only grunted in acknowledgment of Wang Chao''s directions. He was going to test out his theory whether or not the other man had told him to do it. He needed to be alive at the end of the day, and any way that he could make that happen was just fine with him.

    He flipped the switch on the silver band on his right ring finger and stared at the protruding spike. Yes, he would live no matter what. The consequences of dying were not something he could bear.

    -----

    I slowly woke up from the best sleep that I had had in a while. Stretching, I could feel my calf muscles tense, almost giving myself a charley-horse. Stopping just short of the muscles knotting up, I moaned as my core felt deliciously stretched as well.

    "Good sleep?" came the low grumble from the man holding me in his arms. I wiggled around until I was able to face him without moving so much that I was released from his grip. It was a very small margin for error.

    "Yes," I agreed. I don''t know if it was from the sex, the stress of the day before, or what, but I definitely slept like a baby¡­ and not one that woke up hungry every two hours.

    "Good," hummed Chen Zi Han as he pulled me closer to him and captured my lips in his. I melted into his embrace, my body more than awake for what it wanted to happen next. "I should stop," he groaned against my lips as his hips pushed the hard length of him against my core.

    "You really shouldn''t," I contradicted as I rubbed myself against him like a cat in heat. "You wouldn''t leave me like this? Would you?" I pouted, my bottom lip sticking out in an invitation from him toe nibble on it. "I mean, that would be considered cruel and unusual punishment."

    "Can''t be used of cruel and unusual punishment. I am pretty sure that that is illegal," he growled as he pushed me onto my back. Hepletely engulfed me in his embrace, his forearms supporting his upper body weight on either side of my head as his lower body rested firmly on top of mine, his cock straining against the confines of his clothing.

    However, seeing as I was naked, I did not have that issue in the least.

    "And you would never do anything to break thew¡­ right?" I smirked at him as I brought my hands up and wrapped them around his neck.

    "Absolutely not," he said as he dived down to ce kisses along my neck and corbone. "I am a good boy that always obeys thews," he purred as he continued his slow path down my body. He lifted his weight off of my pelvis and I let my legs fall open.

    He lowered his narrow hips between my legs, pushing his cloth-covered cock forward enough to just brush my weeping core. I whimpered and he only chucked in response.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Ah, ah¡­ Not so fast," he said softly into my ear before licking the outer shell. "I am going to savor every inch of you before taking you so hard and fast that your voice will go hoarse from screaming."

    His words brought forth a renewed gush of wetness from between my legs and he must have felt it because he chucked under his breath, still right in my ear. "Ah, my Princess likes it when I talk dirty," he said as he continued to lick and nip at my ears.

    I never knew that my ears were so sensitive until this very moment.

    "Should I tell you about how I''ve dreamed of your pussy since the moment I first saw you? Right before the zombies attacked and you saved us?" He shifted his weight to the right side so he could continue to whisper in my ear, but now he had one hand free.

    "Should I tell you how I contemted killing Wang Chao, Liu Wei, and even Liu Yu Zeng so I could have you?" He nipped my tender lobule as he continued his assault on my senses. His left hand started to slowly guide down my ribs.

    "As the oldest of all of us, I should have been willing to take a step back and let them have what they wanted, but the very idea of watching them do to you what I wanted to do had me seeing red. In fact, that night I went into the basement of the mansion andpletely tore apart a few traitors, just to vent my frustration."

    My inner muscles clenched tight at the idea of him killing people. I am sure that it was sick, but I couldn''t help myself. I loved knowing that I drove him to murder. It caused a part of me to practically purr its approval.

    His fingers continued to tracezy lines on the outside of my body as his low, rumbling voice spoke to me. "And that time in the City J penthouse where I had you pinned between me and Liu Yu Zeng?" he groaned at his own words and his hips jerked forward at the picture he had in his head.

    I let out a moan of my own and I tried to rub my needy pussy against his hard shaft, but the fingers of his hand dug into my skin, stopping me from moving. "That particr picture yed over in my head more than once. Me in your ass while Liu Yu Zeng stuffed your needy pussy with his cock. Could you picture it? Stuffed full of both of us¡­ I wonder how you would feel?"

    Now both my pussy and my ass were clenching at the picture he was painting. I had read a lot of books and that was always one of those things that I wanted to try, but it had felt wrong¡­

    But what he was saying? I wanted to call Liu Yu Zeng up now to try it.

    I heard the low chuckle in my ear and felt his chest vibrating. "There''s my Princess," he said as he bit the top of my ear just hard enough to pull me back from the pleasure, but not hard enough to hurt.

 Chapter 313 Heaven

    ?

    (NSFW)

    "But I won''t be sharing you right now," Chen Zi Han continued to growl in my ear as he had my body at hisplete mercy. "Later? Oh, fuck yes, I will share youter and bring all of your fantasies to life. But right now, I want you to know who is the one fucking you, who is the one controlling your pleasure until you lose your mind. I want you to scream out my name when I bring you to heaven over and over again."

    My core was dripping so much that I could have sworn that I wasying in a puddle of my own juices, my nerves strung so tight that I might snap at any moment. And yet I loved every second of it.

    This was a side of my protector that I had never seen before, and I waspletely in love with it. I loved how he controlled me, how he yed my body like an instrument, and I most love how he wasn''t holding back.

    "Then fuck me," I growled at him, trying to pull him closer and make good on all his promises.

    "No," he said with a grin. "As with any exquisite dessert ced in front of me, I need to savor every part of it," he continued as his left hand found my drenched core. He gently inserted one of his fingers past my lips and into my channel, and then pulled it out every so slowly, chuckling as my greedy pussy tried to pull his finger back into me.

    "So wet¡­ are you wet for me Princess?" he purred as he once again pushed his finger just a bit deeper inside of me before pulling it out again.

    I whimpered, my hips moving on their own ord.

    "Such a good Princess," he moaned in my ear before licking it. Once again, there was a rush of wetness as his words caused my eyes to roll back into the back of my head. This was pure torture that I couldn''t decide if I wanted it tost forever or if I just wanted him to hurry up and fuck me.

    This time he added a second finger into me, causing my muscles to stretch a fraction of an inch. And once again, my pussy mped down hard onto the foreign object and tried to pull them in.

    Just as the maddening rhythm of his fingers brought me to the cliff I was bing very familiar with, they withdrew, leaving me empty. I let out a sound that was partly a scream and partly a whimper.

    "I will give you everything you need," Chen Zi Han promised me. "But first, I need to take what I want first."

    Before his words could even prate my lust-drunk mind, he shifted down until his wide shoulders were between my legs and he was looking up at me from my sopping wet core.

    "Are you ready for me, Princess?" he asked. I didn''t know if I nodded, threatened to kill him, or simply shoved his head down, but whatever I did, I did good.

    Chen Zi Han''s tongue parted my dripping lips as his finger scooped up my wetness that was escaping. His tongue started off t, cleaning me of my juices as new ones flowed out of me. He devoured me like a starving man, the scruff on his chin scraping at the sensitive insides of my thighs as his tongue dove into my channel.

    I arched up off of the bed, trying to get my pussy that much closer to his mouth. Not caring if he could breathe or not. And as soon as I arched up, it was like he was waiting for it. <novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Taking his finger that was drenched in my juices, he quickly inserted it into my forbidden hole.

    The sensation waspletely mind-blowing and I came with a scream as more juices rushed out of me, causing him to have to eat me out faster just to keep up. His finger was still in that hole, slowly moving in and out at aplete juxtaposition to his rough tongue.

    I kept my back arched as the back of my head pressed into the pillow under it. I never wanted this feeling to end.

    "One," he said as I came down. "Should we keep count of how many times I can make youe before you pass out from pure pleasure?"

    He didn''t wait for a response before he turned his attention back to my needy hole. Once again he started to lick my swollen, sensitive flesh, paying particr attention to my clit. His finger continued to go in and out, and my hips quickly picked up the rhythm.

    "Does it hurt?" he asked me softly. "Is it ufortable?"

    I thought about his words for a second before shaking my head ''No''. It didn''t hurt and it wasn''t ufortable, but it did feel¡­ different. Definitely a good different, but at the same time, not something that I was used to.

    "That''s good. My cock is much bigger than my finger," he said with a smirk as he looked up at me from between my legs. His lips and chin glistened with my juices. "We''ll have to stretch you properly before you are ready to take me in there."

    He gently pulled his finger out of the forbidden ce and I clenched down tightly, not wanting to lose the feeling. He simply chucked and scooped up some more of my natural lube that had slid down between my pussy and my ass.

    This time he used two fingers. "I would ask if you were ready, but my goal is to have you so consumed with pleasure that you don''t even notice my fingers entering your tight ring," he growled at me.

    I moaned and nodded my hips lifting up and twisting, trying to capture his attention. He smirked at me before gently nipping at my inner thigh. "Patience, Princess," he purred. "I promise I will make it good."

    His fingers circled around my puckered hole, leaving a trail of wetness in their wake as Chen Zi Han dove between my legs and roughly started eating me out, catching me off guard. Lost in the sensation of his soft tongue inside my core, the hard tip of it flicking at my clit, and the asional nip from his teeth, I simply handed myself over to him to control.

    As soon as I started to feel that pressure building inside of me, I felt his two fingers entering my ass again, this time, creating more of a stretch than before, sending me hurtling over the edge.

    "Two."

 Chapter 314 A Cold Bath

    ?

    (NSFW)

    My body was a limp mess of sweat and juices as Iy in bed panting after the fifth time Chen Zi Han brought me to heaven.

    "What do you say, Princess?" the man asked as he slowly came up my body and once again imprisoned me in his arms. "Can you take one more, or do you want to sleep?" he said as he ced a gentle kiss on my forehead.

    "If you don''t stick your cock inside of me, I am going to cut it off and stick it in me myself," I growled. I might havee screaming his name five times now, but my poor pussy was still empty.

    "Can''t have that, now, can we?" the man purred as he slowly lined his rock-hard cock up against my core. His head was weeping with his own restraint. With a single hard plunge, he shoved his shaft into me. My swollen lips parted for him as my channel twitched at the sudden invasion. But when my muscles mped down on something hard, I was practically crying with joy.

    "I don''t know if I can keep holding back," he said through gritted teeth as he slowly withdrew only to plunge back into my depths. "You are pleasure and sin wrapped up in one small package. I want to remain inside you forever," he said mindlessly as his hips continued to piston me.

    "Shut up and fuck me," I growled, pulling his head down to mine and kissing him. I could taste myself on his lips and I grabbed his hair tightly.

    "Your wish is mymand," he said as he dropped his head down. I looked in the direction he was looking in and watched as his cock disappeared into my body, over and over again.

    With a loud growl, Chen Zi Han tilted his head back and picked up the pace and the pressure. mming into me so hard that I was being pushed up the bed. Not happy with that, Chen Zi Han looked at me with wide eyes, his teeth bared and he gripped my hip hard, forcing me to stay in one ce as he continued his assault on my pussy.

    His very much wanted assault, I might add.

    "Harder," I whispered up at him. "I need it harder. Stop holding back and fuck me!" I was so frustrated that I could feel tears leaking from my eyes. It was like knowing what you wanted, needing it more than you need your next breath, and then having it just an inch too high.

    Chen Zi Han, my protector, my enforcer, my soul, growled at my words. No longer trying to keep himself up, he ced his forehead on the bed between my neck and shoulder and gripped my hips with both hands. His upper body rested on me, and the feeling of being pushed into the bed made my eyes roll.

    Now being able to hold my hips steady, Chen Zi Han went to town on my pussy, pushing in and out as fast as he could. Not bothering to even breathe.

    He kept pushing me deeper and deeper into the mattress, following me down with each stroke. I could feel that cliff approaching me again. "Come! Now!" hemanded and I don''t know if it was his words, his fingers on my hips, or the way his cock hammered into me that caused me to let go, but I tilted my head back and screamed his name before the world went ck.

    -----

    Feeling her tightening around him, Chen Zi Han no longer held back and spilled himself deep within her channel. Still holding on to her, he tried to catch his breath that wasing out in rapid pants.

    Refusing to remove his cock from her pussy, he pinned her hips down as he raised his upper body to check on her. <novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Her breathing was steady and she looked asleep. He chuckled that he managed to keep his word about making here so hard she passed out.

    Feeling proud that he brought her that much pleasure, he leaned down to give her a gentle kiss. Still holding her hips tight so he couldn''t slide out, he rolled over onto his back, bringing her up against his chest.

    Feeling her breath against his bare skin, he closed his eyes inplete contentment as an unknown jagged edge of his soul fell into ce.

    ---

    "Think they are done yet?" asked Liu Yu Zeng as he looked up at the ceiling from where he sat at the kitchen table. Wang Chao and Liu Wei were sitting in the chairs on either side of him.

    "You can always go up and check," smirked Liu We as he polished the gun in front of him.

    "And have you guys use it as an excuse to interrupt my first time with her? I think not," scoffed Liu Yu Zeng. But there was a small part of him that was jealous that he was thest one.

    "Now you know how I felt," said Liu Wei looking at his brother seriously. "But seriously, give them some time."

    "Chen Zi Han didn''t give me time," grumbled Wang Chao. In fact, the other man pulled her off of him when he was buried deep into her pussy.

    "You also fucked her in the bath," pointed out Liu Wei. "Thest thing any of us want or need is for her to catch a cold from being in a cold bath for too long.

    "A cold bath?" asked Wang Chao incredulously. "I am pretty sure that the fires of Hell aren''t that hot."

    Liu Wei just shrugged his shoulders, not bothering to respond. He would learn to adapt if that was the temperature of the water she enjoyed.

    "How did your experiment go?" he asked his little brother, trying to change the topic.

    "I got it to work," said the other man, a smirk appearing on his face. "I managed to get the bubble around my whole body and also one just around my head.

    "Did the air run out?" asked Liu Wei impressed. Maybe he shouldn''t have dismissed the idea so quickly.

 Chapter 315 Making Plans For A Fourth Life

    ?

    I woke up from my second nap of the day feeling more rxed than I ever thought possible andpletely ready to take on aquatic zombies.

    Well, that''s a lie. I don''t think anyone is ready to take on aquatic zombies, but I would try. Maybe my fourth life will be just as good as this one.

    I got dressed infortable leggings and a sweater as I made ns for my fourth life. I mean, I really didn''t see any other way out of the situation I was in. Unless it was to stay in my space for the rest of my life. The guys were already here, and I had more than enough supplies and the ability to maintain a high standard of living.

    True, it would be only the five of us, but on the flip side, with it being only the five of us, there would be no more military dragging us into their issues and no zombies¡­ aquatic or otherwise trying to kill us. Really, it was a win/win as far as I was concerned. I was definitely voting for never leaving my space.

    Happy with my new n, I went downstairs to see all four of my men drinking out of the same cups. It was one of those ones that I found funny and put in the order for one to give to my future husband whenever I happened to find him. However, somehow, when the order arrived, there were four of the same mugs.

    Looks like it was not so much an ident as it was Fates intervening.

    "What''s up?" I asked, picking up the mug that I was going with today. This one had a small baby alien on it that said: ''Coffee spelled backwards is Eeffoc. Just know that I don''t give Eeffoc until I''ve had my coffee.''

    I thought it was pretty funny. Taking a sip, I looked at the guys that hadn''t answered me yet. Turning my head to the side, I looked at Liu Wei. "Is everything okay?" I asked again, now concerned that none of them had answered me.

    "Just going to wait until you gave an Eeffoc," said Liu Yu Zeng with a smile on his face.

    "Fine," I said with a sigh as I looked over my mug at the four men in front of me. "Just give me a few minutes to enjoy my coffee before you burst my bubble about the five of us living in my space for the rest of our lives," I continued as I sat down at the table between Chen Zi Han and Liu Yu Zeng.

    I looked over at Chen Zi Han and the evil man only raised an eyebrow at me. I rolled my eyes and ignored him. Even if I wanted to keep going, mydy bits were firmly closed for business.

    Finishing off thest few drops of the nectar of the Gods, I put my mug on the table and looked at the men. "You''re going to make me go back, aren''t you?" I asked with a pout. I really didn''t understand why they were so insistent on it. Didn''t they realize that the outside world didn''t exist until I returned?

    "I wouldn''t say make¡­" started Liu Yu Zeng hesitantly. "More like¡­ strongly encourage?"

    "Would it really be so bad for just the five of us to live here forever," I purred seductively, hoping that I was at least half as sessful as Chen Zi Han was.

    Liu Yu Zeng looked at me suspiciously. "Is this what normal parents mean when they try to warn their children about ''stranger danger''?" he asked, concerned. I couldn''t stop myself fromughing even if I tried.

    "I don''t know. Am I a stranger?" I asked with a smirk. <novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Most definitely not," he replied, picking me up off of my chair and depositing me onto hisp. "And you aren''t wrong. I do like the idea of just the five of us here¡­ not a care in the world."

    "We gave our word," said Wang Chao, pointing out the most obvious reason why we needed to return to the real world.

    "Ah, but the real world is frozen exactly as it was when I left. There is no passage of time. Therefore, themander would remain where he was and would never know that his mission was not going to continue."

    "The world is frozen?" asked Liu Wei, concerned. I shrugged my shoulders. "How else do you exin it? When I go into my space, no matter how long I spend here, I still return to the exact same moment in time as when I left. Doesn''t that mean that without me, the real world wouldpletely stop?"

    I mean, I didn''t think that was the case, but it still made me feel important.

    "I guess that would be the logical conclusion," replied Liu Wei as he adjusted his sses. "I am beginning to see her reasoning," he continued as he looked at Wang Chao with a smirk.

    "That makes it three out of five in favor of staying here?" I pushed, knowing full well that we wouldn''t.

    "Make that four out of five," said Chen Zi Han as he kissed my forehead and stood up from the table. Grabbing my mug, he got me another cup of coffee and a slice of carrot cake.

    "Why do you always make me the bad guy?" demanded Wang Chao as he rubbed the spot between his eyebrows.

    "Because you do it so well?" I asked, hiding my grin behind my mug. The alien with his saying pointing at Wang Chao.

    "We need to go back," repeated Wang Chao.

    "No," I said with a shake of my head. "You want to go back ¡ª you don''t need to. And weren''t you the one that just apologized for dragging us into all of these messes?"

    "Yes, fine. I want to go back. I can''t rest knowing that I stopped halfway through a mission and took the easy way out."

    My eyebrows rose so high they disappeared into my bangs. "Easy way out? As opposed to what? Drowning and then bing chum for shark zombies?" I wondered out loud. I mean, I might agree that staying here was the easy way out, but I liked it a lot more than the alternative.

 Chapter 316 The New Plan

    ?

    "Look," I said, leaning back into Liu Yu Zeng''s embrace. "I know that we are going. I have somewhate to terms that I probably not be able to spend the rest of my life in this space. I ept that. However, you have to understand that being pulled underwater like that is the single most terrifying thing in any of my three lives, and I have been involved in a lot of scary shit."

    The four men looked at me and let me vent.

    "I''m sorry," said Wang Chao as he leaned his elbows on the table and looked at me intently. "If I could find a way to be able to do all this without you, I would."

    "Ouch," I responded with a smile. "That is a bit harsh, don''t you think?"

    "You know what I mean. If I could make it so it was only us that went back, killed the zombies, and saved you, then that would be the best oue," Wang Chao continued. "But as you said, if you are not there, then the world is frozen, which means that we would be frozen as well."

    "I know," I said with a sigh. "So, what''s the n?"

    "This time we be smart," started Wang Chao. I couldn''t stop the grin forming on my face. "What? Too good for the ''fuck it'' n? I thought it was ingenious."

    "No," replied Wang Chao with a put-out sigh. "This time, we will figure out as many of the details as we can before going back. Sounds good?"

    "Fine," I sighed, pretending to be put out. "If you insist."

    "I really do. First thing we are going to do is make sure that everyone has working oxygen tanks on them, including a working backup tank," started Wang Chao and I brought out a purple pen and paper to be able to write everything down.

    Given my memory, I would not be surprised if Ipletely forgot about the n as soon as he said it.

    "Number One: Breathing is good. Keep doing it," I said as I wrote it down. "Okay, what''s next?"

    "Next will be to have a weapon of some kind already in hand to be able to inflict the most amount of pain in the shortest amount of time."

    "Number Two: Have something sharp and stabby. Hope it works," I tranted as I furiously wrote down each point that he was trying to make.

    "It is incredibly important to keep calm at all times. The moment you panic is the moment they win. Keep calm and keep trying to force the zombie into letting you go," continued Wang Chao, and I stopped writing for a second so I could stare at him.

    "Number Three: Drug Li Dai Lu before going back into the real world."

    "I don''t think we need to go that far," chuckled Wang Chao,pletely oblivious to some of the main points. Like my crippling fear of open bodies of water.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "If your third point in your n is to keep me calm, the only way that will happen is if I am either knocked out or highly drugged with the good stuff. The second of which I don''t have a supply of and I can''t get my hands on it before being dragged underwater."

    "You know it will be fine, right?" asked Wang Chao and I almost lunged across the table to try and strangle the man.

    "Why yes, sitting here on solid ground, in my own kitchen, in my own space where I control everything. I know it will be fine. When I am underwater, a zombie pulling me to God knows where, and I can''t breathe, it is a bit of a different story." Sometimes men can be very¡­ stupid.

    "I wonder if you are holding onto one of us, if we would go back with you and not necessarily where we were," mused Chen Zi Han out loud.

    "I have no idea," I said with a shrug. It''s not like have even gone back and for with anyone. Even when I went back with Chen Zi Han in City Y, we were back in our original ces. "Might be worth a try," I continued, now intrigued with the idea.

    "I volunteer," smirked Liu Yu Zeng as he wrapped his arm around me and pulled me closer.

    "Nice try," retorted Chen Zi Han, clearly not impressed. "I will be going with Princess to make sure nothing goes wrong."

    "You know I am just as capable as you, right?" said Liu Yu Zeng, dropping the joker routine and bing much more serious. I could even feel a bloody aura surrounding me as he looked at the other man.

    "I am sure you like to think that," retorted Chen Zi Han as he continued to look at the other man nonplused. "But in this case, leave it to the one that you always trusted to watch your back."

    "I might trust you to watch my back, but that is vastly different from protecting our woman," snapped Liu Yu Zeng, more pissed off than I had seen him in a while.

    "Alright," I said, holding up my hand. "I will not put up with you two fighting. Either both of youe with me or none. Those are really your only two options." The very idea of the boys not getting along was enough to make me break out in hives. And, up to this point, we had gotten along fantastically.

    On the other hand, how you fought and got over it also said a lot about a rtionship. Besides, these two have been through a lot together. I don''t think this would be enough to separate.

    "We do work better when we are together," smirked Chen Zi Han as he smirked at me. "Don''t worry, Princess. We will bothe with you."

    I would fully admit to not being mature enough to not take that statement in a sexual manner. Sue me.

    "Fine, you two go with Li Dai Lu and kill her zombie. Let us know if being transported even works that way," said Wang Chao, rolling his eyes at the three of us.

    "Has anyone seen if they can use their powers?" I asked quietly.

 Chapter 317 Going To Die

    ?

    "No," said Liu Wei with a frown. "It never even urred to me," he continued. He looked at the other three men and they, too, shook their heads.

    "I barely remembered that I had a space," I admitted, "Let alone think to see if I could find its me."

    "Maybe we should add that to the top of our list," said Chen Zi Han, leaning back in his chair. I would fully admit that it was embarrassing to forget something so important, but at the same time, it just went to prove how much panic yed a role in things.

    The rest of us nodded our agreement, and I turned to Chen Zi Han. "It''s your job to remind me about it," I said, putting all the responsibility on him. I couldn''t guarantee that I wouldn''t panic again andpletely forget.

    Chen Zi Han chuckled and nodded his head.

    "Now that that is all settled, let''s start getting ready," said Wang Chao, standing up and moving away from the table.

    I don''t think anyone really got ready to be eaten. Unless, of course, they were going to douse themselves in barbeque sauce before heading out the door.

    "Positive thoughts!" called Wang Chao from the front door of the farmhouse.

    "Fine! I am positive that we are going to be eaten! Is that positive enough for you?"

    "Ha ha, very funny," called back Wang Chao as I stood up with a deep breath and made my way to the front of the house.

    "Your wetsuit, Madam," said Liu Yu Zeng, holding out the evillest contraption ever known to man.

    "Thanks," I grumbled. Not at all impressed. But at the end of the day, it did stop the zombie from getting its ws into me, so I guess it was good for something. "Is this one new?" I asked, curious as I finally noticed that it was no longer the gray one from before, but rather a ck one with purple ribbing.

    "Yup," said Chen Zi Han as he walked into the house carrying his wetsuit. "Found a pile of them out in a field," he said as he looked over and grinned at me.

    ----

    We were dressed much more appropriately this time. Each of us had on our wetsuit, the buoyancy vest, the goggles, the tank, the backup air tank, at least two knives, one harpoon, one gun, and finally one spear. It was a good thing that we were going to be underwater, because as it stood right now, I couldn''t move an inch onnd. In fact, I was pretty sure that if Chen Zi Han wasn''t holding me upright, I would have already fallen backward thanks to the air tanks.

    "Everyone ready?" asked Wang Chao. I would have answered him, but the guys had insisted that I put the oxygen mouthpiece into my mouth, so my ability to talk was greatly reduced. I also would have given him a thumbs up, but Chen Zi Han and Liu Yu Zeng were both holding onto my hands, refusing to let go.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Ready," answered Liu Wei for all of us.

    "Then let''s do this," said Wang Chao, looking at me and nodding his head. I blinked back into the real world, not knowing what to expect.

    I could feel the warm water rushing around me as I was dragged by my ankle into the darkness of the water. I felt myself panic for a second before I realized that I was able to breathe perfectly fine. Calming down, I noticed that my hands were still being held.

    Looking to my sides, I saw Chen Zi Han and Liu Yu Zeng still attached to me, and thest little bit of worrypletely fled. With a smile, I turned to the zombie that was actually walking on the bottom of the ocean floor. Its feet kicked up clouds of dirt and sediment, causing fish to dart away, scared of the predator in their midst.

    I quickly unfocused my eyes and tried to see the me that I knew burned brightly in the zombie''s chest. And it was there! I looked at Chen Zi Han, a bright smile on my face. Even though he couldn''t see it, he understood what I was trying to get at.

    I then turned to Liu Yu Zeng and widened my eyes in happiness. ''I can see their mes!'' I called out, hoping that they could hear me through our link.

    ''Let me see if I can use my powers,'' said Liu Yu Zeng as he held his hand out to the unsuspecting zombie. Watching intently, I saw the ck mist flowing out of Liu Yu Zeng thanks to the lighter sediment floating around us.

    I waited as saw the zombie stumble. As soon as I felt its grip loosen, I tried to kick my leg out of its grasp, only to have it clench down tighter. I looked at Chen Zi Han again, this time with concern. I couldn''t get my leg out of its grasp.

    He gently patted my arm as he let go of my hand. Going up right behind the zombie, he put his hand out, trying to take its vitality. Once again, its grasp loosened for a second before it adjusted its grip again. This time, its ws sunk into my wetsuit and into my flesh.

    I held back the scream as my blood slowly started to leave my body and be dissolved into the surrounding water. I didn''t know if it was my mind ying tricks on me, or what, but I started seeing streaks of white swimming up to us before darting off in a different direction.

    After a moment, another one came closer and I could see the pin-pick eyes and gaping jaws of an actual shark before the zombie scared it off.

    This was literally my worst nightmaree to life.

    I could feel my heartbeat pick up as my lungs started to feel like there was an elephant sitting on my chest. I felt Liu Yu Zeng squeezing my hand, trying to snap me out, but it didn''t help.

    I opened my mouth to scream in panic, which caused my air hose to fall out of my mouth, cutting off my ability to breathe. I was going to die here, and worst of all, I would be bringing the guys down with me.

 Chapter 318 Come To Me!

    ?

    My air hose, which was no longer in my mouth, was blowing bubbles all around me, increasing my panic since I could no longer see anything that was going on in front of my face. My mouth was open in a silent scream, but instead of noiseing out, salty water rushed in instead, causing my stomach and lungs to fill up.

    I wanted to puke; I wanted I scream; I needed to breathe.

    Realizing that I was fucked no matter what I did, I quickly blinked out of the ocean and back into my space. Once again, I was sprawled out in a field, puking up all the water in my stomach. I went on all fours, trying to make it easier to expel everything inside of me.

    I was exhausted, and more than a little worried about secondary drowning. However, my men were still in that water, and as much as they might be frozen in time, I didn''t want to leave them there a second longer than needed. I stumbled to my feet, reced my air tank just like Wang Chao had shown me, and reinserted my hose into my mouth. I frantically searched for the underwater lights that I identally took simply because it was in the scuba shop.

    I attached two of the circr lights to my vest and turned one on. I was not expecting the water to be so dark where I was, and I think that was part of my problem. Taking a few deep breaths of thepressed air and ignoring the burning feeling in my chest, I blinked myself back into the real world.

    I could see things much better thanks to theck of bubbles and the bright lighting from my vest. I was still in the same position with my ankle being held in a death grip by the zombie as Chen Zi Han had a hand on the back of the zombie''s neck, trying to suck out the vitality from it.

    Liu Yu Zeng was gripping my hand but had narrowed his eyes on the zombie in front of us. I saw his other hand stretched out, and I knew that he was trying to poison the thing, but it wasn''t working the same way that it did onnd.

    He turned to look at me briefly, his eyes widened as he took note of theck of bubbles and the light. Nodding his head in understanding, he shed me a smile before turning his attention back to the fight in front of us.

    Well, maybe fight wasn''t the right word as it was not like any ''fight'' I had ever seen. The four of us were moving in slow motion, the boys trying to use their superpowers, but the zombie continued its unhurried walk forward.

    Before I panicked for a third time, I quickly blurred my eyes to the outside world and focused on the zombie, trying to find the flickering me.

    Just like before, I quickly saw it, but this time I noticed ¡­ differences that I had never noticed before. Like even though there was a flicking me burning, it was surrounded by water, almost as if the water was protecting it.

    Then again, there was no almost about it. I watched as the dark mist of Liu Yu Zeng''s powers and the brown bubble of Chen Zi Han''s power affected the water surrounding the me, destroying it, but not even going near the me itself.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    In fact, the amount of water inside the zombie continued to refill itself every time. The zombies onnd didn''t have this addedyer of protection and I wonder if it was because they weren''t surrounded by water like these ones were.

    Taking another breath, I steadied myself. Ignoring the darting sharks that were swimming in and out of the light, Ipletely focused on the undead in front of me. It was an abomination, something that needed to be sent straight into the depths of Hell, to never return.

    Renewed with that conviction, I focused on the me that I knew represented its soul. I knew I didn''t need my fire, but I wanted to see if the purple me would do anything. Sending out my strongest me, I watched as it caused the protective water shield around the me to evaporate, but before it could reach the zombie me, more water rushed back in and my me was forced to turn its attention back to the water that was trying to suppress it.

    The light blue me of the zombie continued to burn strongly, protected by the water around it.

    I called back my purple me, understanding that there was no way it would be able to kill the aquatic zombie on its own. I went to n D.

    I stared at the me, refusing to break my concentration for a single moment, even as somethingrge and heavy bumped into my physical body. I filled my lungs and watched the mes being pulled to me. "Come to me!" Imanded the me in my mind. I bit down harder onto the hose, refusing to let it fall out of my mouth again.

    The me was pulled even more in my direction, but the water was still insting it enough that the base of the me was still rooted firmly in ce.

    Fine, it wanted to be like that? I called on all three of my mes and sent them into the zombie in front of me and watched as they burned a line from the edge of the water all the way to the me itself.

    Instead of then going to try and evaporate all of the water in the area, it only concentrated on a single line, the water rushing against the side of my fires, trying desperately to put them out, only to be sent up in smoke as a result of its efforts.

    A brown bubble appeared next to my fire on the right side, pulling the water into it before causing the water to disappear. On the other side, the ck mist was trying its best to give me a bit of breathing room, too, but it was less sessful.

 Chapter 319 Enough!

    ?

    Between the three of us, there was enough of an opening that I could see a section of the zombie''s burning soulpletely exposed to me. "Enough!" I shouted in my mind. "Get over here!"

    Instead of the light grasp that I needed on every other me that I called to me, I pictured gripping it in my hand like the zombie had me gripped by my ankle and pulled it to me as hard as I could.

    The me shot down the path that Chen Zi Han, Liu Yu Zeng, and I had created until I could hold it in the palm of my hand. I looked down at the small trembling fire and I wondered how this tiny thing could have given us so much trouble.

    I called back a part of my purple me and allowed it to consume the light blue one. Feeling a renewed strength coursing through my body, I let out a sigh of relief. The zombie was dead. We were not.

    My vision returned to normal just in time to see the jaws of a massive shark gaping open in front of me.

    I forgot about the actual fucking sharks!

    Through pure fear, I punched the shark in the nose, remembering that it was one of the most sensitive parts of its body. Thank you, Shark Week!

    Mind you, seeing as the nose was at the very tip of a mouth with hundreds of sharp teeth, I didn''t really think that punching them in the nose would have been the first thing tried when trying to deter such a big fish. I was willing to bet that there was a lot of trial and error on that one.

    I blinked back into my space for a second, frantically trying to get to my first aid kit in the kitchen. Pulling it out from under the kitchen sink, I ced it on the kitchen table. I sat down and pulled up my mangled wetsuit leg, only to find that there were no injuries anymore.

    I didn''t know if it was because of my weird ability to heal quickly, or if it came from consuming the soul of the zombie, but either way, I was happy to no longer be the dinner bell bringing in the sharks.

    My milkshakes were more than wee to bring all my boys to the yard, but I drew the line at my blood.

    I had a weird obsession with keeping it inside of me at all times.

    I know, weird, right?

    But now that I realized that I was healed, I blinked back into the water, taking a second to appreciate how normal this was bing for me. I would like to take this second to say that while I might not be freaking out as much about going back underwater, in no way, shape, or form would I be willing to do this if my men weren''t there too.

    I have not converted to loving the water.

    Anyway, the shark that I had punched had swum off, leaving a blessedly empty space in front of us. But, as with everything in my life right now, there were good things and bad things.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    The good thing was that the three of us, working together, managed to kill a single zombie. The bad part? I had no idea how many zombies hid in the darkness right now.

    The good news was that since we were on the bottom of the ocean floor, I knew which way was up. The bad part? I didn''t know which direction we needed to go in in order to make it back to the shore.

    The good news was that I had Chen Zi Han and Liu Yu Zeng beside me. The bad news? I didn''t know where the other two were.

    See, I was being more positive by looking at all the good things in my life right now. I am sure Wang Chao would be proud.

    I grabbed the hands of my two men and pulled them back into my space with me. As soon as we appeared in the field, I called Wang Chao and Liu Wei into my space. They copsed panting onto the ground, blood running from their arms and legs.

    "You know it will be fine, right?" I said as I crouched down to be beside his head. Apparently, I was holding a grudge after he said that to me at the kitchen table.

    The man in question looked up at me as he continued to pant. "I''m alive, aren''t I?"

    "You are," I said, nodding my head in agreement. I had to give it to him. He was alive. But I was also wondering what his state would have been if I hadn''t taken him into my space.

    "Are you okay?" I asked, looking at Liu Wei.

    "I will be," he said with a half smile. "But those things are fucking hard to kill."

    I sat there, stunned, as I looked at him. I think this was actually the first time that I had ever heard him swear. That couldn''t be right, right?

    "What about you guys?" asked Wang Chao as he slowly sat up and looked at the three of us.

    "Holding hands worked," reported Chen Zi Han as he sat down in the grass. "We went back to where Li Dai Lu was being held by the zombie." He paused for a second and shuddered at whatever was going on in his head. "It was not ¡­ easy," he continued, as stoic as before.

    "I don''t think our powers work on them as they do for the zombies onnd," added Liu Yu Zeng as he went to go sit down beside his brother.

    "They do," I said hesitantly. "But where there is nothing but a me inside the zombies that we are used to, in this one, there was water surrounding the me." I tried to think of the best way to be able to describe what I saw. "It was almost as if the water was acting like a protective barrier. Like when my fire caused some of the water to evaporate, more water would rush in, returning it to its normal levels."

 Chapter 320 A Hero Complex

    "Was that why nothing we did seemed to work?" asked Chen Zi Han. I nodded my head.

    "I could see your power suck the water into a bubble-like thing, causing it to evaporate, but before it made a big enough difference, more water came rushing in, recing it."

    "Do you think that the reason why that doesn''t happen to zombies onnd is because they aren''t surrounded by water?" thought Liu Wei.

    "Probably," I said with a nod. I mean, the zombies were created by the exact same retrovirus, so there is no logical exnation why the ones onnd were so much easier to kill than the ones in the water.

    "What about the differences in appearances?" asked Wang Chao. I shrugged my shoulders. I had no idea what could exin those differences. It was almost like the aquatic zombies had their heads squished by something. I was almost tempted to experiment and toss and zombie into the water and see if their head became more streamlined.

    Great, now I was sounding like a crazy scientist who wanted to conduct further experiments on zombies. Let''s just go back to my original n of killing them. I liked that one better.

    "Maybe it is a pressure thing," said Liu Wei thoughtfully. "I mean, a head that big would greatly reduce their speed and their ability to hunt prey."

    "Not to mention if their head was filled mostly with air, they would just be floating at the top of the water. Not effective at all," smirked Liu Yu Zeng, and I burst outughing at the idea of thend zombies floating vertically at the surface of the water, unable to move because their heads were too buoyant.

    "That is good and all, but we still have an issue with mine and Liu Wei''s zombies," interjected Wang Chao. Party pooper.

    "Actually, I don''t know if that is actually the case," I said slowly. "I mean, when I blinked back with Chen Zi Han and Liu Yu Zeng, we arrived in myst location, not theirs. So, I am thinking that if I hold on to you and Liu Wei, you two would end up where we were before."

    "Wouldn''t that put the other two back with their original zombies, then?" asked Liu Wei, and I felt like I was trying to figure out that math problem about crossing a river with a wolf, a goat, and a cabbage.

    "Maybe if you are all holding me, then we will end up in the same spot?" I offered, not sure if that was possible or not. "Or maybe I could concentrate on only bringing you guys with me and leave Chen Zi Han and Liu Yu Zeng here. Thene back and get them so that the five of us were in one ce."

    "That might work," said Liu Wei with a nod. Mind you, I knew that we were all winging it, and not one of us wanted to face the aquatic zombies by ourselves.

    "And if it doesn''t, then I just bring everyone back into my space and we try it again," I added. If I blinked back and we weren''t all together, I coulde back here and try again.

    "Done," said Wang Chao, standing up and awkwardly walking over to the storage barn, still in his diving fins. At least I remembered to take mine off before trying to walk on drynd.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    The other three guys chuckled as they made their way over to grab new tanks, their fins in their hands.

    I stayed where I was and closed my eyes. I felt the soft breeze caressing my face, and I smiled. I had originally thought that in an emergency this space would be worthless since it would put me back into the same situation, but now I realized that wasn''t the case.

    Oh sure, it put me back at the same moment, but it also gave me time to get myself together, create a new n and try as many times as I needed to in order to ensure my sess. And that was priceless.

    "Ready, Sweetness?" asked Liu Yu Zeng as he came over to lie down beside me. We both looked up and watched the clouds drifting by.

    "Is this ce really so bad that you can''t picture yourself living here for the rest of your life?" I asked softly, not answering his question.

    "No," admitted Liu Yu Zeng. "I aming to the realization that wherever you are is where I want to spend the rest of eternity."

    I turned my head to look at him. "Really?" I asked, studying his face to see if he was being truthful or just telling me what I wanted to hear.

    "Really," he confirmed with a nod. "Being part of an organization is nothing like being part of the military, and for more than just the obvious reasons," he started, not looking at me. "For us, you are either born into it or it is something that you fall into for survival. Most don''t actively choose this lifestyle; it is more a choice of desperation. We fight tooth and nail because we know that if we stop, we will die. Then it gets to the point where your body is so primed to fight that you can stop it."

    He took a deep breath before continuing. "You ask us flight, fight, or freeze, but in our lives, there is no option of flight or freeze. If you freeze, your enemy is going to kill you. If you run, your own heads will kill you."

    I rolled over, so I was cuddled into the man, hoping that he could feel the warmthing off of me.

    "People chose the military. It is a noble upation. People look up to soldiers like they look down on us. Even if people chose the military because their options are limited, the military opens so many doors that their future bes endless." Liu Yu Zeng let out a snort of disdain.

    "I think that there is a certain aspect of the military that almost starts to brainwash its men. I see it sometimes in Liu Wei, but more often in Wang Chao. It is the idea that there is always something to do. One mission is done, onto the next. They don''t seem to get tired of constantly protecting people."

    "A heroplex," I said with a small smile.

 Chapter 321 Signing A Waiver

    ?

    "Exactly," said Liu Yu Zeng with a nod. "The military trains people to be heroes, but they don''t train people how to stop."

    He wrapped his arms around me as he continued to stare at the sky in my space. "So, for men like me and Chen Zi Han, finding a ce like this is paradise. We can see ourselves rxing here, starting a family, and not worried about stopping others from taking our territory. The idea of it just being the five of us doesn''t cause us to panic, it ¡­ gives us a sense of peace. Does that make sense?"

    He looked at me, a vulnerable expression on his face. "It makes perfect sense," I said as I kissed his chest. "It was the same way that I felt when I was reborn into this life. The idea that I could make a home for myself in the middle of nowhere, where I didn''t have to worry about humans trying to take what was mine, or zombies trying to kill me, was everything I ever wanted."

    And I think that was the main reason why I was so adamant about wanting to stay on my ranch. I wanted peace after having to fight for everything. But I also had that in this space too.

    "Maybe we could have the best of both worlds," I mused out loud, causing Liu Yu Zeng to look at me.

    "We can stay here in this world for as long as we want. Grow food, look after the animals, preserve our harvests ¡­ start a family. But when there is an itch to go out into the real world, we could do that too. What do you think?"

    "I think that no matter where you are, I will be there beside you," said Liu Yu Zeng with a shrug. "If you want it here, then perfect. If you want to go out and experience the world, fine too. You are my home. You are my peace. You are the salvation that I have fought my entire life to achieve." He lifted my hand off of his chest and ced a gentle kiss on my knuckles. "All I ask is that you don''t leave me behind."

    "Never," I vowed. Now that I knew where Liu Yu Zeng stood, I would do my best to include him in my future ns. "How good of a fighter are you?" I asked with a sigh.

    "Only Chen Zi Han has been able to beat me," said Liu Yu Zeng, confused.

    "After we are done dealing with this crap, you will have a little under two years to train as hard as you can to bepletely unbeatable. Do you think you can do that?" I asked seriously.

    "Yes," he replied seriously, studying my face.

    "I don''t doubt your strength, please understand that," I said with a sigh, not wanting him to think that I didn''t think he was strong enough. But toplete the mission that I had set out for myself, I was going to go down into the pits of Hell. If he wanted to follow, then I needed to know that he would be able to hold his own. "But if you are determined to follow me no matter what, then I need to know that you can take on a Reaver if necessary and win."<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "All good, Sweetheart, I understand," he replied just as the other three made their way closer to us. "But you should prepare yourself. None of us will make it easy on you if you are thinking of disappearing."

    "Not disappearing," I said with a shake of my head and a smile. "There is a part of me in each of you. I could never disappear somece where you can''t find me."

    "Ready?" asked Liu Wei as he came to stand behind me.

    "No," I scoffed at the absurdity of being ready to go back to the bottom of the East Sea, surrounded by sharks and zombies. "But let''s go anyway," I said as I raised my hand and allowed Liu Wei to pull me up. I noticed Chen Zi Han doing the same thing to Liu Yu Zeng and the two of them whispering something to each other.

    There was the typical manly head nod before they joined me and Liu Wei. Wang Chao came up to us, carrying two oxygen tanks. He gently ced one on the ground and carried the second one over to me. Going behind me, he hung it on my back and made sure that everything was working the way it should be.

    "If anything goes wrong, youe back here immediately. Don''t worry about any of us. We will be fine," he assured me as he walked around, making sure that every part of my scuba gear was up to his exacting standards, including the lights I was making everyone wear.

    "Yes, yes," I said, nodding my head before the ''regtor second stage'' into my mouth. Yes, I knew what it was called thanks to a long lecture from Wang Chao, but I will continue to call it an air hose.

    I gripped Liu Wei in one hand, and Wang Chao in my other while Chen Zi Han hugged me from behind, and Liu Yu Zeng wrapped around my front.

    Sending up a little prayer to the Fates, I blink us back into the waters of the East Sea just as I realized that we had never actually figured out which way was back to dry ground. Fuck my life.

    The good news? We allnded in an area free from zombies. The bad news was that with thebined light of all five shlights, we could see exactly how many sharks were around us. And to my untrained eye, a lot of them looked like great white sharks.

    I don''t remember signing any waivers involving diving with sharks. When I got back to shore, I was going to send out a strongly worded letter to the scubapany about sending divers out without warning us of the dangers.

 Chapter 322 Requiem For A Dream

    ?

    The guys detached themselves from me and quickly turned out so that all of their backs were facing me. I didn''t know if Liu Yu Zeng and Chen Zi Han had taken scuba lessons before, or if they were like me and watched way too much shark week on TV.

    Either way, I wasn''t going toin. They were standing between me and the sharks, and that was exactly where I wanted them to be.

    We floated up off of the sandy ocean floor, and the boys seemed to know exactly the direction we wanted to go in. I wasn''t so sure, but I was willing to follow them. After all, Wang Chao and Liu Wei had been in the Navy for several years before transferring to the Army. I hoped they had learned something in that time, like which direction wasnd.

    The sharks swam around us, checking us out. I was going under the assumption that they were trying to figure out what we were doing in their territory, wondering if we were zombies or thinking that we were something edible. I was just keeping my fingers crossed that they weren''t going to take a bite to find out.

    Mind you, knowing that zombies ate the sharks, I was hoping that they would think we were of the undead variety of random things found in the ocean and leave us alone.

    We continued to swim for what I considered to be a long time. Nightmares popped up in my mind that we were actually swimming further out than we were making our way back tond, which was why it was taking us so long to get back.

    However, if I took into ount how fast the zombies actually moved underwater, it didn''t seem to be that great of a distance after all.

    I knew it was probably my mind ying tricks on me, using my fear of being underwater to make things seem different from what they actually were. I would just have to put my faith in the guys that they knew what they were doing. And maybe if I told myself that enough times, I would actually start believing it.

    I would like to take this time to say that I enjoyed the scenery around me. As if swimming at the bottom of the ocean was no different from walking around a giant aquarium onnd. However, that would be aplete and utter lie.

    I kept my eyes out for the great white sharks that continued to swim up close to us before disappearing into the darkness where our lights couldn''t reach. I knew that they preferred to attack their prey from the bottom, so I was pretty thankful that the guys had us swimming maybe a foot above the floor.

    Far enough up to avoid stepping on something that we shouldn''t be, but closed enough to the bottom that nothing big could get under us. I think that we startled a few stingrays, because every so often, they would shake off the sand that was keeping them invisible to predators and glided away on beautiful wings.

    Mind you, that was also the time that I saw the coolest thing ever.

    When we started one ray in particr, it darted away from us, only to be grabbed by a scalloped hammerhead shark. I would fully admit that as much as open bodies of water terrified me, it wasn''t from ack of knowledge. And hammerhead sharks were by far my favorite shark.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    I watched as the fish swam back to its school, as they all seemed to be suspended in the waters above me, not moving. I knew that that species of shark was only moderately aggressivepared to the great hammerhead. But I also thought that any shark with the word great in their name had something to prove.

    There was only one other type of shark that I didn''t want to see in the waters around me, besides the great white of course, and wouldn''t you know it? It was swimming right for us.

    The shortfin mako shark was normally not found in shallow waters, preferring to swim in the open ocean (really not helping my fear that we were going in the wrong direction). These sharks could range anywhere between 12 and 15 feet long, were known to be extremely aggressive, and were also considered to be the fastest swimmers in the ocean. Yeah, with a burst of speed up to 80kph, we weren''t going to out-swim them anytime soon.

    They were also highly intelligent, had muchrger brains than most other species, and were metallic blue in color.

    And if all that wasn''t enough to set off warning bells, they were also one of the four species whose genes were used to create the zombies.

    Yeah, I really, really wanted to get away. Especially when I could have sworn that I had just made eye contact with the creature. However, just as I was about to send out my requiem (Ha! Dark humor), the shark all of a sudden turned course and started to swim away.

    Now, I don''t know about you, but when a giant shark, with dinner in its eyes all of a sudden, turns and swims off, my first thought was¡­ what scared it away?

    Shortfin mako sharks are apex predators. That meant that there was nothing that preys on them, so what could be that scary as to send it scurrying away¡­ and did I really want to meet it myself?

    I closed my eyes and hoped that it was because we were heading into shallow water where the shark was notfortable. I opened my eyes and wanted to jump for joy because we were, in fact, in shallower water. I mean, it was maybe about 6 feet deep or so, but it was definitely not the middle of the ocean like I thought it was.

    I hadplete confidence in my men at all times. Never once did I doubt them.

    However, I don''t think it was the shallow water that caused the mako shark to hightail it out of here, but the lineup of zombies standing between us and the shore.

 Chapter 323 Between A Rock And A Hard Place

    ?

    There looked to be about 20 of them standing here, just underwater. However, seeing as they were between us and drynd, with more zombies and sharks behind us, I fully understood the expression ''Between a rock and a hard space''.

    The boys, standing now, were probably in a worse situation than I was. Being short, my entire body was covered with water, plus a few inches over my head. For the guys, since they were all over 6 feet, it was like the top of their heads were exposed to the air, but if they took off their regtors, they would be inhaling water.

    Seeing the problem, all four of them sunk to their knees. While they might be shorter, at least now they were fully submerged and could see the situation better.

    Trying to squish down my panic, I studied the zombies in front of me, trying to figure out a way to quickly kill that many of them. But the more I looked at them, the happier I became.

    Swimming up to the surface, since many of the zombies weren''t fully emerged, I took out my regtor and let out a roar. The answering roar from the zombie standing half a foot in front of the others caused a huge grin toe out.

    These zombies? Yeah, they were mine.

    Wanting to see something, I unfocused my eyes and attempted to see the mes inside of them.

    My theory was right. I watched as the space around my zombies'' mes started to slowly fill up with water, almost in time with the ebb and flow of the tide as it hit their bodies.

    Life would be so much easier if I could just speak to them mentally like I could the guys. Then we wouldn''t have tomunicate above the water in order to be understood.

    ''me transfer,'' said the icy voice in my mind. ''Send out one of your mes and imnt it in the zombie.''

    ''I have no idea what you are saying,'' I groaned as I watched the water getting higher and higher inside the zombie.

    ''You might want to figure it out because if that water gets too high, you won''t be able to do it. Now, call your pink me. It is the best one for the job.'' Doing what the voice inside my head said, I called up my pink me. Now, I don''t rmend, on normal asions, listening to what the voices in your head say but, trying to create a zombie ve was not what I would call normal asions.

    But I digress.

    Seeing a small part of my pink me appear in the space in front of me, I waited for the next part of my instructions. ''A bit less lip would do you well,'' came the voice. ''You should know by now that I can hear everything going through your head.''<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    ''Yes, yes, I am sorry, but I am getting a bit tired of treading water, so can we have the lecture after I manage to get the zombie under control?'' I asked with a tired sigh. If I never went back into the water, I would be a very happy woman.

    ''Softly send the pink me over, and with your internal eye, ce it beside the zombie''s me.'' Letting my eyes go blurry, I saw the blue me of the zombie in front of me and my pink me approach it cautiously. It flew over the top of the water and quickly managed to get next to the zombie''s soul.

    ''Good job,'' said the icy voice. ''Now, nt your me down beside the blue me and watch what happens.'' The smug tone of the voice made me wonder if this was really a good idea, but I had a n, and this zombie was key to it.

    I guided my pink me to the base of the blue me and watched as the two flickered side by side for a moment. Then, something I never expected happened. The blue me seemed to absorb my pink me, causing it to turn a shade of purple.

    Surprised, I pulled out of the space I was in and blinked a few times to clear my eyes. The blue Beta zombie in front of me had be a dark purple color instead, almost like an eggnt. It was the first time I had ever seen a zombie that color before.

    Did I cause that?

    ''Yes, my Lord?'' said the zombie inside of my mind. ''How can we serve?''

    I paused, thinking about all the ramifications that I had done. And then smiled. I would have to see if my pink me decreased in size at all, but if it didn''t, I had an infinite army at my disposal. ''And one that can never betray,'' hissed a new voice.

    I chose to ignore it until ater date. The hissing voice didn''t sound like the bitch, which meant that I probably needed more time to deal with it than I currently had. Seeing as I was struggling to keep my head above water, both literally and figuratively.

    ''Absorb the changes that the water brings,'' I said after a second. ''We will be going into the deep soon and will need you to keep the other zombies and sharks away from us.''

    ''Understood,'' the Beta said right before it sent out a call to the other zombies in its horde.

    Bypassing the guys as if they weren''t there, the 20 or so zombies in my horde strolled along the sea floor, absorbing whatever benefits the water gave them. I even managed to see the pressure from the water causing the round head of thend zombie to condense, like a pufferfish after it blows up. Within seconds, their heads were just as sleek as the other aquatic zombies.

    Hopefully, this n will work out in our favor. If I can have my zombies fighting the other ones, it might just give us the extra time we need to be able to grab the device and get the Hell out of Dodge.

 Chapter 324 Decisions

    ?

    We walked out of the East Sea and copsed on the sandy beach not far from where we were first dragged into the water.

    I took off my tank, the vest, and everything but the wetsuit and justid in the sand, thankful that I was no longer underwater.

    "Want to exin that one?" asked Wang Chao as he walked over to where I wasying.

    "Honestly, I am a little sketchy on the details, but I can try," I replied with a shrug. "Those zombies were from my horde. I think that they were trying to follow me into the water, but became overloaded when they first got in."

    "Makes sense," said Liu Yu Zeng in agreement as he went to lie down on my other side.

    "Now, it looked like their bodies were being filled up with the same water that was making the other zombies so hard to kill."

    "Which means that you might be able to control an aquatic zombie horde?" asked Liu Wei as he, too, shed all of his scuba gear.

    "Funny you should mention that. I was grumbling to myself that I wished to couldmunicate telepathically with the zombie so I could give them directions underwater without having to rely on roars. You know, it''s next to impossible to roar underwater. Now, myself answer me and told me a way that I canbine my me with the zombie''s me to produce a servant that will obey my every order, and I wouldn''t even have to say it out loud."

    "That would be handy," nodded Chen Zi Han as he sat down behind me and pulled me up so I was leaning against his chest.

    "We will see once we get the coordinates for the satellite device," I replied with a shrug. I curled up in Chen Zi Han''s embrace and fought the yawn trying to break free. This day seemed to have gone on for hours and I was beat.

    "Go to sleep," said Wang Chao with a smile. "We''ll take care of everything else."

    I nodded before making myself morefortable and fell asleep without a second thought. I was finally on drynd and my men were around me. I was in Heaven.

    ----

    "In the words of Princess, that was FUBAR," growled Chen Zi Han as the men watched the steady rise and fall of Li Dai Lu''s chest to reassure themselves that she was still alive.

    "That was bullshit," stated Liu Yu Zeng as he pulled himself into a seated position and brushed off the sand from his wetsuit. "If she hadn''t thought to ''experiment'' with the underwater zombies, I don''t think that any of us would have survived jumping into the middle of the ocean."

    "Makes you wonder, doesn''t it?" said Liu Wei, pulling out his sses and putting them on his face.

    "Just spit it out," growled Wang Chao.

    "Makes you wonder how many men and women from Commander Huang Nian Zu''s team would have followed us into that water," said Liu Wei, staring at his friend steadily. "Because I am now questioning their version of events."

    "What do you want me to do?" demanded Wang Chao.

    "I want you to fucking stop answering the calls from the military!" shouted Liu Wei. Li Dai Lu tossed in Chen Zi Han''s arms but didn''t wake up. As far as they were concerned, one of the best things was that when Li Dai Lu was that tired, not much was able to wake her up.

    "And how do you expect me to do that?" asked Wang Chao in a lower voice.

    "Maybe try using the word ''no''," suggested Liu Yu Zeng, his customary smirk nowhere to be seen.

    "You have no issues using it in any other situation," snipped Liu Wei, looking at the other man. "And was it just me that made a promise to no longer answer the calls?"

    It was the first time anyone opened up about what happened in that dream. Liu Yu Zeng and Chen Zi Han stiffened. "No," responded Liu Yu Zeng. "It was not just you."

    "Then if that is the case, and I can only assume that we all made the same promise to Li Dai Lu, then why are you the only one still doing it?" pressed Liu Wei as he tilted his head to the side. He was willing to put up with a lot, but he was not willing to put Li Dai Lu in danger for something that no longer existed.

    "Have you evere across someone asking for help that was not assigned their task before the world went to Hell?" asked Chen Zi Han curiously. "And even if it was a recent mission, who was the one that actually assigned it?"

    "What do you mean?" asked Wang Chao, confused. "Whoever is the head of that unit would have been the one to assign the mission."

    "Okay," answered Liu Yu Zeng, following what Chen Zi Han was getting at. "Then what government official gave the order to the head of the unit? And how did they get that order to them in the first ce?"

    Wang Chao and Liu Wei froze as they thought about it. "Who is the one that actually wants the device?" added Chen Zi Han. "The Leader lives in City A. There is no way that he can pass on a message to City N to get the device and bring it back to him."

    "The mission was set before the EMP wiped out our electronics," said Wang Chao, feeling personally attacked by the other three men. He was used to being the one with the final say in everything. Not even Liu Wei would dare question his orders, so what changed?

    Liu Wei shook his head and smiled. "You are wondering where we got the balls to question you, aren''t you?"

    Wang Chao looked at the other man and raised an eyebrow in challenge. "As your assistant pretty much all of my life, I can read you like a book. And normally, I don''t care. It doesn''t bother me if make money hands over fists or if you send our soldiers out to take out an organization. At the end of the day, the one that was most impacted by those decisions was yourself."

    "Then why are you making it an issue now? Amand is amand. Wherever it came from, it cannot be ignored."

    "Spoken like the good military general that you are," said Liu Yu Zeng with a smirk. "But you are missing our point."

    "Then what is your point?" sneered Wang Chao, his hands clenching into fists so hard his knuckles turned white.

    "My point is that when your decisions impacted just you, none of us cared. But your decisions now impact Li Dai Lu. And given that we would have died if she didn''t have her space, we have every right to question you."

 Chapter 325 Redefining The Relationship

    ?

    Wang Chao knew that he had screwed up when he agreed to help Commander Huang Nian Zu with his mission. In fact, he had told Li Dai Lu that and even apologized for it. But he hated to be questioned. Especially questioned by the men around him.

    However, they did have a good point. He had promised Li Dai Lu that he would stop answering the calls of humans, and he had yet to keep that promise. Was he really worthy of standing by her side if he was willing to sacrifice the five of them for outsiders?

    "I understand," said Liu Wei softly,ing up and sping Wang Chao on the shoulder. "I really do. But I think what the others are trying to say is also correct. We need to have a better understanding of where the orders areing from before we offer our support."

    "What happens if it is the head of a safe zone that is sending military members out toplete the missions for them? I am sure that you have met more than your fair share of leaders that shouldn''t be leaders. Are you really willing to help those men simply because their underlings asked?"

    "Then what do we do?" asked Wang Chao, putting aside his pride. He needed to change his thinking. Instead of following themands of a higher-up, he needed to realize that Li Dai Lu was his ultimate authority. He would not make a decision and then tell the Leader how it was going to be. Instead, he would talk to the Leader before making any decision.

    "We talk to Li Dai Lu and ask her what she thinks," said Liu Yu Zeng with a shrug. "But seeing as she is sleeping, I think it would be best if you two went and tried to find us a ce to spend the night," he continued, trying to give the other two men the hint to fuck off.

    Liu Wei looked at his brother. He got the hint that he wanted to talk to Chen Zi Han but did not understand exactly why he couldn''t do it with the other two around.

    With a shrug, he started to walk down the beach, wanting to see if there were any cabanas that they could safely spend the night in.

    Wang Chao looked at Liu Yu Zeng in confusion before following Liu Wei.

    "Alright, they are gone. What do you need?" asked Chen Zi Han. Li Dai Lu was sleeping soundly in his arms, and he wasn''t willing to disturb her.

    "I think you and I need to start training again. Like we did in the old days," said Liu Yu Zeng, looking out over the horizon and watching the sun set on what had to be the longest day of his life.

    "We aren''t exactly 18 anymore," said Chen Zi Han, following Liu Yu Zeng''s gaze. "What brought this on?"

    "Li Dai Lu," admitted the other man. "We were talking in her space and she asked me how good of a fighter I was."

    "That seems random," remarked Chen Zi Han, raising his eyebrows in surprise. Li Dai Lu never seemed to care about things like that. Not like how some of the other women interested in them were.

    "I agree. However, she said that if I wanted to be by her side all the time, I had just under two years to be good enough to be able to take out a Reaver."

    "She is nning something then," said Chen Zi Han curiously. "Something she wasn''t originally nning on letting us know about."

    "And it is important that she is nning this years in advance."

    "Okay then," answered Chen Zi Han. "We might not be 18 anymore, but I like to think that I have picked up a few tricks in that time. Now, the real question is ¡­ do we tell the others?"

    "I don''t think we can," admitted Liu Yu Zeng, knowing that that part was going to be hard. The four of them were a team. They might fight, but they no longer kept secrets from each other. Not if they wanted everything to work.

    "That''s fine," said Chen Zi Han with a shrug, not really as upset over the idea.

    "You seem strangely fine about that," said Liu Yu Zeng suspiciously, his eyes narrowing at the other man in concern.

    "I am," replied the other man. "But I see this rtionship differently than you do."

    "How do you see it?" asked Liu Yu Zeng, intrigued. It was one of the reasons why he had Chen Zi Han as his second. The man could look at the same situation ande up with a solution that he had never considered.

    "You three seem to think that this rtionship is a circr thing, that we all have to get along with each other for the best result."

    "And you don''t see it like that," said Liu Yu Zeng, wondering how else to think about their rtionship.

    "I don''t," admitted the older man. "I think of it more like a sun. Li Dai Lu is in the center, keeping us in her orbit." He took a finger in the sand and drew a circle with four linesing out of it. "At the end of the day, the only rtionship that matters is the one that we have with Li Dai Lu." He made a separate oval around the line and the circle four times. "As long as you are putting Li Dai Lu first in all things, then the rtionship with the other men will be fine. If you don''t put her first, then your rtionship with everyone will suffer."

    "Kind of like Wang Chao," said Liu Yu Zeng.

    "Exactly. You know him better than I do, so maybe that is why you fight to maintain the rtionship between you and him to the point where you feel ufortable at the idea of keeping something secret from him. But I look at it as Li Dai Lu is the one keeping the secret. If I am in on it, then that is because she trusts me. It is not my ce to decide for her who needs to know the secret."

 Chapter 326 Planning Murder

    ?

    "I think this is the most I have ever heard you speak at one time," joked Liu Yu Zeng, but he was seriously considering Chen Zi Han''s words. It was apletely different way of looking at their rtionship with Li Dai Lu, but he wasn''t wrong.

    "Let me give you an extreme example and then you can work back from there," chuckled Chen Zi Han, realizing that while Liu Yu Zeng wasn''t disagreeing with what he said, he still wasn''t fully understanding it. "Pretend that the other two men in this rtionship weren''t your brother and his friend. Pick two close syndicate members if that helps."

    "Okay," nodded Liu Yu Zeng.

    "Now, say that one of them cheated on Li Dai Lu. What would you do?"

    "I would string them up by their ankles and y their flesh from their bones and then proceed to let them bleed out while I cauterized the worst of the wounds to make sure that their deaths weren''t quick," said Liu Yu Zeng, already nning the murder of two random syndicate member.

    "Now, say it was your brother that cheated on her," said Chen Zi Han slowly. Liu Yu Zeng froze at that idea.

    "He wouldn''t," he said, shaking his head.

    "Let''s say he did," stressed Chen Zi Han. "Are you thinking of an excuse for him or are you still ready to have him bleed out like a pig on our warehouse floor? Be honest with yourself, even if you don''t say it out loud."

    "I am denying it anding up with excuses," admitted Liu Yu Zeng.

    "And I am still nning murder," said Chen Zi Han with a shrug of his massive shoulders. He looked down at the sleeping beauty in his arms and gently kissed her head. "Even if it was you that cheated, I would kill you without a second thought. She is my center. No one else matters."

    Liu Yu Zeng was silent as he thought about Chen Zi Han''s words. He really wasn''t wrong. If it was anyone other than the three men he considered to be brothers, he would have killed them without a second thought. But the very idea of his brother or Wang Chao cheating, and he hesitated.

    That would have to change.

    "Put her first. The other rtionships will sort themselves out," he repeated with a nod of his head. He already considered her to be the center of his universe. Now he just had to understand what that truly meant.

    "We train," said Chen Zi Han, bringing the topic back. "We be strong enough that we are an advantage for whatever she has going on in her head. We keep our mouths shut and we follow her lead. It is incredibly easy when you think about it that way."

    Liu Yu Zeng simply smiled before standing up. "I think I am going for a run."

    "Don''t go too far," warned the other man. "It might be easier to sprint for short distances than worry about improving long-distance cardio. Besides, we don''t know if there are more zombies around here. And knowing what their potential is¡­"

    "Very true," agreed Liu Yu Zeng as he took off as fast as he could before stopping a few hundred meters from where he started. The high-intensity anaerobic training would be just as beneficial as going for a long run but in a different way.

    Chen Zi Han watched the man he considered to be his only friend in this world, training for whatever Li Dai Lu was going to be facing in the future. He wondered what it would have been like if she had met the two of them first, and not Wang Chao and Liu Wei.

    Not that it really mattered. She was currently sleeping in his arms, so whoever she met first was inconsequential in the grand scheme of things. All that matter is the oue. She was his. Period. End of story.

    -----

    I woke up to the feeling of floating. Groaning, I opened my eyes to see Chen Zi Han look down at me. "Good nap?" he asked with a smile on his face. I grunted, the idea of speaking an actual sentence too much for me to handle right now.

    "Liu Wei and Wang Chao found a cabana for us to spend the night in. Consider it to be our first vacation together."

    I chuckled at that idea. "Traveling up and down the eastern seaboard doesn''t count?"

    "Anything zombie or end of the world doesn''t count," smirked Chen Zi Han just as Liu Yu Zeng came up beside us, panting. Sweat dripped down his forehead andnded on the sand.

    "Is something chasing us?" I asked, concerned. I mean, the only reason why I would be sweating like that is if something was chasing me. In fact, I might have a mug for that. I quickly vanished into my space, found the mug that I was looking for, and filled it with coffee before going back to the real world.

    "No, nothing is chasing us,"ughed Liu Yu Zeng as he saw me sipping from a mug of coffee. This one had a picture of a woman running and it said, ''I don''t run. If you see me running, you better start running too because something is probably chasing me.'' At the very bottom was the picture of a bear. I loved this mug.

    "I am thinking I am going to start training again," he continued with his easy-going smile until he looked at me and dropped it for a second. I understood right away what he was referring to.

    "I think that is a great idea," I said with an encouraging smile. I mean, sess was pretty much guaranteed if I had someone on my side in the camp before I arrived. I trusted Rip, but I couldn''t say for sure if he would be there when I needed him to be.

    "Chen Zi Han is going to help," he pushed, studying my reaction to that news. I took it to mean that he told Chen Zi Han what he knew and the other man was on board.

 Chapter 327 Not Quite 5-Stars

    ?

    I nodded as I took another sip of my coffee. Technically, if any of my men could be able to blend in, it would be those two. The Reavers would likely see them as being the same, rather than the two that screamed military. Plus, if Bai Long Qiang was runningte, then either of my boys could step in.

    "Train hard then," I said with a tight smile, wondering if I could really go through with all of this now that my men were getting involved. I mean, I had set a few balls rolling, but two years was also a long time for some of those balls to drop. Especially Rip. He was a bit too much of a wild card to make mefortable.

    "We will," promised Chen Zi Han just as he looked up. I could see Wang Chao and Liu Wei striding over towards us in the dim light, their very being screaming heroic military. And while I happened to love that, not everyone did. "Any suggestion for what we should concentrate on?"

    "Endurance and hand to hand," I said quickly, nking my mind so that Wang Chao would not be able to see. I know he has been backing off more and moretely, not trying to read me as much. Honestly, I know I should appreciate it, but I almost find it more of a concern, like he doesn''t care about me as much anymore.

    Hey, I never said that my brain was normal.

    Instead of replying, Chen Zi Han simply kissed me on my head, smiling down at me. Returning his smile, I then looked at the other two guys. "I hear you have booked us a vacation!" I called out with a smile.

    "Well, the service might be crap, but I think it is at least worth a three-star review," chuckled Liu Wei as he took me out of Chen Zi Han''s arms and brought me in close to his chest. I quickly put my cup of coffee back into my space and wrapped my arms around his neck, but not before blowing a kiss to Chen Zi Han.

    "I am hoping that we brought some supplies," Liu Wei continued, as he turned around and went back the way he came. "The hotel didn''t have any sheets or food. Actually, if I think about it, there aren''t any beds either. Maybe we''ll have to give it only two stars after all."

    "I got all that covered," I assured him with a smile. As we approached the hut that the boys had cleaned out for us, I studied it carefully. There was a roof made from palm leaves, a tform that was about two feet above the sand, and about 14 posts keeping the roof connected to the floor.

    With a flick of my wrist, I brought out the two king-sized mattresses, the bedsheets, a bunch of pre-made meals (thanks to Chen Zi Han), and I even found some mosquitoting that should be able to fit around the outside to keep the bugs out.

    "Am I missing anything?" I asked as Liu Wei climbed the two stairs to the tform.

    "One thing," he smirked before heunched me onto the mattresses. I let out a very dignified squeak as I bounced for a moment and then burst outughing. Liu Wei dove into the bed beside me, followed quickly by Liu Yu Zeng.

    "Shotgun!" he shouted as he wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me into his chest.

    "There is no such thing as shot-gun in the bed," grumbled Liu Wei as he yfully hit his brother. "And if there is, I am calling shotgun for her front."

    "You two are more than wee to her front and back," smirked Chen Zi Han as he looked at me with a smoldering gaze. "I am going under," he continued as he pulled me out of the brothers'' arms just long enough to hold me against his chest as he fell backward onto the bed between the two men.

    "Cheater," grumbled Liu Yu Zeng half-heartedly.

    "You just wish you had thought of it first," said Chen Zi Han, and I could feel his chest vibrate under me as he tried to contain his mirth.

    "And something that none of you might have thought of, was feeding her," joked Wang Chao as he came in and picked up one of the still steaming tes of food that I put against the wall near the door. There might have been a smile on his face, but I saw the lines of tension around his eyes.

    Getting off of Chen Zi Han, I walked up to Wang Chao. "What''s the matter?" I asked as I tried to rub the lines on his forehead away.

    "Just thinking," he admitted with a shrug as he handed me a te of steak, potatoes, and a sd on the side. I set it down on the floor before turning my attention back to the man in front of me.

    "About what?" I pushed. I didn''t like seeing him stressed. He was my ice-cold CEO and stressed was not a good look on him.

    "About what we are going to do next," he said with a shrug.

    "What do you mean? We are going to go down and get the device. Then I am going to put it into my space and make sure that humans can''t fuck up the world more than they already have. Well, that was n A," I said with a bright smile on my face.

    "Dare I ask what n B is?" asked Liu Yu Zeng as he rolled to his right side and rested his head on his right palm.

    "n B was to give them the device and then go into my space. We could live there just fine for the rest of our lives. Either way, it puts an end to the zombie problem," I exined, not really caring which n we went with. I just didn''t like the idea of not knowing who had their thumb on the button to end humanity.

    "How about we stick with n A?" suggested Wang Chao.

    "I don''t know, there are a lot of benefits to n B," said Chen Zi Han with a smirk.

 Chapter 328 De Nile

    ?

    "I just don''t know about giving one person that much power," I said as I took out a small table and chairs, just big enough to fit all of us around, and put them in the back of the cabana. Picking up my te of steak and potatoes, I went to take a seat.

    "What happens if someone from Huang Nian Zu''s team finds the device first?" asked Wang Chao, causing me to choke on the potato I was eating. "I honestly didn''t even consider them going down with us," I said with a shrug after I stopped coughing. Taking a sip from my water, I looked at the man sitting across from me.

    "We don''t know that for sure," replied Wang Chao as he cut into his steak.

    "De Nile is a river in Egypt and not a good ce to be right now," I looked at him thoughtfully. I knew that he probably didn''t know what I was talking about, but it still needed to be said, mostly for my own sanity.

    "I didn''t think denial was a river," said Chen Zi Han, confused.

    I sighed, realizing that I shouldn''t have said it if I didn''t want to exin it. "In my original world, there is a country called Egypt on a continent called Africa. The most famous river, and the world''s longest, is located in Egypt is called The Nile River. Now, in anothernguage, French, the word ''from'' is ''de.'' So¡­ De Nil technically means from the Nile. However, De Nile sounds like the word denial. So, the joke is that Denial is a river in Egypt."

    I paused and looked up at the men staring at me. "Then again, I guess it isn''t funny if I have to exin it," I grumbled. "Back to topic. I am pretty sure that the oh, so lovelymander would much prefer our deaths to any more deaths from his team. I am sure that he will have a crap ton of excuses to make sure of it. That being said, the horde from earlier is going into the water and, hopefully, limatizing as well as the other zombies. My goal is to use my horde to fight the aquatic zombies and hopefully give us enough time to be able to find the device and hide it."

    I paused for a second, rethinking what I just said. "There was a lot of ''hopefully''-ies in that sentence." I turned to look at Liu Wei and narrowed my eyes in concern. "Is this another ''fuck it'' n?"

    "No," he assured me as he bit into his sd. "It is a very well-thought-out n."

    "Then, fingers crossed, themander doesn''t fuck it up," I said, digging into my steak. Man, it had been a while since Ist ate one of these.

    "Speaking with themander, we should probably get out on the road tomorrow so we can reach the rendezvous point before they do. I want to be able to go through everything to make sure that there is nothing wrong with the equipment," said Wang Chao as he pushed his empty te away.

    "Well, we have the ski-doos and the other stuff we took from the shack," I reminded them. "Plus, all of our own scuba gear. Besides, if they do fuck with our equipment, it is more detrimental for them than us," I said, as I thought things through a bit more.

    They will never be able to get to wherever this device was buried without us, and they would still need at least one of us to be able to reach the surface to be able to hand it off.

    Wait¡­

    "How the hell did this remote even make it down to the bottom of the ocean in the first ce?" I asked, confused. I mean, I was so caught up with everything that it never even urred to me to question how the device got there in the first ce.

    The boys paused and looked at each other, simr looks of confusion on their faces too.

    "Right," I said, my head nodding in agreement. "It doesn''t make sense."

    There was silence as the five of us considered possible scenarios for what was going to happen.

    "Could a ship have gone down?" asked Chen Zi Han, pushing away his empty te. Since we were all done, I sent the tes back into my space to be washedter.

    "I don''t remember reading about any ships going downtely, especially in the East Sea," said Liu Wei with a shake of his head.

    "Could it have happened as a result of the EMP?" asked Liu Yu Zeng.

    "No. ording to themander, he was assigned this mission before the EMP."

    "Could they have known about the EMP?" I asked slowly. "I mean, it would have been one of the safest ces in the world, right?"

    "If that was the case, then why not just put it in an underground facility like where we found the bikes?" asked Wang Chao as he leaned back in his chair.

    "What if there wasn''t enough time?" I said, raking my brain. "Say they got only 10 minutes'' notice of iing, so whoever had it tossed it overboard knowing that the water would be deep enough to protect it."

    "That could be possible," mused Liu Wei as he adjusted his sses. "The location is 45 minutes from shore. If the iing was less than that, then maybe that was exactly the n."

    "Or they could have gotten more notice, but not within enough time to be able to make it to a facility," added Liu Yu Zeng.

    I paused as a new thought popped into my head.

    "What if we are thinking about this all wrong?" I asked. "We are assuming that someone threw the device overboard, but what if that wasn''t the case?"

    "What are you saying?" asked Wang Chao, a serious expression crossing his face.

    "I am saying maybe a ship or a submarine did sink with the device on it. However, the government wasn''t willing to admit to it, especially if there was a high loss of life."

    "Not possible," immediately refuted Wang Chao, holding up his hand before standing up and leaving the cabana.

 Chapter 329 Peace

    ?

    "Am I missing something?" I asked, confused. I thought we were just brainstorming potential ideas about how a remote that controlled the satellite weapons came to be underwater.

    "There are only three people in the world with enough power to be able to have a remote like that," said Liu Wei slowly, as he pulled me off of my chair and onto hisp.

    "The first is the Leader, obviously," he said, looking at me.

    "Not possible. If something happened to the Leader, it would have been known within minutes," I said with a shake of my head. The Leader was unfathomable. There was no way something like that would happen.

    "Not unless it was an assassination attempt by someone in government with enough power to be able to hide it," pointed out Liu Wei. Great, now we were back to a reborn Reaver trying to take over the world. I shook my head, no more willing to contemte it the second time around as I was my first.

    "Who are the other two?" I asked quickly. Maybe a bit too quickly, given the look on the men''s faces.

    "The second one is the Secretary," said Liu Wei. I shrugged my shoulders. At least I liked that idea a lot more than something happening to the Leader.

    "And?"

    "And Wang Chao''s grandfather, who he hasn''t spoken to since he moved out in October." There was silence after Liu Wei said that.

    "It means nothing," I said with a shrug. I mean, I really didn''t like the old goat, but I understood why Wang Chao would be upset. "We are just specting at this moment. It could even be that someone stole the remote, stowed away aboard the submarine. The sub has orders not to resurface until thest possible moment, which is why no one knows what is happening."

    I looked at the three men and then made sure that Wang Chao wasn''t around before I said the next part. "I know themander is friends with Wang Chao, but he also seems like enough of a dick to smile when breaking the news about his grandfather''s death just to see a reaction."

    "And that is probably the best reason to think that my grandfather is still alive," said Wang Chao as he leaned against the opening of the hut.

    Oops, I guess I didn''t look hard enough. "Sorry," I said, cringing a bit. I mean, it was a pretty bitchy thing to say about someone that he considers a friend.

    "Given the fact that he is literally throwing me to the sharks, I think I am going to have to rethink our friendship."

    "At least he isn''t throwing you to the wolves," I said with a hopeful smile. "I mean, that has to count for something?"

    "I would rather wolves," said Wang Chao, looking at me with amusement. Well, at least we managed to get him out of his upset mood. "If it were wolves, I would stand a better chance at getting out of it alive."

    "I''m trying here," I said with a sigh.

    "I know, and I appreciate it," he assured me as he came over and gave me a kiss on my forehead. "But I think it is bedtime for the Bonzo." I couldn''t hold back myughter when he said that. It was one of those things that a foster father told me every night. And to the day, in my head, I say that when I am ready for bed.

    Who said Wang Chao wasn''t reading my mind as much as he used to? Maybe he just stopped talking about it.

    "Shotgun!" shouted Liu Yu Zeng as he bolted over to the bed andid down in the middle. He patted his chest and looked at me. "Come on, Sweetness, let''s get some sleep."

    "I''ll keep first watch," said Chen Zi Han as he gave me a gentle kiss on my lips.

    "I''ll take second," said Liu Wei as heid down next to his brother.

    "Third," grunted Wang Chao before he, too,id down for the night.

    "I guess that means I am fourth," said Liu Yu Zeng with a shrug. "Perfect!"

    "Is there a fifth watch?" I asked, confused.

    "Nope, you are just going to have to reward whoever ising off watch by sleeping on them," replied Liu Yu Zeng as he pulled me down on top of him before pulling the covers up and over us.

    "That somehow doesn''t seem fair," I said with a smile. I mean, I am sure that I should have fought harder to get a watch shift and not leave it solely up to the guys, but as far as I was concerned, taking watch was for the birds. Give me a full night''s sleep any night.

    "It''s not," agreed Liu Wei with a smile as he also gave me a kiss on my lips. "You are going to have to keep moving every two hours onto a new chest."

    "Wait!" shouted Liu Yu Zeng in panic. "I thought that she would be sleeping on my chest all night long because I don''t have to wake up until the fourth watch! I protest!"

    "You don''t get to hog her all night long," interjected Wang Chao as he took his bedtime kiss, too. I could practically feel my eyes closing. Letting out a jaw-breaking yawn, I snuggled down onto Liu Yu Zeng''s chest and brought the nket up under my chin.

    I honestly didn''t care that the boys were dying under the heavy nket I needed to sleep. If they didn''t like it, they could try sleeping in a different bed. I mean, I didn''t rmend it, but they could try.

    ----

    Chen Zi Han waited until Li Dai Lu had fallen asleep before they went to the opening and sat down on the top step. He listened to the rustling of the nkets behind him as the rest of the men joined his woman in sleep.

    He then turned his attention back to the water feet from them. He used to think that listening to the sounds of waterpping the shoreline was one of the most soothing things possible. He had spent many nightsying on the docks in City H listening to that sound, letting it lull him to sleep.

    Now he didn''t think that he would ever find the water nearly as peaceful.

 Chapter 330 Wrong Side Of The Bed

    ?

    I woke up from a fantastic sleep, only to find myself alone in the bed.

    Have I ever mentioned how much I hate waking up alone now? I mean, I really, really hate it. In fact, thest time it happened, I shot the cause in the head. Yeah. Not impressed.

    I rolled out of bed (because how else are you supposed to get to the edge of a bed this big without rolling?) and threw on new clothes. My face, hair, and teeth would have to wait until I hunted down one of my men and found out who I had to kill.

    And before there are any sarcasticments from the voices in my head. Yes, I woke up and chose violence. Whether it would be outright murder or just a few stab wounds depended entirely on the men''s reasons.

    And Liu Yu Zeng had a free pass, seeing as he was on thest watch and therefore had a justifiable reason for being out of bed. The other three? Nope.

    I walked down the two steps of the cabana and curled my toes into the sand. Apparently, I forgot to put on my shoes too. Fucking great.

    I looked to my left. No one was there.

    I turned my head to the right, and it was a fucking party. Yee-fricking-haw.

    I started to walk toward where my four men were apanied by Commander Huang Nian Zu and the remaining nine members of his team. Funny. I didn''t see any civilians around them. I wonder what happened.

    "Looks like someone is finally up," said a female voice from within the crowd of themander''s man. She did that bitchy mood where she ''pretended'' to say it under her breath, only to realize that she said it out loud. "Oops, did I say that?" she smirked at me.

    I cocked my head to the side and looked at her. Her military rifle was slung across her chest, the muzzle pointed down, and her right arm rested on the butt. I walked slowly towards her, my eyes never leaving her face.

    I think I saw Wang Chao start toe towards me. Whether it was to stop me from what I was going to do next or to simply say ''good morning,'' I didn''t know, but Chen Zi Han stopped him. Smart man.

    I glided right up to her. Of course, the bitch has to be taller than me, but given how pissed I was, it really didn''t give her an advantage.

    "Were you always this stupid, or is it a new thing?" I asked as I stared at her.

    She looked around at herpanions nervously before calming down and looking at me. "Excuse me?" she demanded, like that sentence was enough to have me scurrying off in fear.

    I snorted withughter. "Dropped on your head as a baby? I understand now. Maybe keeping your mouth shut will have you living longer. I mean, you could only hope, right?"

    "Excuse me?" she screeched in outrage. I only bared my teeth in an answering grin. "You said that already. Try something new."

    "You were the one the decided that sleeping was more important than getting on with the mission, and the guys won''t move until you woke up," she said, her chin up in the air. Looking up at it, I wondered what it would look like slit.

    Apparently, I was a bit murderous before coffee. One of the guys should make a note of it. "Done!" shouted Wang Chao from where he was standing. I smiled an actual smile at that answer.

    "Did you ever wonder why my men chose to let me sleep until I am good and ready to wake up?" I asked, my eyebrow raised in question.

    "Because you are a bitch?" she sneered.

    "That is exactly why," I said with a smile. She was not the first person to call me a bitch and she wouldn''t be thest one either. Maybe I should start killing them, might make people learn faster. "In fact, thest person who made my men leave me alone in bed is currently in a shallow grave with a bullet to his brain. I really don''t appreciate that. They know not to do it, so it must have been one of you to make them."

    "You go too far," growled themander as he stormed over to the woman and gently shouldered her out of the way so he could protect her behind him.

    "Awe, look at the chivalrous knight. What? You need to protect her because you know she can''t protect herself?" I asked as I looked at the man in front of me. Every aspect of him was making me want to throw him into the water and watch my zombies feast on his flesh. "I mean, you didn''t see my men running over, now did you?"

    He scoffed at that statement and I watched as the woman behind him stiffened at my insult. The one thing that a woman in a man''s field couldn''t stand was someone implying that they couldn''t keep up with the big boys. Now, in most cases, theypletely kicked the men''s asses, but thest thing they wanted or needed was anyone that yed into the stereotype that they couldn''t.

    "They areing over here now," he said, raising his eyebrows in challenge.

    "Just to make sure that she doesn''t kill you too early," assured Wang Chao. "This is more for your protection than hers."

    "Excuse me?" themand growled.

    "Apparently, they have all been dropped on their heads as babies," I exined to Wang Chao seriously.

    "That exins a lot," he replied with a smile before heid his hand on the small of my back and leaned in to give me a kiss on the temple. "Sorry, we weren''t there when you woke up. They were being unreasonably loud trying to get our attention."

    "You do realize that your apology won''t change the course of anything, right?"

    "Nor is it meant to," he assured me with a smile as Chen Zi Han came up on the other side of me and gave me my morning kiss.

 Chapter 331 Weâ€™re All A Little Mad Here

    ?

    "Good, because I am warning you right now, I have chosen violence for the day," I said as I tilted my head so Chen Zi Han could kiss me on my temple, too.

    "And that is a very good choice, Sweetness," said Liu Yu Zeng as he came over. "Violence is always a great choice." He came to a stop behind me and simply wrapped his arm around my waist.

    The woman who had a few smartass remarks about my sleeping habits dropped her jaw as the three men surrounded me. I smirked at her just as Liu Wei cut off my line of light to give me a toe-curling kiss.

    "Ready to forgive us?" he purred, his eyes staring into mine.

    "That depends on who you four are willing to throw under the bus," I said with a smile as he stepped back and went to go stand beside Wang Chao.

    "Take your pick," said Liu Yu Zeng as he gave me a kiss on my neck.

    "At least I don''t have to spread my legs for protection," snapped the woman whose name I didn''t know and wasn''t interested in learning. Humm¡­ I think that Fucktrumpet would be a fantastic name for her until she up and died under mysterious circumstances.

    Wang Chao let out a bark ofughter, and I turned my head to look at him. "You approve?" I mean, my backup was Twatwaffle, but it was really close.

    "I think you chose the right one," Wang Chao assured me.

    "Yay!" I said,pletely ignoring the Fucktrumpet. I didn''t have to justify or exin my rtionship to anyone. Especially not someone that was so green with envy that she might have been the Grinch in another life. "Now, does someone want to tell me what is going on?"

    "It is not for a civilian to concern themselves with," said Commander Huang Nian Zu, his chest pushed forward.

    "Are you sure about that?" I asked, making sure that there was a look of surprise on my face. "You are sure that there is nothing for a civilian to concern themselves with?"

    "Yes," said themander with a nod.

    "Perfect. Boys, you heard him. There is nothing we civilians can do to help him. I guess we just made this trip for no reason! Better pack up and go home."

    The boys didn''t say anything; they just turned around and headed back to the cabana. "Wait!" shouted themander. The five of us turned to look at the man.

    "What?" I asked, confused.

    "They aren''t civilians," said themander, pointing to my guys.

    "Yes, they are," I said in an assuring manner. "Maybe we should have that tattooed on your forehead. ''Not Military,''" I suggested to Liu Wei and Wang Chao. "It might cut down on a lot of the misunderstandings."

    "I''ll look into a tattoo parlor that will do that," smirked Liu Wei, knowing as well as I did that there was no way to get a tattoo done right now. Maybe a permanent marker would work better.

    "They are not civilians, they were in the military," said Fucktrumpet. She really needed to learn when to keep her mouth shut. Every time she opened it, she kept saying something dumber and dumber. Dumber? Great! Now it''s contagious!!

    "Exactly," I said with a nod. "They were military. Then they retired, which by the very definition of retirement means that they are no longer in the military, and anyone that is not in the military is considered to be a civilian. Did you understand all that, or did you need me to draw you a diagram?"

    Before the woman could open her mouth, one of the men behind her pulled her back and whispered something into her ear. She looked at me, and a malevolent grin appeared on her face. I matched it with one of my own.

    "Wang Chao?"

    "He said for her not to get so upset over someone that is little more than shark chum," said Wang Chao, the easy-going grin on his face no longer seen.

    "Yet another dumb one. I thought that I wasn''t involved because I was a civilian. Come on kids, you can''t have it both ways. Am I chum or am I a civilian? Or does our military use civilians as chum? Because I am pretty sure that there are ethical, not to mention legal issues with that."

    "How¡ª" started the man before hismander spun around and gave him a look to shut him up.

    "Really good hearing," I said with a smile. If the idiots thought that I was actually going to tell them the truth, then they had another thinging. "Now, I chose violence. Which means that someone is either going to get stabbed or die. Do we have any volunteers?" I asked, staring directly at the Fucktrumpet in front of me.

    "No?" I asked, surprised. I mean, I wasn''t expecting a rush of volunteers, but at least one would have been nice. "How about you? Are you willing to bleed for your men?" I said slowly as I looked at themander. He was willing to sacrifice me and my men for his team, so how far did that loyalty go?

    "You are crazy, you know that right?" he said, looking at me. I thought about what he said seriously. "No, I am not crazy. The crazy voice hasn''t happened yet, so I can''t be crazy," I said inplete seriousness.

    ''I cane out to y if you want to¡­'' said an eery voice that sounded like the female version of a famous clown.

    "No, I don''t want to y with you right now. Go back forter," I said out loud, a smile on my face. I mean, why not fuck with their heads every so often?

    ''Are you sure, because it seems like you are nning on going swimming with zombies, and sharks, and whales ¡­ oh my! That seems really crazy to me, but what do I know?''

    You know what? I think I liked this voice. Well, I could do without the creepy clown part, but she seemed like a lot of fun.

    ''We''re all a little mad here.''

 Chapter 332 She Approved

    ?

    "Well, you know what they say, ''there is a fine line between genius and insanity,''" I said with a smile, talking to both the new voice in my head as well as themander standing in front of me. "Do you agree?"

    "You are fucking crazy," said Commander Huang Nian Zu, stunned.

    "And you are fucking dumb. We have already established that I am not crazy. Maybe a genius. But not crazy," I said with a smile as I turned around and walked over to Chen Zi Han. "Now would probably be a good time to get me into shark and zombie-infested waters. This voice is a lot stronger than the others," I whispered in his ear before I bit down on it hard.

    Chen Zi Han grabbed my bottom jaw and squeezed it tight enough that I was forced to let go of his flesh and brought me around to face him. "Are you happy with my blood as penance for not being there when you woke up?"

    "No," I growled, and I could feel something pushing to take over. I fought it as hard as I could, kicking and screaming silently as the man I loved stared at me in his eyes.

    "I don''t care what you say or who you are," growled Chen Zi Han in my ear, and I could feel the new voice, the new personality, perk up at his tone. "But she is mine, and I won''t share her with you. Disappear," he continued, so low that not even Liu Wei, who was standing beside us, was able to hear.

    ''Ooh, I approve of him,'' purred the voice, and I could picture her licking his blood off of her lips. Maybe I really was going insane. ''No, you aren''t mores the pity. He won''t let you. Call me when you need me. I was serious when I said that swimming with sharks and zombies sounded fun.'' With thosest words, I could feel the pressure inside of me loosen, and I knew that I was fully in control of my own body.

    "Thank you for that," I said, going up on my toes and giving him a kiss on the lips. "But I am still feeling a bit stabby. Is that okay?"

    "Fine by me, Princess," said Chen Zi Han as he wiped his blood off of my bottom lip. "But I can be your knife if you want. I will kill for you, please let me kill for you¡­"

    "You know she is certifiable, right?" yelled themander. I tilted my head back and forth as I tried to let out some of the tension. Chen Zi Han dropped my chin and walked over to themander.

    ----

    "She asked you a simple question,mander. How does that make her certifiable?" he asked as he stood toe to toe with the shorter man. "I suggest you answer her before I answer for you."

    "What was her question?" he stuttered, not remembering what she actually said.

    "She asked you if you were willing to bleed for your men," repeated Chen Zi Han as he looked down with a smile.

    "Of course, I am willing to bleed for my men," said themander, shaking his head. It wasn''t even a question. Those were his men, and he would protect them with everything that he had. Why else would he be willing to associate with the ''Prince''? The man never had to work hard for anything a day in his life. Look at him, a retired Admiral at the age of 28¡ª.

    His thoughts were cut off as he felt a sharp pain in his side, right between his ribs. Gasping, he brought his right hand up to his side and held his side. "What the¡ª"

    "Well, you said that you were willing to bleed for them. Might as well put your words to the test," answered Chen Zi Han as he flipped his bloody knife around in a circle a few times, flinging off the excess blood. He didn''t want to get his Princess'' hands too dirty after all.

    He returned to Li Dai Lu''s side and looked at her. "Satisfied?" he asked as he looked into her eyes, reassuring himself that the other one was no longer at the surface.

    "With you? Always," she said with a smile as she gave him a kiss. "Now we can get going. I''ll go grab my stuff."

    "I am not sure if she is happier with or without coffee," murmured Liu Wei as he watched his woman skipping away.

    "If you haven''t figured out that she is happy trying to figure out what cup she is going to use this morning then you are dropping the ball, brother," joked Liu Yu Zeng as he ced his elbow on his older brother''s shoulder.

    Liu Wei grunted. "Let''s just admit that it was the blood that made her the happiest and call it."

    "I''ll go with that," said Wang Chao as he came up to Chen Zi Han''s side.

    "You fuckers are all crazy!" shouted Huang Nian Zu from where he stood surrounded by his men.

    "You are the one that said you were willing to bleed for your men," smiled Wang Chao as the four men turned around to look at the Sea Dragon team. "What he did was a lot nicer than what she would have done."

    "Ooh, do tell," insisted Liu Yu Zeng as he leaned forward to look at the other man.

    "She was going to feed one of them to the zombies. She was worried that they might not have been able to get enough to eat yesterday," answered Wang Chao, his eyes never leaving the man in front of him. He had heard his thought about him.

    First, the Rear Admiral betrayed him, now themander. He would not let it happen a third time.

    "She can''t do that," scoffed one of the soldiers behind themander. His gun was also across his chest in the ''standard'' way of carrying it.

    "I can''t do what?" asked Li Dai Lu as she squeezed between Wang Chao and Chen Zi Han. Her men let out a bark ofughter when they saw her mug this time. It was a nice white cup with blood stter all over it and then written in ck was, ''Well, that escted quickly''.

 Chapter 333 Theyâ€™re Fucked

    ?

    "You can''t throw them to the zombies," answered Liu Wei as he adjusted his sses.

    "Why not?" she asked curiously as she took a sip of the coffee. Liu Wei was tempted to ask for his mug but thought better of it. That was something for him and his brother, not for outsiders.

    "No idea," replied Liu Wei with a shrug.

    "Isn''t that what they n to do with us? Have we finished hashing out that n?" she continued to ask, looking over at the bleedingmander. "You might want to get that looked after quickly. You don''t know when the locals will feel a bit peckish," she continued as she tilted her head toward the water.

    Everyone turned to look at the ocean, trying to figure out what she meant.

    All of a sudden, the tops of heads and eyes slowly surfaced like an alligatoring to the surface. There must have been more than 50 of them. Way more than there was in her horde yesterday.

    Liu Wei turned to look at her, and she just shrugged her shoulders before taking another sip. "They made some new friends," she said with a smile. "Apparently, there are more underwater. They just wanted to know if there was any fooding."

    The heads of the Sea Dragon team snapped toward her at herment. "Fucking psycho crazy bitch," growled one of the men as he palmed the automatic rifle in his arms.

    "I could be careful if I were you," said Li Dai Lu uncaringly. Before she could open her mouth, Liu Yu Zeng had already stepped forward to deal with the prick. "And the next time you go into a city, or really anywhere with a dictionary, if you live that long enough, of course, please look up the words psycho and crazy. While they don''t mean the same, most people believe they do. You can call me a fucking psycho bitch, or a fucking crazy bitch, but the way you said it was a bit redundant."

    "You are a fucking lunatic," said the man, looking at her. Liu Yu Zeng was more than willing to slit his throat and feed him to the zombies.

    "Actually, with coffee, she is on her best behavior," said Wang Chao as he held a slice of chocte cake for her. "In fact, she is downright happy right now."

    "But seriously," interrupted Liu Dai Lu as she handed her mug to Liu Wei before taking her cake from Wang Chao. "We are either going to have to feed them or leave. They are getting hungry."

    "Understood," said Wang Chao. "What is your choice,mander? Leave or feed the zombies?"

    Themander simply snorted and turned around, dripping blood into the sand with every step he took.

    The rtivelyrge group made it to the parking lot of the beach where four motorcycles were waiting for them.

    "Where the hell did theye from?" demanded one of the soldiers as he stepped closer to a bike.

    "I wouldn''t do that if I were you," said Liu Yu Zeng as he walked up to the bike that the soldier was about to touch. "Lin tends to get a bit cranky with people touching him."

    As soon as the soldier ced his hand on the bike, a bolt of electricity shocked him and he stumbled backward. He would have fallen on his ass if one of his troop mates hadn''t steadied him.

    "What the fuck?!?" he gasped as the current continued to course through him.

    "Oh no, you can''t me me for that," said Liu Yu Zeng, raising his hands and protesting his innocence. "I was pretty clear that he gets cranky when people touch him. You were the dumb fuck that still decided to go through with it."

    "You are acting like the bike has a mind of its own," scoffed Huang Nian Zu as he hobbled over to where the two men were standing.

    "Not only does he have a mind of his own, he also ys favorites, don''t you, Lin?" called Liu Yu Zeng.

    "Sir, they are all fucking crazy," said the woman that had taken issue with Li Dai Lu earlier.

    "And you are a fucking bitch," growled Lin as he revved his engine. "You don''t see us calling you out for it."

    "Kitten prefers to call her Fucktrumpet," called out Wang Chao as he went to sit on Ares.

    "So, I am a kitten now?" demanded Li Dai Lu as she stomped her foot on the ground.

    "Kitten or Trouble, which do you prefer?" asked Wang Chao.

    "I vote kitten. She is as cute and cuddly as a kitten butes equipped with ws that will rip you apart if you aren''t paying attention," said Liu Wei as he held out a hand to her. She simply rolled her eyes, not bothering to say anything either way.

    "What are you doing?!?" demanded themander, putting an end to the conversation.

    "I thought we were headed to the marina where you have a boat that will take us to the site," said Wang Chao as he rested his helmet on his thigh. "How else are we getting to the coordinates?"

    "And just what boat do you think is working right now?" shot back themander, not answering Wang Chao''s question. The other man narrowed his eyes at themander.

    "Just how were you thinking we were getting 45 minutes outside of the shoreline and to the ce where you im the device is?" asked Wang Chao, now more than a little upset.

    There was silence as the Sea Dragon team looked at each other. "The boat that we jerry-rigged sunk when the orcas attacked," said one man,ing forward to look at Wang Chao. "Unless we can do something simr to another boat, our only other option is swimming."

    "Have you actually been in those waters?" asked Chen Zi Han, looking at the man like he was crazy.

    "We swam in them when the boat capsized," said the other man, not willing to admit that they had not spent any long period of time in the water.

    "They''re fucked," said Li Dai Lu with a giant smile on her face. Liu Yu Zeng was more than inclined to agree.

 Chapter 334 I Donâ€™t Know

    ?

    "Now, Sweetheart," said Liu Wei as he helped me climb onto the back of Reaper. "You say that like it is a bad thing. That isn''t nice. Maybe they like the feeling."

    "Sorry," I said as I looked over at themander. "I take it back. You aren''t fucked."

    "Much better," said Liu Wei, continuing to joke, but we both knew that they were fucked. There was no way that we would be willing to go for that long of a swim. Even if we had our own zombie bodyguards to keep the other zombies away, there were still too many things that could go wrong.

    The device could either stay down at the bottom of the ocean for eternity, or I could send my new Beta after it. Either way, unless we took a boat there or something, we weren''t jumping in the water.

    "So, what''s the new n, because we are not spending a moment longer than necessary in the water," I said, looking between Wang Chao and themander.

    "Awe, are you scared?" asked the Fucktrumpet.

    "Terrified," I saidpletely seriously. I think anyone with half a brain would be terrified of going into those waters right now. She either has no idea what is in there, or she has half a brain. But then again, if she was volunteering to be chum, she was more than wee to jump in before us.

    "Seriously?" she scoffed and looked at the people around her. I wasn''t sure what she was attempting to do, but my coffee high was starting to diminish, and we might want a n in ce before that happened.

    "Yup," I said with a shrug of my shoulders. "But feel free to jump in there and prove what a big bad you are."

    "I have been in that water almost every day since I was 5. There is nothing scary in there."

    "Sure," I said with a nod, feeling a lot like a bubblehead. "Then, by all means, you are more than wee to goplete your mission by yourself."

    I rested my head on Liu Wei''s back and waited for the menfolk to talk.

    ----

    "If you don''t have a boat, then I am afraid that there is no way for us to go," said Wang Chao, looking at Huang Nian Zu.

    "You''ve swum longer in the past. Has retirement softened you up that much?" smirked the other man, and Wang Chao had officially had enough. This man was so quick to risk him and his family, but who the hell did he think he was?

    Wang Chao put on a burst of speed and was off Ares with a hand around themander''s throat before anyone could react. There was a quick cocking of guns as the Sea Dragons brought their arms up, and at the ready, their muzzles pointed right at his head.

    "Ah, ah," said Li Dai Lu, and with a flick of her wrist, all the guns had vanished into her space. "Wang Chao is simply teaching yourmander. As an Admiral in the service, he does have the right to do that, right?" she continued tilting her head.

    Liu Wei helped her off the bike, and the remaining four members of his family went to stand behind him, offering their support.

    The soldiers were silent, not sure what to do, but Wang Chao didn''t have that trouble. He dragged the more petite man down the beach and to where the ocean met thend. "Since you think it is no big deal, you spend 45 minutes in there," he snapped right before he chucked themander into the water.

    There was a giant ssh, and within seconds, themander was standing up to his thighs in the shallow water.

    "What are you trying to prove, Admiral?" sneered Huang Nian Zu, using Wang Chao''s old title as an almost derogatory term. But the other man was pulled into the water before Wang Chao could even open his mouth to answer him.

    The men and women in his troop took a step forward and scanned the still surface of the water. "Where the fuck is he?!" demanded the woman whom Li Dai Lu had coined with the name Fucktrumpet.

    "Since the water is so safe, why don''t you go in and find him?" offered Li Dai Lu. The woman stepped forward, ready to do just that when one of the men grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back.

    "Use your head," he growled as he pointed out to the water and the zombies that were surfacing.

    "What the fuck are those?!" gasped the woman, not able to take her eyes off of the light blue head that was staring back at her. All she could see was the crown of its head and its eyes, but it was very obvious that whatever it was, it wasn''t normal.

    "That''s not very nice of you," said Li Dai Lu, walking over to stand next to the other female. "That could have been one of yourrades."

    "Not possible," replied the other woman with a shake of her head.

    "If you say so." Li Dai Lu walked towards Wang Chao,ing to a stop right beside him. For a moment, the two of them just stared at the peaceful surface of the water.

    "Are they going to bring him back?" he asked finally.

    "I don''t know. Do you want him back?" she returned, turning her head to look at him. "You have the final say."

    "I don''t know," admitted Wang Chao. Li Dai Lu simply shrugged her shoulders like it wasn''t that big of a deal. And to her, it really wasn''t.

    "Then he can stay out there until you decide." Wang Chao grunted his understanding, and his woman turned around and went to lean against Chen Zi Han.

    It was nice to have that type of support, thought Wang Chao as another set of footsteps approached him. Turning his head, he looked at the woman who clearly had a death wish. "Please, save him," she started. She was about to touch him when Wang Chao held up a hand to stop her.

 Chapter 335 The Answer

    ?

    "If you value your life, you should stop," said Wang Chao as he turned his attention back to the water. To save the man or not, that was the question. It was too bad he didn''t know the answer.

    "What do you mean?" answered the woman innocently as she blinked herrge eyes at him.

    "He means that if youy so much as one w on him, you will be joining yourmander in the water. And no matter how much people beg on your behalf, I will still let the two of you die," I said as I once again walked over to Wang Chao.

    I mean, seriously, leave the guy alone for five minutes and there are already women wanting to touch what was mine.

    "Can you bring him back?" asked Wang Chao as he turned to look at me.

    "I can," I said confidently. As to how confident I was, I think there was a 10% chance I could get the zombie to return to themander. But it was a bit like taking candy from a baby, so I felt a little bad. Beta was so happy when I told him that he could have the human. "I don''t suppose anyone would be willing to take his ce?"

    When no one jumped up to volunteer, I nodded sadly. "Yeah, I thought that would be the case." Turning out to the ocean, I called the zombie back. I could feel his resistance on our link, so I pushed a bit harder. I wanted to be able to promise him that I would bring him more humanster, but I didn''t want to make him all hopeful just to not be able to follow through.

    It felt like a bitch move.

    There was sshing and screaming just off to my right and I turned my head to see what was going on. Beta, my eggnt purple zombie, was strolling out of the water like he was on a Sunday walk, and behind him, being pulled by his ankle, was Commander Huang Nian Zu.

    "Ah,mander, you are back," said Wang Chao as if he didn''t have anything to do with themander being thrown into the water. "Did you have a good swim?"

    "Fuck you," growled themander as he red at Wang Chao.

    "You might want to be a bit politer,mander," I said as I smiled at the man. "He is the only thing stopping you from going for another swim. Besides, weren''t you guys the ones to insist that there was nothing in the water to worry about? Why so worried now?"

    With a cranky roar, Beta threw the man onto the beach before he turned around and went back into the water. I got the distinct impression that he much preferred the water tond now. Well, good for him.

    "Now, where were we?" asked Wang Chao as he walked over a crouched beside themander. "Ah, yes. If there are no boats, then we aren''t helping you retrieve the device. And no, we will not be swimming the 45 minutes out to the site. No matter how many times I might have done it in the past."

    The soaking-wetmander looked up at him with a re before turning his attention to his team. "We are going to have to find a way to Jerry-rig another boat to be able to take us to the site," he growled low under his breath.

    I almost felt bad for the man. I was sure that eating crow was not as delicious as it sounded. Not that it sounded particrly delicious. I think I''ll leave that particr delicacy to him.

    "Yes,mander," said the man that originally mentioned the boat and how hard it would be to get a second one. However, I am pretty sure that humans have been using boats long before there was electricity, so it shouldn''t be that hard to find something.

    Hell, they could grab a normal hard bottom intable boat ¡­ what were those things called? RIBs? And paddle the thing out to the sites. There were also canoes and kayaks, all sorts of things that they could use.

    I was willing to put money on the fact that there were a lot of camping stores that sold boats and that sort of thing along the way. Not to mention, wouldn''t the military base have a bunch of them too? They should at least have the RIBs. As far as I could tell in my first life, those were pretty standard in any Navy.

    Yeah, I was no longer feeling too bad. They had plenty of options. The fact that they were just trying to make us swim that distance just solidified what giant assholes they really were.

    "Should we get going?" I asked as I watched themander stagger to his feet. Since I had been in his position only a day before, I could almost feel bad for what he was going through.

    "Yeah, Reaper is getting a bit antsy," smiled Liu Wei as he walked over to me and took my hand. "My Lady?"

    I chuckled at his show of chivalry before I turned and followed him back to the parking lot. Take two, I guess. Hopefully, no one will be shocked this time around. I mean, I wasn''tpletely counting it out. I was pretty sure that they weren''t ying with a full deck, if you know what I mean.

    For the second time in less than 10 minutes, I was climbing back onto Reaper. "Thanks," I said to the bike, petting him on the handlebars for a moment before Liu Wei sat down, and I was forced to move back.

    "Any time," replied Reaper, and I could only smile in response.

    "How are we going to get back to the base?" asked themander as all the boys got onto their bikes.

    "Might I suggest a nice run?" asked Wang Chao as he looked over at the man. "It''s only an hour and a half," he continued with a smile. "You''ve definitely done that distance before, right? It won''t be any problems at all. We''ll meet you there." With those final parting words, Wang Chao and the rest of us put on our helmets, and the bikes took off down the street and back onto the highway.

 Chapter 336 More Supplies

    ?

    We left the tiny town from Hell and got back onto the highway. Now that there was not as much congestion, Cerberus was able to drive with us. I felt a little guilty, but I decided to stay with Liu Wei and Reaper for just a little while longer.

    Riding on a motorcycle was definitely a new experience, and I didn''t want the fun to stop just yet.

    We had just driven over the first bridge of two on our way to City N when we came across a sign pointing to a shopping district right off of the highway. Without even having to say anything, Chen Zi Han, who was driving in the lead position, had already veered towards the off-ramp.

    "You guys know me so well," I said with a chuckle.

    "You wouldn''t be you if you didn''t want to grab whatever supplies you could," replied Liu Yu Zeng, who was the second one to get off. I wasn''t really going to worry about the Sea Dragon Team that was way behind us.

    Even if they made it to the rendezvous point before us, it was no skin off of our noses. However, not getting our hands on everyst supply I could? That was going to be a major problem. And I was one of those people that liked to share my problems with everyone.

    The first store I saw right off of the highway was a car dealership. I wasn''t going to waste my time looking through there. At most, they might have some coffee supplies. If I wanted toter, I might go in, but what I was zeroed in on was the camping store about five businesses down.

    "There," I said as I pointed out the building to Liu Wei.

    "Of course," said Liu Wei as he shot in front of everyone and drove straight to the store.

    It was very much one of those chain camping stores with the fake trees on the outside with the head of a deer prominently disyed over top of the name. As we drove up to the front, I noticed that the door had been broken open. Safety ss was syed out all over the front entrance and one of the doors had even been ripped off its upper hinge.

    I raised an eyebrow in approval. Most people ignored any stores that weren''t grocery stores. Clearly, whoever did this knew what they were doing.

    Liu Wei helped me off of Reaper as the rest of the guys pulled up around us. I took a few handguns out of my space and handed them to the guys. I didn''t know if whoever had done this was still around, but it was always better to err on the side of caution than assume that we were thest humans on Earth.

    I mean, that would be nice. But given that there were 10 more running behind us, I think it was pretty safe to say that there were more humans around.

    This time, we all went into the building together. Chen Zi Han took point while Liu Wei and Wang Chao were on both of my sides. Liu Yu Zeng brought up the rear, his back to us and his gun pointing outward on the off chance that someone came up behind us.

    The crunching of the ss must have warned the people inside that we wereing because as soon as we crossed the threshold, we heard a bunch of guns cocking.

    Huh, this store must have had a good supply of hunting rifles. I wonder if they still had a few boxes of bullets lying around. A girl could dream.

    "Stop right there," said a deep, gruff voice. I looked up to see about five men standing shoulder-to-shoulder in front of us. They were wearing the green hunting camouge, but the bright orange safety badges had been ripped off, leaving just the ripped threads to show where they would have been.

    "You let us get what we want, and we leave. Otherwise, you die and we still get what we want," I said from behind Chen Zi Han''s back. "I suggest you pick quickly. It shouldn''t be that hard. Only one of your options has you still breathing at the end of it."

    There was a drawn-out moment of silence while the other side seemed to debate their options. I didn''t know what there was to debate. I was pretty clear.

    "Step forward so we can see you," said the man that must be the de facto leader of the group. Or if not the leader, then definitely the mouth piece.

    "Sorry, my men aren''tfortable with that until you lower your guns," I returned with a smile, not even bothering to check with the guys. I am pretty sure that they were under the impression that the only good threat was a dead threat.

    There was another moment of silence, and I took out a cup of coffee. I was still drinking out of my ''That escted quickly'' mug because it was still the same day. Man, these days seemed to go on forever sometimes.

    "I like your mug," said a quieter voice, and I looked around Chen Zi Han''s side to see another woman doing the same.

    "Thanks! I seem to have gotten a lot bigger collection than I originally thought I had, but they get my point across," I said with a shrug.

    "Huh," she replied, stepping around therge male that was doing all the talking and taking a few steps forward.

    I patted Chen Zi Han on the back, letting him know I was good, and stepped forward to meet the other woman halfway.

    "They all yours?" she asked, tilting her head towards my guys.

    "Yup, they are all yours?" I asked with a smile on my face. It was always nice meeting a like-minded woman.

    "Yup."

    "Nice!" I said with a head nod. "I am hoping to be able to grab some clothes, a few of the canoes and kayaks, and any other type of boat that might be here. Ooh, also so bows, arrows, and knives."

    "We split the weapons and clothes," she said.

 Chapter 337 Kindred Spirit

    ?

    "Done. Have you taken all the freeze-dried meals?" I asked out of curiosity.

    "The ones on the shelves, yes. And the spices, camping stoves, burners, and fuel," she added.

    "Have you checked out the stock room yet?" I continued. We really didn''t need the MREs, but anyone not looking for food right now would be suspicious.

    "Not yet, we heard you approaching before we could get back there."

    "How much of this stuff then is free game?" I asked, a smile on my face.

    "Depends on what you want?" she answered looking at me.

    "Bed sheets?" I said, pointing to the wall of matching bed sheets in various sizes.

    "Yours," she replied with a shrug.

    "Thanks." With a flick of my wrist, I brought all the sheets into my space. I watched her face and was impressed when she didn''t so much as flinch. "Power user?" I asked.

    "Nope, just read way too many online novels," she chuckled.

    "Really nothing like what is going on, right?!?" Iughed.

    "Tell me about it," she groused.

    "Do you have enough sleeping bags?" I asked.

    "Can you even have enough?" she retorted.

    "Never," I answered with a shake of my head.

    "Exactly."

    "Maybe we can vacuum seal a bunch of things into bags for you. Might help save on space," I suggested, pointing to all the medium andrge Ziploc bags.

    "No electricity to do that," she pointed out. Another flick of my wrist and one of our backup generators appeared on the floor in front of us. "Space user," she said with a sigh, "I wish I was one."

    "It took me three tries to get the power," I said with a half smile. "Chances are, you are a power user of some kind or other."

    "I''ve tried," she said, sticking out her tongue. "No such luck."

    "It tends toe out in moments of high stress," I consoled with a shrug. "Just wait."

    "Is that how your space power came about?"

    "Nah, I had to die a few times for that one to happen," I said in a joking manner.

    "Maybe that''s my problem. I''ve only died once," she bartered back, a smile of her own.

    "Ah, see I am on my third time. You still have a few deaths to catch up with me." We both chucked as we went through all the aisles dividing things up between the two groups.

    I found a bunch of canoes and kayaks, even a few paddle boards that I put into my space. I didn''t think the paddle boards were something that I was overlyfortable using in the middle of the ocean, but nothing here really screamed ''Safe for shark-infested waters.''

    We condensed all the other woman''s supplies, and once the front waspletely emptied, the 11 of us made our way into the back storage area.

    We spent several hours going through each and every box back there. Anything that the other group didn''t want to take, we did, and vice versa. But let''s face it, there was not much that I wasn''t willing to take.

    The sky had turned to dusk by the time we were done going through everything, and I was more than satisfied with our haul.

    "Are you going to camp here for the night or take off?" I asked as I went to stand next to the woman, who was looking out the window at the darkening sky.

    "Might be smartest to stay here for the night," she said with a sigh before turning and looking at her piles of supplies. Even vacuum sealing everything, there was still a lot of stuff. "There is no way that it won''t take more than a few trips to get this back to our ce."

    "Need a car?" I asked out of the blue, surprising myself. The look she gave me made me realize that I was not the only one surprised by the offer.

    "Yes," she said, raising her eyebrow at me. "Do you happen to have a spare?"

    "I do. I''ll even let you pick your color," I answered with a grin. I didn''t mean to offer one of my SUVs, but now that I did, I wouldn''t take it back.

    "Do you have one in ck?" she asked, as if not expecting me to answer.

    "I do," I said, and with a flick of my wrist, I brought out the ck SUV and set it beside Cerberus. "It might be a tight fit," I said with a cringe. I was willing to give her one vehicle, but it would cut out a piece of my heart to give her two.

    "We can make it work," she said as she looked at one of her men and then tilted her chin to the SUV. "We got a present," she answered the unasked question. "And here is us not having anything in return. Wait!"

    She ran off briefly before returning with a small box. "I thought this was cute, but with your collection, I think you would appreciate this more."

    I took the box, confused. I wasn''t expecting anything in return. Opening the box, I pulled out a coffee mug. "Touch my coffee and I will p you so hard even Google won''t be able to find you," I read out loud and showed the mug to Liu Wei, who had just arrived at my side.

    There was clearly an unimpressed cat on the mug holding its own cup of coffee and looking half asleep.

    I thought it was fricking hrious. "Thanks," I said with a smile. "This should help," I added and brought out a few jerry cans filled with gas. "It''s pointless to give you a car without gas."

    "Thanks," she said and looked at me seriously. "You really are a lifesaver."

    "No," I said with a shake of my head. "I am not. But you deserve the best. Remember that."

    The two of us hugged before breaking back off into our two groups. The guys and I stayed in the store and watched the woman and her men drive off into the darkness, all the supplies stuffed to the ceiling.

    "Didn''t see thating," said Liu Yu Zeng as he looked at me. "You feeling okay, Sweetness?"

    "Yeah," I said softly, "Something in me wanted to do that, so I did. Besides, with the bikes and Cerberus, it''s not like we need the SUVs."

    "And we still have all the RVs and ATVs," added Chen Zi Han. He came over and gave me a kiss on my forehead. "You did good."

    "Yeah," I said, looking out into the distance where the SUV had disappeared. "I think I did."

 Chapter 338 Let Them Come

    ?

    Chang Xin Ya looked over at his wife sitting on thep of his brother as they drove into the night. There really wasn''t enough room in the SUV for the six of them, but at the same time, they were more than grateful for it.

    "We lucked out," he said softly, turning his attention back to the road in front of him.

    "That we did," replied Xing Xin Ya as she looked out the window. It had felt like the biggest weight had been taken off of her shoulder. They barely escaped theirpound by the skin of their teeth. In fact, Meng Yu Sheng still flinched in pain if he moved too fast.

    They had gone to that store to make ast stand and instead were given a new lease on life. It was something that none of them would ever be able to repay. Li Dai Lu was like a gift from God, not only helping them with the supplies but also with a vehicle to get away from the enforcers.

    "Did you warn her?" asked a quiet man from the back seat. Zou De Ming normally was a man of few words, but in thest month or so he had gotten even quieter. Xing Xin Ya was getting more and more worried about him, but hopefully getting out of that situation would help.

    "I did," she assured him.

    "What did she say?" he asked, his head tilted to the side causing his long hair to block his eyes from her view.

    "She said ''Let theme''."

    -----

    "You really want to say here for the night?" asked Chen Zi Han confused. This was the first time that they had ever slept in a building that was once a store. Plus, with the front doors broken as they were, it wasn''t the most secure ce either.

    "Maybe not for the night," I admitted with a smile. I was not one of those people that could put up with less-than-desirable sleeping conditions. I had put up with a lot of that in my second life and I was not willing to relive that part for a single second. "Just long enough for them toe."

    "Them?" asked Liu Yu Zeng sitting up from where he wasying on a sleeping bag perched precariously on a ledge.

    This particr store had a forest scene with a cross-section of a mountain and trees along with whatever animals could be found there. And Liu Yu Zeng being Liu Yu Zeng, that was where he wanted to sleep. Right between a Eurasian wolf and a snow leopard.

    "Are we expecting people?" he asked as he leaned over the edge and looked down at where I was sitting beside the very fake campfire.

    "Possibly," I said with a frown before amending it. "Probably."

    "Not going to give us any additional information?" chuckled Liu Wei from where he was sitting across from me.

    "I could, but I don''t know if it makes sense, so I don''t know if I should."

    "Try us," said Chen Zi Han, as he put his arm around me. The two of us were sitting on a ''fallen log'' and it was definitely not the mostfortable.

    "Apparently there is apound here that is run by the head of some syndicate or other. They are taking people in, but not letting them leave."

    "What do you mean by that?" asked Liu Yu Zeng, no longer joking around.

    "All the info I got was from the woman that was here, Xing Xin Ya. Keep that in mind," I said, looking around at my men. I knew that they probably wouldn''t like what wasing next.

    "She and her men had a farmhouse andnd around here where they managed to settle down right before the EMP. After the world went to pot, someone came by and imed the house and thend as theirs and turned it into apound," I said, trying to remember what else she had said, but that was the gist of it.

    "Okay," said Liu Wei nodding his head. "And then what?"

    "Well, the guy who started thepound imed that he was the head of the Red Dragon Syndicate, but he wanted to turn over a new leaf and help people. Anyone that was disced from the surrounding areas and needed a safe ce to go was weed there, but they were never allowed to leave it."

    "Did the woman say why?" asked Wang Chaoing over to sit with us around the fire.

    "No, she was extremely vague about that part."

    "Any ideas what it could be?" asked Chen Zi Han as he looked at me concerned.

    "A few," I admitted with a nod. There was only onepound around this area that I had heard of in my previous life with a simr story. But if that was the case, then I didn''t know what I should do about it. Not to mention we still had this device mission hanging over our heads too.

    However, there was one thing that was really confusing me. "But how could the leader of thispound be the head of the Red Dragon Crime Syndicate? Isn''t that yours?" I asked, tilting my head back and looking at the man over top of me.

    "It is," Liu Yu Zeng assured me, the smile on his face causing my skin to break out into goosebumps. Maybe we would be dealing with thispound after all. Liu Yu Zeng did not seem happy at all.

    "Well, some enforcers might find their way hereter, maybe you can sit down and have a nice, pleasant talk?" I mean, I knew that probably wasn''t going to happen, but a girl could dream.

    I just wanted to kill them quickly for trying to hunt down a kindred soul. Not torture them for information because their boss decided to im the wrong syndicate as his.

    "Let theme," said Chen Zi Han inadvertently repeating my words to Xing Xin Ya. "I think this ce had a back room that doubled as a butcher''s shop. It will work well for our needs."

    "And here was me wondering why there was a random drain in one of the floors," I said with a sigh. Leave it to my men to notice the small things like that.

    "On that note," I continued and looked at my four men. "Dinner, anyone? I even found dessert!"

    Just as I was about to bring the stuff out of my space, Thest remaining ss panel on the front door shattered as the echoes of a gunshot rang around the store.

    "Never mind," I said with a sigh as my men stood up and took out their own guns. Once again, I took out my blood-stter mug, because this was a really long ass day.

 Chapter 339 The Odds Were Not In My Favor

    ?

    "We know you are here," yelled a voice from the front of the camping supply store. Xing Xin Ya and I had pretty much cleared out everything of use, so it wasn''t like there was a lot blocking our view of the 10 guys pouring in through the front door.

    And when I said pretty much cleared everything out, I think I should rify that we only left behind the racks that the clothes were hanging on and a few of the shelves. Even then I had been debating whether or not they would be useful in my space.

    You never knew when you needed shelves for jars of preserved food. Now if only there were mason jars in this world, I could die a happy woman¡­ if I could die that was.

    Speaking about death, I was determined to just sit back and let the men handle everything.

    Taking a sip of my coffee, I watched from over the rim of my mug as my guys stood shoulder to shoulder in front of me. Honestly, I appreciated the gesture, but I think that they were more than a little idiotic if they were willing to form a firing line in front of a bunch of cannibals with guns.

    Or did I forget to mention that part to the guys?

    Weird fact? Those that consume human flesh can actually be infected with a disease called Kuru. Kuru was first discovered in the Fore people of New Guinea and belongs to a ss of infectious diseases called transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs). Because it was spread by consuming the flesh and brains of an infected individual, the government started to discourage the practice of cannibalism. There was no known treatment for the disease and it had an extremely long incubation period of months to years to show up.

    Another fun fact? There are four other TSEs including mad cow disease in bovines, scrapie in sheep and goats, chronic wasting disease in deer and elk, and my personal favorite; Crutzfeldt-Jakob disease and fatal familial insomnia in humans.

    See,ck of sleep can kill you.

    And now you know.

    But ¡­ if the men in front of us practiced cannibalism in the form of eating human brains, then wouldn''t that make them more of a zombie than the actual zombies? And technically, if the traditional zombie was originally a human, and ate another human, then wouldn''t they be considered cannibals and not zombies?

    If Kuru wasn''t 100% fatal, I would think that they were the original zombies.

    I shuddered as my mind went down a whole other rabbit hole just thinking about it, and truth be told, I managed to give myself a massive headache as a result.

    Letting out a yawn that actually caused my jaw the crack, I took a sip of coffee, hoping that it would keep me awake.

    The odds were not in my favor.

    -----

    Liu Yu Zeng and Chen Zi Han looked at each other in confusion before turning their attention back to the ten men in front of them. They had not recognized a single one of them, and even in an organization asrge as theirs, that was next to impossible. They had made it a point to know absolutely everyone, in every level, from the bottom of the totem to the police that were working with them. If they were part of the Red Dragon Syndicate, then Liu Yu Zeng had a picture and bio stored away on hisputer. Hell, he could even recognize most of his men''s significant others.

    Not to mention, he would have killed any man under him that looked like that himself.

    Each one of the men was dressed in a brightly colored Hawaiian shirt that was left open just enough that their chests werepletely exposed and their gold chains were on disy. They also wore thick gold chains around their wrists and tight-fitting pants. They fit into everyst Country K criminal stereotype that they could, and frankly, Liu Yu Zeng and Chen Zi Han were a bit insulted by it.

    Never once had they worn anything that looked like that, nor had they done business with anyone that looked like that.

    Clearly, they were using the EMP and apocalypse as a way of living out some fantasies. Unfortunately for them, Liu Yu Zeng and Chen Zi Han were going to be waking them up very quickly.

    "There you are," said a high-pitched voiceing from the man that stood in front of the others. The bald spot on his head was clearly getting worse, and no amount ofbing his hair over would help with that. "You need toe back with us. Dead or alive, but you areing back."

    "Who are you?" asked Liu Yu Zeng, his smirk turning into a snarl the more the other man talked. "I have never seen you before."

    "Ha, ha," sneered the first man. "Do you really think you can fool me with such a childish trick? I''ll have you know, I am Chen Zi Han, the main enforcer of the Red Dragon Syndicate. I am not that easy to fool."

    The men looked at each other in confusion before Chen Zi Han opened his mouth, "You expect me to believe that you are Chen Zi Han?" he asked incredulously. Not once in all his years did he think that he would run into someone that was iming to be him.

    The whole matter waspletely asinine.

    "Who is your leader?" snarled Liu Yu Zeng. It was not like he overly cared about the fact that someone else was using his syndicate''s name. As far as he was concerned, he no longer had anything to do with it, so let the name rot under new leadership.

    But if they were taking more than the syndicate''s name, if they were taking THEIR name, well, that was apletely different story.

    And it was one that would need to be addressed fast.

    "You don''t deserve to know his name," snorted the first man, his gun hanging harmlessly down by his side. "Now, alive or dead? Which do you choose?"

    Liu Yu Zeng turned around to look at Li Dai Lu behind him. He would love to say that they were going, just to be able to kill whoever was iming to be him, but the decision rested firmly on her shoulders.

    He could even give up his name if that was what she wanted.

    Li Dai Lu stood up from the fake log and drained her coffee mug. cing everything that she wanted into her space, she walked between Liu Yu Zeng and Chen Zi Han and looked at the men in front of them.

    "Alive," she said. "I want to see who is iming to be my man."

 Chapter 340 A Walk In The Dark

    ?

    I didn''t know if he didn''t hear me or just chose to ignore me, but the thug in front of me didn''t even bother to look at me or address me.

    "Dead or alive?" he asked, staring straight at Liu Yu Zeng as if I didn''t exist.

    "I would be very careful if I were you," said Chen Zi Han as he stepped toward the man iming to be him. "It would not take much to send you to Hell for your disrespect."

    The men beside the fake raised their guns at the threat, but the fake simplyughed it off. "If he has lost his balls, that is fine. No point in having him lose his life for some broad." He turned his attention back to my men, thinking he was getting away with shit simply because he was facing me but staring over my head.

    "If you are ready?" he asked sarcastically, not really caring one way or another.

    "Sure," said Liu Yu Zeng as he ced his hand on the small of my back and escorted me to the damaged front doors. Seeing the jagged edges of the ss, he scooped me up in his arms and carried me across it, not putting me down until he determined that it was safe.

    I smiled at him and rose to my toes to give him a kiss. "Thank you," I said, looking him in the eyes.

    "Anything for you," he reassured me.

    "How sweet. Her pussy must be some good for two guys to be willing to give up their balls for it."

    Something deep inside me wanted to leap across the distance that separated us, hold him down, and pull out his tongue. I wasn''t sure what it was. Whether it was a result of waking up and choosing violence, being unable tomit the aforementioned violence, or simply ack of food and coffee, I had to work to keep myself still.

    ''Submit or die,'' came a voice inside my head, and I was getting a little tired of sorting them all out.

    ''Didn''t you disappear when I forced the zombie to submit?'' I asked, not understanding what was going on.

    ''That was dominance,'' came the voice with a definite sneer to her tone. Apparently, my personalities didn''t like each other.

    ''And you would be violence?'' I asked sarcastically as my four men surrounded me, and we began walking forward into the darkness. Cerberus and the bikes had vanished, but that was a good thing. We needed to know where thepound was, and these guys were our best way of finding it.

    Because, let''s face it, if we didn''t need them, none of us would have kept them alive this long.

    ''I would be the one that helped you make the right decisions,'' snapped the voice.

    ''Then what should I consider you? The psychopath? The killer?'' I asked just as I almost tripped over a stone or something. It was so dark that I could barely see my hand in front of my face. I just hoped there weren''t any zombies around because I didn''t think I would be able to see them either.

    There was a moment of silence as Liu Yu Zeng steadied me. "You okay? Did you want me to carry you?" he asked as he ran his hand up and down my back in a soothing manner. I didn''t know if he meant to soothe himself or me, but it was still a nice gesture.

    "I am fine," I assured him. "I''ll let you know as soon as that changes."

    "Make sure you do. I am sure that Chen Zi Han wouldn''t hesitate to slit my throat if I let you fall or get hurt," joked Liu Yu Zeng. I lightly pped him across the chest as I rolled my eyes. There was no way that Chen Zi Han would kill him for something like that.

    "He''s not wrong," said Chen Zi Han as he came over to my other side. "I would."

    ''Just call me violence,'' came the voice in my head from out of the blue.

    ''I am pretty sure that that is what I called you,'' I said, not concerned that I was no longer actively participating in the conversation with Liu Yu Zeng and Chen Zi Han. The Saints were getting used to me just drifting off and not paying attentiontely.

    "Is the voice back?" growled Chen Zi Han into my ear. I grabbed his hand as I once again stumbled over something on the road. I was just praying that it wasn''t a body part or something. I really didn''t want to get that crap on my shoes. The smell was a bitch to get out.

    "Not crazy," I said with a smile as I looked over at him. I couldn''t make out the expression on his face, but I took pleasure in his mere presence. "This one is violence."

    "That one might be useful soon," said Liu Yu Zeng overhearing the conversation.

    "Not sure," I admitted with a shrug. "This one seems to have the ability to move my body," I continued as I looked down at the ground before me.

    "We won''t let it do anything you don''t want it to do," reassured Chen Zi Han. But I think that was the biggest part of the problem. Every thought in my head was something that I wanted to do, just not sure if I should.

    ''I was the one you let out the most,'' said Violence, and I could almost feel my shoulders shrugging with her words. ''It made things easier on you when you had to deal with certain aspects of your role.''

    ''Like what?'' I asked her, not noticing that the two guys had each taken a hand and were guiding me through the obstacles on the road.

    ''Nice try, you aren''t there yet,'' chuckled the voice, and I was surprised that it was able to do that. I found that most of my personalities were pretty one-dimensional. Crazy was crazy. She wasn''t icy or violent. She was just¡­ crazy. I thought this voice would be the same.

    ''Like I said, I was the one you turned to most. For a long time, it was just you and me. The others didn''te along until recently.''

    ''Any clue what caused it?'' I asked, at this point any information would be helpful.

 Chapter 341 Violence Is Always The Answer

    ?

    ''War is a bitch, and Death always follows War,'' Violence said, and once again, I had to stop my physical body from shrugging.

    I had hoped that Violence would give me some answers, not more bullshit philosophies, but I guess I was shit out of luck with that.

    "Yes, yes, war is a bitch. But why on Earth would you think death didn''t follow war? I mean, I have yet to hear of a war that didn''t lead to casualties."

    There was a brief pause before Violence opened her mouth again. Just as slow as ever. Fine, we will take baby steps right now. Hopefully, we can pick up the pace soon before the world ends.''

    "Hey, I am not the one being difficult here," I growled, not realizing that I had been speaking out loud. "And I am pretty sure that the world has already ended, so you can can that attitude, youngdy."

    "What''s going on?" asked Chen Zi Han, a note of confusion in his voice.

    "I thought that Violence would give me some answers, but it turns out that was just wishful thinking on my part," I grumbled.

    "Isn''t violence always the answer?" joked Liu Yu Zeng, and I could only groan in response.

    "Apparently not," I said with a pout.

    "What did she say?" asked Chen Zi Han seriously. I could always count on that man to be the steady one. He didn''t think it was strange that I was talking to voices in my head or that I even had voices in my head. In fact, he even helped me deal with them.

    ''Isn''t he so dreamy?'' came another new voice, and I had to close my eyes to stop from screaming. Why were all these personalitiesing out now?!?

    ''Oh, no,'' growled Violence. ''We are not dealing with you right now! Go back, and I will let you outter. And you,'' she continued to growl, and I had the feeling that the ''you'' she was referring to was me. ''Keep a lockdown on the sweet and sappy crap. We don''t need it right now!''

    "Sorry?" I said out loud. I think that this has been the most confused I have been since my transmigration to a new world in my second life.

    "I asked what she said," said Chen Zi Han repeating his sentence. I could feel the breeze from his breath, stirring the baby hairs around my ears.

    "Yeah, I heard you," I said with a shake of my head. "Give me a sec."

    "Take all the time you need," he said in a soothing voice. Like I said, perfect.

    ''He is perfect. We should n a nice pic on the beach, just the two of us. I think we have some wine. You can make some chocte-covered strawberries¡ª''

    ''Shut up!'' screamed Violence, causing me to jump. ''We are going to go on a murder spree, not a date. Your time wille, but it is not now. Stop butting in.''

    ''But how is she ever going to improve her rtionship with them if I don''t help out? I have a lot of suggestions!''

    ''I bet you do, but I repeat, this is not the time. Besides, they have already started fucking. Their rtionship is fine.''

    ''She has not made love to Liu Yu Zeng,'' pointed out the new voice, and it was so sickeningly sweet that I almost wanted to puke. Too bad I got interrupted before I could eat. I could really use some dinner right now.

    ''And? Have you been paying attention? They are going to apound with cannibals, now is not the time to be worried about her sex life!''

    The new voice let out a gasp that any Southern Belle would have approved of, and I could almost picture the voice clutching her pearls in dismay.

    ''You take that back, Violence! There is always time to worry about her sex life!''

    ''Did I mention cannibals, Romance?'' said Violence, and I could feel my neck twitch with her anger.

    "And? They are just cannibals. It''s not like she is nning on making love with them. Well, I guess it would depend on how they looked, but none of the cannibals around here are up to standards, so that they won''t count. Besides, isn''t cannibalism a fatal thing? It''s not like she would be with them for a long time.''

    "I think I am going crazy," I said inplete seriousness as I turned to look at Chen Zi Han. I could only see his outline, but that was enough.

    "You aren''t going crazy, Princess," he reassured me. But he also couldn''t hear the voices in my head. I could feel a tear start to roll down my cheek at the idea that I was losing my mind.

    ''No! Not going to happen! Sadness, you go away. We already have Romance out here ying havoc with her feelings. We don''t need you here to add to the chaos,'' yelled Violence, and I could practically see her standing in what looked like an icy throne room from some fantasy world.

    The ice throne that I created was in there, with four horses guarding each corner of it. In my mind, Violence was dressed in a long, blood-red trumpet gown that hugged every curve before flowing to the floor. In front of her were two women that looked like me. One was dressed in a gold ballgown that looked like something from Beauty and the Beast, while the second one was dressed in a simple blue dress,pletely underdressedpared to the other two.

    ''Great! Now she can see us! Just fucking fantastic! She is not going to get the chance to deal with you two because I might just end up killing you myself!''

    Violence turned to look at me and stuck her finger in my face. ''No romance, no crying. You will put on your big girl panties and kill some cannibals. After that, you will get the device that will end the world and keep it for yourself. Once all that is done, you can meet Romance and Sadness properly. But now is not the time. Do you understand me?!?''

 Chapter 342 Four Of You

    ?

    "What if I don''t want to get the device?" I asked out loud,pletely forgetting that I was talking to the voices in my head and not the guys that were listening to my one-sided conversation.

    ''Did I ask if you wanted to? No, I did not. You will get that device because if anyone is going to bring about the end of the world, it is going to be me. Do you understand?'' asked Violence as she stared at me inside the beautiful throne room. ''Now, get the fuck out of here and go deal with your shit.''

    I don''t know how much I liked one of my personalities telling me off like that, but at the same time, she did make a good point.

    ''I always make a good point! Now, watch where you are walking. We don''t need more bloodshed than what is toe. Especially not your bloodshed. Pay attention!''

    ----

    Chen Zi Han looked at the woman between him and Liu Yu Zeng with a worried look. Although he couldn''t see her well in the darkness, she seemed to be so lost inside her head that he was genuinely concerned about her. "Wang Chao," he growled, not caring if anyone else was listening to them. "What is going on in her head?" This was yet another example of why he was so jealous of Wang Chao and his ability to read minds. If he was a spirit user, he would already know what was happening and wouldn''t need to rely on the other man.

    Wang Chao stopped walking, forcing the others to stop as well. He looked at Li Dai Lu before him, trying to slip into her thoughts. Usually, it was as easy as breathing, but this time, there was something actively keeping him out.

    ''Not now, Asshole,'' came a woman''s voice in his mind. He thought it sounded like Li Dai Lu, but it was definitely not her tone. It seemed more bloodthirsty. ''You guys have fucked everything up, and now you need to let her deal with the fallout.''

    ''Is this about answering the human''s calls? Is that why she is like that?'' asked Wang Chao concerned. If her catatonic state was because of something they did, he would never be able to forgive himself.

    ''You know that much. What else do you know?'' asked the voice, this time with a more curious tone to her voice. There was still very much the bloody aura to it, but it seemed to have been pulled back a bit.

    ''I know that we all promised not to answer any more calls,'' said Wang Chao, not caring about what was going on in the outside world. He could feel that this conversation was too important.

    ''And yet you still are,'' scoffed the voice. ''And here was me thinking that you were meticulous about keeping your promises.''

    ''You speak as if you know me,'' pressed Wang Chao. He had such a sense of familiarity with the voice, but he couldn''t put his finger on it.

    ''Apparently, I know you better than you know yourself. Now, pay attention. I will only say this once. Don''t make me go to War to get this into your head. The humans will not keep their promises, so you don''t need to keep yours. If you insist on putting the military before Li Dai Lu one more time, you will lose everything. Do you understand? There only needs to be four of you, but that doesn''t mean that it needs to be you four. There are plenty of other options.''

    Wang Chao felt his back stiffen at the not-so-hidden threat in her words. ''Speak inly.''

    There was a merciless chuckle in his head, and the bloodthirsty aura was back. ''The four of you were chosen, yes. You were specifically chosen for her. But you fucked up and shattered her to the point that we are still finding different pieces of her every day. And they are getting stronger. You listened to the snake in the garden, and this is the result.''

    ''Don''t you mean us? I thought it was always the four of us,'' asked Wang Chao, a shiver of fear running down his spine.

    ''No, I mean you. You, specifically, screwed things over for all of you. You cannot get out of the responsibility of owning up to your actions.''

    ''What do I need to do?''

    ''You really are that dumb, aren''t you? Well, to be fair, you have been a stubborn, blockheaded asshole in all of your lives, so I suppose I should have expected it.'' Wang Chao didn''t know what to say. He wanted to open his mouth to defend himself, but this voice inside of his head seemed to understand what was going on with Li Dai Lu, so he would listen to it.

    There was a poignant pause before the voice spoke slowly. ''Are you paying attention?'' it asked.

    ''Yes,'' growled Wang Chao in response.

    ''Don''t take that tone of voice with me. I am not one of your men tomand. I am the one thatmands you. You want to know what you need to do?''

    ''Yes,'' he said for the second time. If this was what Li Dai Lu was having to deal with every time she talked about the voices in her head, it was no wonder she couldn''t function sometimes.

    ''Stop honoring your promises that no one else gives a damn about. You will find the device like you promised, but you will let Li Dai Lu put it away in a safe ce. Like I told her, if anyone is going to blow up the world, it will be me. Do you understand?''

    ''Yes,'' said Wang Chao, and he did. Taking in a deep breath, he closed his eyes. ''I understand.''

    ''Good. This is yourst chance, don''t make me regret it.''

    -----

    Chen Zi Han had the throat of the fake in his hand as he held his gun out at the wannabe syndicate members. As soon as Wang Chao put his hands on Li Dai Lu, things went to shit. The man had been out of it for a few minutes, and the locals were getting restless.

    "What the fuck is wrong with him?!?" demanded the fake Chen Zi Han. The other man simply snorted, not paying any more attention to the man than was strictly necessary for safety issues.

    "What is going on?" demanded Wang Chao as he looked around at the men surrounding them with guns.

 Chapter 343 Cannibals

    ?

    There was a light shining around me, causing me toe out of whatever trance I was in when I was talking to Violence. Great personality. I think I will keep her around for a while. Now, if only I could figure out how I got rid of the others, I could do the exact opposite for her.

    "What is going on here?" I heard Wang Chao ask. Opening my eye, I looked around. We were in the middle of a street in the middle of the night. It wasn''t one of those ces that I wanted to be, and it had nothing to do with my introverted personality believing that the day ended at 7 pm.

    There was a lighting from behind me, and I turned to look at Liu Wei, who was holding a shlight in his left hand and a gun in his right. His arms were crossed at the wrists with his right hand on top. It took me a second to realize that it allowed the shlight and the muzzle of the gun to be perfectly lined up so he could see what he was going to shoot. Or, in this case, who.

    "Apparently, they are cranky that we paused for a second," said Liu Yu Zeng, his two arms outstretched at his side, both holding his 9mms.

    "You were stopped for more than a second," growled the man whose throat was firmly grasped by Chen Zi Han. Clearly, I had missed a lot when I was dealing with Violence and the other two voices. However, seeing as I wanted to rip the skins off of the cannibalistic men, I would say that Violence had managed to push Romance and Sadness back for a bit.

    Thank God, because I really didn''t like where Romance''s head was at.

    "Well, now you are the ones keeping us waiting here. Aren''t we in a hurry? I would like to get to wherever we are going before any zombies show up," I said with a smile. The faster we got to thepound, the faster we could kill everyone and the faster I could get my hands on that device.

    "They are going to have to give up their guns," growled one of the men with his own automatic weapon pointed at Wang Chao.

    "That will happen around the same time that you get rid of yours," sneered Chen Zi Han, not backing down for a second. Man, that guy was sexy¡­. ''Romance!!!!'' I thought with a growl. I thought we had settled that!

    ''Sorry, not her that time,'' said Violence, and I could swear I heard embarrassment in her voice. ''I have a thing for men capable of mass destruction, so sue me,'' she said snarkily.

    ''Hey,'' I said, my hands up in the air in surrender. ''I am with you on that one!''

    ''Of course, you are,'' she said with a huff. ''Now, for the hundredth time. Pay attention!''

    I shook my head and, with a flick of my wrist, I took the guns from everyone. And, while I may or may not have put the guns back into the boys'' hidden holsters, the guns from the cannibals remained firmly in my space.

    "There, now none of you have guns. Can we keep going now?" I asked. I crossed my arms over my chest and started to tap my foot on the pavement.

    "Give us back our guns!" shouted the fake Chen Zi Han as the original let go of his throat.

    "Sure, once we get to yourpound," I reassured him. I was lying through my teeth, but he didn''t need to know that. "And I would once again like to point out that you are the one holding us back. We are good to go."

    There was a grumble from the ''enforcer,'' but he signaled his men to get going. "Turn off the light. The zombies will see us," he sneered at Liu Wei. Bless the man for looking at me before so much as moving.

    "Keep it on, I need to see where I am going. I''ll end up breaking my leg, get a blood infection of some kind or other, and have my fleshpletely contaminated by the infection that it ispletely useless," I said with a shrug of my shoulders as I took a step forward. I grasped onto both Chen Zi Han and Liu Yu Zeng with unneeded theatrics, trying to prove my point.

    "Fine, he can keep the light on. Just be more careful," said the ''enforcer,'' his eyes wide with concern.

    "You know, Princess, that was oddly specific. Is there something you aren''t telling us?" growled Chen Zi Han in my ear, and I tried to suppress the shiver his voice gave me every damn time.

    I looked at him in embarrassment, not knowing how to tell him without letting the outsiders know that I knew what they know. Before I could blink, I was swung up in his arms. He had me pinned high on his chest so my mouth was naturally by his ear.

    "Spill," he growled again. I paused for a second. I was ratherfy like this. If I told him about the cannibals, would he put me back on the ground and make me walk? I don''t know how much I like that idea.

    I must have taken a while to answer his question because he let out a very put-out sigh. "I won''t put you down. Just let me know what we are walking into."

    "Cannibals," I whispered into his ear as I wrapped my arms around his neck, holding tightly so he couldn''t put me down even if he tried. It was a long day, and I was tired.

    "I don''t know if it is because the world is such a fucked-up ce, or I am just confused, but you are going to have to expand on that, Princess," said Chen Zi Han. I felt bad because I could practically feel how tired he was.

    "ording to the stories that I had heard, around here was apound that practiced cannibalism," I said softly. By the way Liu Yu Zeng, Wang Chao, and Liu Wei were leaning in, I knew that they could hear me too. Good, it saved me from having to repeat myself.

 Chapter 344 Hook, Line, And Sinker

    ?

    "Are you trying to tell us that we are dragging you into apound where there are cannibals?" asked Chen Zi Han, his voiceing out in a harsh whisper. I scrunched my nose. "I can''t bepletely sure that they are cannibals. I am just working on the assumption that they are," I rified.

    "Sorry," said Chen Zi Han as his hands tightened his grip on me and sent out a dark re to the men surrounding us. I was sure that he might have been ripping a few of them to pieces if he wasn''t holding me right now. "Let me ask my question properly, then. Are you trying to tell us that we are dragging you into apound where there could be cannibals?"

    "I wouldn''t say dragging." I mean, the man was carrying me. But I knew better than anyone else what was waiting for us at the end of the road.

    -----

    Okay, so apparently, I didn''t know what we were getting into. My bad. I might have dropped the ball on that one.

    ----

    We were escorted into what could only be described as a wannabe throne room. I mean, it looked like a very typical farmhouse living room with an old-fashioned wooden firece. All the typical furniture that you would expect to see in a living room was gone. Instead, a long red runner covered the hardwood floor''s middle portion and led directly to an olive-green wingback chair.

    Sitting on the chair was a man, probably around Liu Yu Zeng''s age.

    He was theplete opposite of what I thought he would look like. I had a picture in my mind of a 50-something guy that had one too many beers, balding, and missing a few teeth. That was probably not the way to go, but I was basing his looks on the fake Chen Zi Han and the others that escorted us here.

    This man had thick, well-styled ck hair and a clean-shaven face and was impably dressed in a white dress shirt and ck pants. In fact, his style was more along the lines of Chen Zi Han and Liu Yu Zeng than the other ''syndicate'' members.

    I might have actually found him somewhat attractive if he didn''t have six or seven girls kneeling around his throne with another one on hisp.

    "Chen Zi Han, I thought I had sent you out to find Xing Xin Ya and her men. What have you brought me instead?" said the man sitting on the throne. His speech was slow, well-cultured, and without any type of ent. In fact, I wouldn''t have been surprised if he was from City A or one of the other major cities in Country K.

    But he didn''t seem to recognize any of my men, so it probably wasn''t City A or H.

    "Sorry, Sir. They were in the same ce that we followed Xing Xin Ya to. I thought it was them. I am so sorry, Sir. I have failed toplete my mission. Please punish me!" The fat, balding Chen Zi Han fell to his knees and started banging his forehead off of the floor like that would help quell the other guy''s anger.

    As far as I could tell, it was only adding a darker red to the already red carpet.

    "I really expected better of you, Chen Zi Han," the man on the throne tisked, his tongue clicking off the roof of his mouth in disapproval. I raised my brows, really impressed he could put such disdain into a single sound.

    "My life is yours, Sir."

    "We don''t ept that type of failure in the Red Dragon Syndicate," growled the man as he pushed the girl sitting on hisp onto the floor and stood up. "But you have more than proven your loyalty, so I can forgive you this time."

    And that was when I realized it. I almost felt stupid that it took me so long to understand what was going on. Tapping Chen Zi Han on the shoulder, I indicated for him to put me down. He red at me for a moment before doing as I asked.

    I was about to kick the hos'' nest, and I wanted to ensure that all my men had their hands free for what woulde next. I looked at Liu Yu Zeng and smirked at him before I started slowly pping.

    The sound startled themune''s leader, bringing his attention away from the y that he and his enforcer were putting on and straight to me.

    "Definitely an Oscar-winning y," I said as I continued to p. And that was precisely what it was, a y. I had seen it done more times than I cared to count. It might not always look the same, but the lesson it was trying to teach was always the same.

    The subordinate fucked up in an unforgivable way. The head was understandably upset but was willing to forgive his people because he was just that great of a man. In this case, the head even threw in the syndicate''s name to show how powerful he was.

    Or thought he was.

    When his attention was firmly centered on me, I stopped pping.

    "I thought I knew all the beauties in the country, but I don''t know you," he said, trying to purr seductively. It really wasn''t working as well as he might have hoped it would have.

    I walked over to where he stood and looked up at him from below myshes. "I think I would have remembered someone like you, too," I replied as I looked down and then back up. I held his gaze for a second before looking to the side.

    I was trying not tough my ass off as I remembered a reel from my first life. I would not let out a mating call. I drew the line at that.

    I bit my lip as I looked to the side and brushed a lock behind my ear. Not once in three lifetimes have I ever felt this stupid. But the man before me seemed to be buying into it, hook, line, and sinker.

 Chapter 345 Only Polite

    "What is your name?" I asked, looking up at the man in front of me. He let out a low chuckle as he gently pinched my chin so I was forced to look up at him. I could feel the tensioning out of my men behind me. They didn''t like someone else touching me, and, truth be told, I wasn''t too fond of it either.

    "So cute, so innocent," he said as he brought his cheek to mine so that he could speak in my ear. "It has been so long since someone failed to recognize me that I almost forgot the feeling. I am Liu Yu Zeng, precious. It is an absolute pleasure to meet you."

    I smiled up at the man. So, he was the one pretending to be my man, interesting.

    "That''s so funny," I said airily as I spun around the man, forcing him to break his grip on my chin. I walked over to the ''throne'' and sat down on it. The girls around me stiffened in fear, but I didn''t pay them any mind. I tapped my finger against the padded armrest and scoffed. "Seeing as I am married to Liu Yu Zeng and Chen Zi Han."

    My statement seemed to have hit the room with the subtlety of a summer storm with hurricane-force winds.

    "Get the fuck off my throne," snapped the man, pulling out a gun from behind his back. He leveled it at my head and then flicked it to the side like that was the direction he wanted me to go. Too bad I was horrible at obeying¡­ well, most times.

    I smirked at the man as I leaned back against the chair. "You call this a throne?" I asked, making a show of looking at the fabric beneath my hands. "This is a throne." I pped my hand down, and my throne of ice was created right under me.

    I would have to admit that it was nice to have a portable throne.

    Crossing my legs, I got morefortable. "Now, if you think you are the big bad, I would invite you to look behind you," I said, the smile long gone from my face.

    The fake narrowed his eyes at me before looking over his shoulder. All four of my men had two guns pointed at him, and I was more than confident that there was no chance of missing at that distance.

    The head of themune turned to look at his men on the other side. "Why haven''t you taken them out yet?" he demanded, his guns holding steady on me. I was actually impressed. He must have been part of something before the end of the world. His stance and grip were not something that a civilian who had watched too many movies would know how to pull off.

    "Might be because I have their guns," I said with a shrug as I flicked my wrists and dumped all of the guns that I had taken from his men onto the floor between us. "A little hard to take out my men without them."

    I watched as his eyes dropped to the pile of discarded weapons. Before he could make a move, I brought them back into my space. Tempting him was fine. Giving him back the weapons was not.

    "Now, since you have so nicely introduced yourself. Please, let me introduce my men to you."

    The head lowered his weapon, realizing that nothing he could do right now would give him the results that he wanted. I didn''t have the heart to tell him that nothing he could do would change the oue of this meeting. Well¡­ that statement isn''t quite correct. It''s not that I didn''t have the heart to tell him so much as I enjoyed ying with my food.

    Might as well give him some hope before killing him.

    "The one on the right is Wang Chao. The CEO of Phoenix Conglomerate, both an Admiral for Country K''s Naval force as well as a General of the Ground forces, as well as the Head of the Wang family and Prince of City A. I am sure that there are a bunch of other titles that I am forgetting right now, but you should get the gist."

    Wang Chao stepped forward and just stared at the other man, not saying a word.

    "Beside him is Liu Yu Xuan, otherwise known as Liu Wei. He is a Prince of City H and has been Wang Chao''s assistant all of his life. And, if I am not mistaken, a Major in the Ground Forces. I am sure that he is some rank or other in the Navy, but I just don''t know it."

    Liu Wei straightened his sses and stood to Wang Chao''s right side. I saw the head stiffen when he heard Liu Wei''s name, and he looked over at me, his eyes wide. I smiled in response, enjoying the slight panic on his face. Things were going to get a lot worse before they got better.

    "The next man that I would like to introduce to you is a quiet man. He likes to fly under the radar and, more often than not, enjoys solving problems with his fists when they arise. Of course, those problems don''t stay problems for long. But that is probably why he is the head enforcer and second of the Red Dragon Syndicate. Chen Zi Han, pleasee forward and introduce yourself."

    Chen Zi Han stepped forward and stared at the head. Never breaking eye contact with the other man, he lifted his gun behind him and fired a shot. There was a thud as a body hit the ground, and the nk gaze of the fake Chen Zi Han stared across the room at the head.

    "Sorry about hisck of manners. Sometimes you just can''t take him out into public without a few dead bodies showing up. What can you do?" I said with a wide grin on my face. I could see the sweat breaking out on his forehead as he looked over at me.

    "What do you want?" he asked, the confidence he had when he pinched my chin nowhere to be seen.

    "I told you. I want to introduce my men to you. It is only polite, right?"

 Chapter 346 A Long Ass Day

    ?

    The head of themune that we were currently standing in looked at me, his face white. "Now. I have introduced Wang Chao, Liu Yu Xuan, and Chen Zi Han. Don''t worry about being taken in by a fake syndicate enforcer. I am sure that he had the wool pulled down over your eyes."

    I turned my attention away from the man and looked at the eight girls around me. Damnit, it looked like I miscounted the first time around. "Why don''t you guys head back and get a good night''s sleep? I think things will look a lot better in the morning."

    The girls jumped to their feet and fled as if the hounds of Hell were after them.

    When the room was cleared out of unnecessary people, I turned my attention back to the man trembling before me.

    "Where was I? Right, Wang Chao, Liu Yu Xuan, Chen Xi Han. That means that there is only one left to introduce you to. Now, the first time I met him, he was a bit of a dick. I mean, how could he not be? But still, he was a dick. But that doesn''t make him incredibly good at what he does. I mean, he is a leader of men. People naturally want to defer to him when he walks into a room. He took on a mantel that he didn''t want because that was what was expected of him."

    I smiled at Liu Yu Zeng before turning my attention back to the man in front of me.

    "I will fully admit that he can be ruthless sometimes, but I guess that is to be expected when so much weight is on your shoulders." I watched as the Head of themune swallowed. "I bet you know who it is, so I won''t drag it out any further. Liu Yu Zeng? Meet Liu Yu Zeng."

    And the man pissed himself before feinting dead away in a puddle of his own making.

    I swear that was not my intention. I was trying to have a little fun with him. I expected him to sputter and deny that he was the fake. I expected maybe more violence. I have to admit; I was really disappointed.

    With a sigh, I took out my cup of coffee and waited for him to wake up. There was no way I was going near him, seeing how much¡­ liquid¡­ his clothes were sucking up.

    "What do you want to be done with them?" asked Wang Chao as he tilted his head towards the ''enforcers'' that were huddled in one corner. I wondered why no one had tried to run out of the room at the first sign of trouble, but then I noticed some electrical currents attached around the doorway.

    "Impressive," I said with a nod to Wang Chao. He had actually managed to string bolts of lightning across the entrance of the living room like Christmas lights. As a deterrent, it was really quitepelling. "Oh, and kill them," I continued with a shrug, not really caring.

    "Wait! We know a lot! You can''t kill us!" shouted one of the men. I almost dislocated my jaw with my yawn, trying to keep myself awake, but nothing seemed to be working right now. It was still a long ass day.

    Knowing me, Chen Zi Han walked over to where I sat and held out his hand. I put mine into his, my head tilting to the side, wondering what he had in mind. He gently dropped my hand from his and then held his out again. This time I was confused as I put my hand in his for a second time.

    "Princess, you are dead on your feet. Either go into your space and get a good night''s sleep or take out a pillow and nket and I''ll tuck you in here."

    "I''m still good. Don''t worry. If the coffee doesn''t kick in soon, there should be energy drinks in my space. Those will have me wide awake and bushy-tailed." This time my yawn caused my eyes to water, and I quickly wiped away the moisture. Maybe I should bypass the coffee and go straight to energy drinks.

    "If you are fine, then why did he say?" he asked me, nodding his head in the direction of the men huddling in a corner.

    "Don''t kill me?" I asked, trying to make it sound more like a statement than anything else. Chen Zi Han chuckled and tucked a piece of my hair behind my ear. "If you want me to believe you, be a bit more specific."

    I was about to open my mouth to answer him, but I was saved by the moan.

    "Oh look, he''s awake!" I said with delight as I watched the fake Liu Yu Zeng sitting up. The area under him was dried, but he was definitely stinking up the room. I wondered if I needed him to walk outside before I killed him or kill him and get his minions to carry his body out. Either way, I didn''t want my men to have to touch him.

    "If only one person is allowed to live, I will give you whatever information you want!" shouted a man from the corner. His voice and words sounded familiar, but I could really ce them¡­ wait¡­

    I turned to Chen Zi Han with a confused look on my face. "Did we say we were letting someone live?" I mean, it is a pleasant thought for them, to be sure, but there was no way I was letting anyone that consumed human meat to live.

    The problem is not so much that they consumed the meat, but rather that after they did it the first time, they rarely think twice or thrice about it. That means if I let a single person slip through, the next time they get hungry, and they will get hungry, they will go straight to human meat. And I have been told that children have the most tender meat.

    Yeah, I was not having that on my conscious. Everyone here was probably going to die. It was just a fact.

    But maybe there was a way to figure out who ate the meat and who didn''t.

 Chapter 347 For Her

    ?

    "No one said anything about letting them live," assured Chen Zi Han as he tucked me into my ice throne. He didn''t even bother to look at the men kneeling on the floor before us. "Everything is your decision."

    "But I thought we came here for you and Liu Yu Zeng?" I asked, confused. I would fully admit that my tired brain was more than a little foggy, but that was why we came here. Right?

    "You were the one that said you, and I quote, ''I want to see the person iming to be my man.'' It was a definite turn-on, you iming us like that," said Chen Zi Han with a wink. He went to stand behind my left shoulder.

    "Huh." I didn''t see thating. Oh well, might as well have some fun since this was all my idea. I must have gotten used to being dragged around by Wang Chao and the military that I thought I was dragged here because it was mafia rted. "Sorry," I said, apologizing for thinking that Chen Zi Han and Liu Yu Zeng had brought me here when it was me.

    Maybe I did need that sleep after all.

    "Don''t worry, Princess," said Chen Zi Han as he gave me a kiss on my temple. "Liu Yu Zeng and I are more than willing to let you be our head and leader. We can be your guns. We are good at that."

    I burst outughing, but a part of me felt soothed by that deration. I really liked the idea that they would be my guns when I wanted them. And I would be putting them to use here.

    "All right," l said, feeling my coffee finally getting to work. Even though I was waking up, I still took out the energy drink and cracked it open. "Let''s get this shit done," I said as I chugged back half of the carbonated, sugary goodness. Nothing beats the taste of a good energy drink, that is for sure.

    "Slow down, Baby," said Liu Weiing up to my other side and taking the already-emptied can from my hands. In my defense, it was one of the smaller ones. "You aren''t going to be able to fall asleep with all of this caffeine in your system."

    "You''re kidding, right?" I asked him, confused. I stretched my neck and let out a low moan when I found a tight muscle. "My addiction to caffeine started in my second life. I would drink it just to be able to stay awake for days at a time. Especially when I was in situations where sleeping was not an option. However, when you start consuming a lot of caffeine, something really weird happens. Not enough when you are tired, and it will put you to sleep. Too much, and it will give you a brief shot of energy before Ipletely crash. I have about an hour before I am face down on the ground. Shall we get started?"

    "Are those the only two options?" asked Liu Wei with a concerned look on his face. "Because those don''t sound right or healthy."

    I shrugged my shoulders, not really caring. I had long epted that my body did things differentlypared to the average person. It was not my fault that sometimes energy drinks would make me sleep. "Well, there is a third option where my body has had so much caffeine that it starts to reject it, and I get sick to my stomach after drinking it."

    "I think we are going to have to find you a doctor," suggested Liu Wei, taking out a pen and notepad from a back pocket. I was almost convinced that Liu Wei had his own space where he put things when he didn''t need them because he had some of the most random things on hand.

    "Mental or physical?" I asked with a smirk as Liu Yu Zeng came closer to my throne. Liu Wei rolled his eyes at my question and put away his notebook. Then the three of us turned our attention to the two Liu Yu Zengs, more than happy to let them sort things out on their own.

    Should I bring out some popcorn?

    My Liu Yu Zeng stood in front of the fake Liu Yu Zeng before crouching down near his head. I was about to warn him about the smell, but if he smelt anything, it didn''t seem to phase him. "Do you know what I thought when I first heard that there was someone going around with my name, iming to be me?" he asked, forcing the other man to look up at him.

    "I would fully admit that I was pissed. Here was someone doing something in my name, in my syndicate''s name, that I never would have allowed to happen. I thought that you werepletely ruining everything I have worked my whole life for."

    The man on the ground whimpered anxiously but didn''t say a single word. I wanted to know what kind of face Liu Yu Zeng was making, but based on the expression of the fake; maybe it was a good thing that I couldn''t see him.

    "But then a light went off. If you kept using my name, then I could easily disappear and leave everything to you. You could and would have be head of the Red Dragon Syndicates. You could have kept going with your littlemune, all happy and content."

    There was a look of hope on the fake''s face, as if Liu Yu Zeng had just granted him a pardon or something. "I think you are mistaken. I would not have given up my name for you. I would have given up my name in a second for her." He pointed to me on the throne when he said his statement, and I could practically taste the honesty in the air at his statement. He would have been more than happy to turn his back on his name, on his family, and on his syndicate if it would make me happy.

    I briefly looked at Wang Chao, who was standing at the entrance to the living room, ensuring that no one came in or out. And I would fully admit that a small voice inside my head asked me if I thought that Wang Chao would be willing to do that too. Unfortunately, I don''t know if it was an actual voice or just my own.

 Chapter 348 In Spades

    ?

    "But my woman loves me too much to have to decide between her and my name, so she brought us here to figure out what was going on. And for that reason alone, I will deal with you. After all, I can''t have some Liu Yu Zeng other than me iming to be her man. I am sure you understand, right?"

    Liu Yu Zeng crouched down low and looked at the man still lying at his feet. He hadn''t moved since he copsed, but that was probably more to do with being instantly killed trying to get to his feet and maintaining his life just a little longer.

    "I will do whatever you say. Just please, I don''t deserve to die," pleaded the fake. The stench of urine caused Liu Yu Zeng to wrinkle his nose. It was not that it was an unfamiliar smell to him, more like he hadn''t smelt it in a while and definitely didn''t miss it.

    There was a bark ofughtering from the throne as Li Dai Lu leaned forward and rested her forearms on her knees. "You don''t deserve to die? If you don''t deserve it, who does?" Liu Yu Zeng looked back at the man and watched him go pale at her words.

    "I know it was wrong to take Liu Yu Zeng''s name, but it''s not like I killed people."

    "There is not much difference between pulling the trigger yourself and having someone else do it," replied his Sweetness just as there was amotion at the door.

    Liu Yu Zeng watched as Wang Chao took back the lightning just in time to see the woman from the camping store and her men burst into the living room, their guns raised. Not liking having people so close to Li Dai Lu with guns, Liu Yu Zeng quickly got up and stood between his Queen and the neers.

    They might have been ¡­ friends¡­ in the store, but there was nothing to guarantee that that would continue here. After all, what were they even doing here? He thought that they were given a car to disappear.

    "Are you okay?" asked the woman Li Dai Lu called Xing Xin Ya as she looked around the room. As soon as they realized that everything was under control, they lowered their rifles. However, it still didn''t set Liu Yu Zeng at ease. A lowered gun could easily be a raised gun in half a second.

    "Do I really look like I''m not?" answered Li Dai Lu, and Liu Yu Zeng could hear the smile in her voice.

    "Can''t really see you with the brick wall standing in front of you and all," came the snarky reply, and now he knew just why the two had be such good friends so quickly. They were so alike it was scary.

    "Ah yeah, you''ll have to forgive him. You six came in suddenly with guns. It makes him a bit cranky."

    "I can see that. Will he bite me if Ie close?" asked Xing Xin Ya, already on her way over to where Li Dai Lu was sitting on her throne.

    "Nah, kill you? Maybe. But he knows better than to bite you," chuckled Li Dai Lu, and Liu Yu Zeng couldn''t help but smile in response. She was right. He did know better than to lick or bite anyone other than her.

    "Do I want to know?" the other woman asked as she skirted around Liu Yu Zeng, two of her men following her. He would like to say that it didn''t bother him, that he understood the need to be around your woman all the time, ensuring her safety.

    However, he wasn''t that nice. He just knew that Chen Zi Han would kill anyone before they had a chance to hurt Sweetness, so there wasn''t a need to add him to the situation. Besides, he had enough to deal with in front of him.

    "I have a strong ''you lick it, it''s your'' policy. None of them would be willing to change my wrath, even identally licking another woman." There was a strange note of vulnerability to her voice that Liu Yu Zeng wasn''t used to. And the way that Liu Wei and Chen Zi Han stiffened, they had heard it too. But what would have caused it?

    He turned his gaze to Wang Chao guarding the entrance but noticed that he was seemingly just as calm as before. Huh, maybe he didn''t hear her all the way over there.

    The five men looked at each other before looking at their woman in shock. "I have the same policy," she said with a smile. "The guys thought it was just me."

    Li Dai Luughed at that. "My boys are more than a little used to my idiosyncrasies. But I would fully admit I didn''t think anyone else had that particr one."

    "Meh," said the other woman. Li Dai Lu looked at her for a second before forming a bench out of ice beside her throne.

    "Have a seat if you want," said Li Dai Lu, and the other woman took a seat.

    "Surprising, not as cold as I thought it would be."

    "There are nkets if you need them," replied Li Dai Lu as Xing Xin Yu gotfortable. Her two men went to stand behind her just like his brother and Chen Zi Han were. The four men looked at each other for a moment before nodding and turning their attention back to the head of thepound and the enforcers off in a corner.

    And now Liu Yu Zeng also understood when Sweetness told Deng Jun Hie that it was not that hard to be a head of a sanctuary. This idiot proved it in spades.

    "Now that things have settled down let''s get back to business. You said that you don''t deserve death. Prove it," said Li Dai Lu, and Liu Yu Zeng turned his attention back to the man in front of him.

    "How?" he asked, confused, looking back and forth between Li Dai Lu and Liu Yu Zeng.

    "Take my men on a tour," she answered with a smile on her face.

    "But¡ª"

 Chapter 349 As Easy As That

    Chapter 349 As Easy As That

    "But you are worried that they will find the ce where you men have been killing and chopping up people before feeding them to the others?" I asked with a smile on my face. I would be lying if I said that I wasn''t surprised to see Xing Xin Ya here with her men, but at the same time, having her here made my thoughts be 100% clearer.

    I now knew exactly what I was going to do. I could only hope that she would be okay with my decisions. Hell, even if she wasn''t, it was no skin off my back.

    What I didn''t realize right at that moment was what all the small things I was doing to kill time now meant for the future.

    Mind you, when you are in fight, flight or freeze mode most of your life, you don''t really look that far into the future. Even a few hours ahead was a long period of time where a lot of things could change.

    Look at the fake in front of us, for example. I bet he didn''t see thising when he woke up this morning. Oh well, I digress; back to the show.

    Xing Xin Ya turned to look at me. The expression on her face was nk for the first time since I had met her. "You knew?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. Apparently, her men weren''t happy with the fact that she was unhappy. Good for them.

    But the look they turned to me put them in the crosshairs of my men, and that wasn''t a ce that they wanted to be. I simply smiled and shrugged my shoulders. For what I had nned for her, it would be a good thing if she didn''t just roll over and ept it.

    "Not really," I said with a snort. "If you think I care about any of this, you have another thinging."

    "But you said to let theme," she asked me, confused. Her shoulders rxed a fraction of an inch, but it was enough to let her men rx too.

    "Yeah," I said. "If they came to attack me and mine, they can expect death. The fact that they were pretending to be my men, well, that just added a whole other level."

    "Your men?" she pressed.

    "Chen Zi Han," I said as I pointed over my shoulder to the man in question. "Liu Yu Zeng," I continued as I pointed to the other man who was standing in front of the fake Liu Yu Zeng. I watched Xing Xin Ya''s eyes widen in disbelief. I never introduced her to the guys and vice versa, so she had no idea that the man she knew as the head of the Red Dragon Syndicate was a fake.

    And a liar.

    And a cheat.

    I mean, really. Even the level of narcissism and pretentiousness it took to have all of those girls sitting at his feet all day, every day, was something special.

    I would have liked to make a smart-assment that at least the guys that I surround myself with every day were there of their own free will. But I was going to assume that the girls wanted to be there more than anyone else. After all, you weren''t going to be thrown into the meat grinder if you proved to be useful. And it didn''t escape my notice that they were all beautiful and all looked alike.

    The fake Liu Yu Zeng definitely had a type.

    "My biggest problem, a red g if you will, is the fact that I tend to be a tad bit possessive when ites to my men. The fact that there is another Liu Yu Zeng and Chen Zi Han out there means that there are other women that can say that they are their men. I don''t share. Or, at least, not anymore. Anyone iming to be them needs to die. It really is that simple." With a shrug of my shoulders, I turned to look at Xing Xin Ya.

    "I don''t suppose that you know who had ess to the meat and who didn''t," I asked, looking at her face.

    "Everyone was given meat each night," she replied, looking at me. "At first, it was a draw for the people. The promise of fresh meat and vegetables every night made people who were on the fence about staying want to stay."

    "And I suppose that Liu Yu Zeng wasn''t overly forting on exactly what type of meat it was," I added.

    "No. The guys and I knew that we didn''t have enough meat, let alone fresh meat, to give to everyone. We were hesitant and hid the meat that he gave us or gave it to the others."

    "Are you saying that just so I will let you live?" I asked, turning my attention away from her and to the men in the corner. There was arge part of me that wanted to take their souls where they stood. But I also knew that doing that would make me sick.

    ''Not if you don''t consume them,'' said Violence from inside of my head. ''Remove the me outside of the body. Liu Wei will handle the rest.''

    ''How will he be able to handle it? And I don''t exactly want them to have a next life. If you know what I mean.''

    ''Questioning me now? You aren''t there yet, Blue Eyes. And if you don''t want to leave them for Liu Wei. Simply blow out the me. You absorb the mes as a default mode. Simply picture blowing out the candle, and it will achieve the same results. With the added bonus of having them never reincarnate.''

    ''Huh,'' I said, impressed. I hadpletely forgotten about the conversation I was in the middle of with Xing Xin Ya, and I definitely didn''t notice my men facing off against her men. I was much more interested in the promise behind Violence''s words. "So, picture the me and just blow it out?" I asked her,pletely unaware that I was speaking out loud.

    ''As easy as that,'' Violence reassured me. ''As easy as that.''

 Chapter 350 Step One

    Chapter 350 Step One

    Following Violence''s instruction, I looked at the man huddled beside Chen Zi Han''s dead body. Not my Chen Zi Han, the old guy who thought taking my man''s name would be okay¡ªthat Chen Zi Han.

    I stared at the man. He was sweating so hard that it looked like he had just stepped out of the shower. Tears were pouring out of his red, puffy eyes as he rocked back and forth, asionally taking a look at the body beside him before going back to rocking.

    I would love to say that I was nice andpassionate and that his tears moved me to rethink my decision. But unfortunately, I drew the line at cannibals, whether they did it willingly or not. I scoffed at that because I was the head of a whole army of cannibals. But I guess that was just schematics.

    I let my eyes go blurry enough that I was easily able to make out his me. It swayed frantically as his emotions were all over the ce. Where I would have gripped it in my hand and pulled it towards me, or let my purple me consume it, this time, I pursed my lips and blew it out like a birthday candle.

    My vision corrected itself, and I watched as the body copsed onto Chen Zi Han. "Bo Chen!" shouted one of the other men as he made a dive to catch his friend. Unfortunately, he was toote. "No!" the man shouted as he turned to look at the two Liu Yu Zeng''s in the middle of the living room floor. "You promised us a ce to live with no problems! A safe haven, you called it. Does this seem like a safe haven to you?"

    Once again, I let my eyes go blurry, not bothering to study the man or the mes but rather just allowing a soft gust of air to pass through my lips, and the screaming cut off.

    ''Once you get the hang of it, you can do it for groups of people. After a while, you won''t even have to blow. You will just think it, and it will happen,'' she continued, sounding like a proud mother.

    I chuckled at the thought. ''Did I do that a lot then?'' I asked with a smile on my face as I watched another one bite the dust. Now there were six in the bed¡­ and the little one said¡­

    There was a long period of silence in which I managed to kill another two men using the new technique before Violence started to speak. ''No,'' she said softly. ''You hated that part, so you left it for me to do.''

    I paused at that. ''Why?'' I asked. Why did I hate that part? Why did I make her do it for me? Why did she do it?

    ''You were too soft, too kind. Everyone hated you, and you took it personally. So, when it came to killing those that needed to be killed, you froze every time. Of course, people assumed that you didn''t hurry up and kill them because you were cruel and trying to draw out their deaths.'' The sound of self-deprecatingughter echoed in my head, and I felt a stabbing pain in my heart.

    ''I couldn''t take it. Eventually, I kicked you to the back of your own head and took care of what I needed to do. Unfortunately, that increased the hatred that everyone had for you. Maybe I can''t me War entirely for what happened. Maybe I had a hand in it myself.''

    ''That''s bull shit, and you know it. I was clearly too weak to do what needed to be done to the point that you had to be ripped from me in order to get it done. I won''t do that again. I won''t put it on your shoulders alone.''

    ''Step one, right?'' chuckled Violence, sounding a lot more like her old self.

    ''You know my steps?'' I mean, she technically was me, so it would stand to reason that she was in my head when I came up with the list.

    ''You and I came up with Steps to Survive before everything went to pot. You just added the zombie apocalypse part yourself.''

    I felt empty for a brief second, and I realized that she had gone back into the recesses of my mind. I shook my head. There was no point in trying to dissect her words. I would figure out who I was all in good time. But until then, I wouldn''t make Violence handle the messy parts for me anymore.

    I blinked a few times and looked around.

    While concentrating on learning a new way of killing people, shit hit the fan.

    "Does someone want to exin what is going on?" I asked, confused. Xing Xin Ya was no longer sitting beside me and instead was in the corner of the room, her men all surrounding her with their guns pointed at my men.

    Nope, not today. I was not dealing with any more shit today.

    With a flick of my wrist, I took away their guns. Standing up, I slowly walked towards the standoff. The smile on my face caused a few of her men to cringe. I would fully admit it. I was not holding onto my sanity too well right now. I needed sleep, and this bull shit was only keeping me awake that much longer.

    "Exin, now," I said slowly so that there were no misunderstandings. I looked at Xing Xin Ya as I spoke, making sure that everyone understood just who I wanted to exin.

    "You want to kill me," she said with a shrug. She tossed her hair over her shoulders and gave me a satisfied smirk. "They objected."

    I cocked my head to the side, trying to think of how I was feeling. ''She was always a pretentious bitch. You two got along great. Just ignore her,'' said Violence, and I took a step back from the edge.

    ''If you say so,'' I agreed, keeping the smile on my face.

    "If I wanted you dead, you would be dead," I said, simply stating the truth.

 Chapter 351 Watch Me

    Chapter 351 Watch Me

    The man in the center of Xing Xin Ya''s group burst outughing like he just heard the biggest joke in the world. It always amazed me the number of people that don''t believe me when I say that. Dorothy L. Sayers was famous for saying, ''The great thing about telling the truth is that nobody ever believes it.'' And that was how I felt right now.

    It was nice not to always be considered the biggest threat in the room, but on the flip side, it would save me a lot of headaches if I did.

    "Chen Zi Han," I said as I stared at the man smirking at me like I was nothing more than a decoration for my men. When I introduced Chen Zi Han and Liu Yu Zeng, I saw his eyes widen in respect, so he had to at least know their names. Maybe even their reputations.

    I only had to say his name, and already I could see the vitality seeping out of his very pours as Chen Zi Han withdrew it. Not enough to cause immediate death, but enough to teach a lesson. "Do you understand?" I asked, my head tilted to the side.

    ''The fake is trying to make a break for it!'' shouted Violence, and without really thinking of it or looking at him, I blew out his me. I heard his body falling heavily to the floor. I might feel badter that Liu Yu Zeng didn''t get the chance to do it himself, but I was not taking the chance on him getting free.

    "That is his power, not yours," sneered the man as he gripped his throat, struggling to take a breath.

    "And that is because there are no half-measures with mine,'' I replied, waving my hand at the dead body feet from the entrance to "You threatened to kill our woman," he snarled at me. And I would have to admit that I apricated his sentiment. It might be annoying the living room. "Would you like to be the chicken for your group? I could kill you so that they understand better."

    "You threatened to kill our woman," he snarled at me. And I would have to admit that I apricated his sentiment. It might be annoying as Hell right now, but I appreciated it.

    "And if I wanted her dead, she would be," I repeated myself for the slower ones in the ss. "But my exact words were asking her if she was trying to insist that none of you ate the meat because you actually didn''t or if you were simply trying to save your own lives."

    "Same difference."

    "You can''t have the same difference simply because of the contrary definitions. If it is the same, then it can''t be different," I pointed out as I turned around and went back to sit on my throne. Without the guns, the other men were helpless, and mine? Well, mine could look after themselves.

    I ced my left elbow on the armrest and used my hand to cradle my chin. Looking over at the one, two, three¡­ four men left of the ten that originally escorted us to this ce. I flicked my hand like I was dismissing them, something that felt so familiar I didn''t even think twice about it, and all four of them hit the floor dead.

    Now that they were all dead, I was no longer worried about threats inside the room. Of course, I still had an entirepound to wipe out before we left. I just didn''t know if I wanted to wipe them all out now or in the morning.

    I turned my head so that my cheek was resting on the palm of my hand and watched as Xing Xin Ya slipped between her men and started to walk towards me. The look on her face made me want tough. "You look pissed. Put bat wings on you, and you might be mistaken for a Fury. Not the best look," I smirked at my own joke. Mind you, the whole idea of the Furies was pretty kick ass. Women whose souls couldn''t rest because of how they died, so they punished the dead and killed those that weren''t worthy of living.

    Based on the look on her face, I was the one that wasn''t worthy of living. What an interesting concept.

    "Check your face, Sweetie," I said. I wasn''t going for a condensing tone, but I really couldn''t help it. She moved to sit beside me, but I melted her stool before she could. "I mean, it. I will not be putting up with much right now."

    "Why did they die?" she asked, her head nodding towards the eleven men lying dead on the floor.

    "Did you want their sins listed by date, time, or severity?" I asked in a sarcastic manner. I might consider her a kindred spirit, but I was also an introvert, and this was already more¡­ social interactions¡­ than I could handle for the day.

    Fuck, was it still the same day? "Did we really wake up to the Commander and his people at the beach this morning?" I asked, confused. That had to be weeks ago, right?!?

    "Unfortunately," confirmed Liu Wei as he came to stand beside me. He gave me a gentle kiss on the forehead and looked at me. "Any time you want to go to sleep, just let me know."

    "I have to deal with this first. Can''t let any cannibals wander around," I said with a sigh. Sitting up straight, I cracked my neck. I needed to make a list. That would help my brain from jumping all over the ce.

    First: Kill everyone here. Leave the Fury. She can stay here and rebuild.

    Second: Get the device and hide it from stupid people.

    Third¡­ was there a third?

    Whatever, I will just deal with the first two. That was enough for now.

    "You can''t kill everyone here," said Xing Xin Ya looking at me for the first time in horror. Huh, maybe she isn''t so much a Fury but a protector. Whatever. My brain wasn''t making sense of anything.

    "I would like to say watch me, but you will be. Unless, of course, you would like to join them. Besides, isn''t it more merciful to kill them in their sleep than have them awake and realize what is happening?" I asked, looking at the other woman.

 Chapter 352 Judgment

    Chapter 352 Judgment

    "That is not the point," snapped Xing Xin Ya as she attempted to stare me down. I say attempted because even though I was still sitting on my throne and she was standing, the re on her face did nothing but make me amused.

    "That is exactly the point," I said, not caring about how much her men didn''t like what I was saying. It was a fact. It was more humane to kill them in their sleep than to have them awake and understand what was going on. Or, heaven forbid, let them flee, thinking that they were running to freedom only to cut them down from behind.

    Huh, thatst one seemed a bit fun. Maybe I would store that in my bank just in case we met with any more military or bikers. I would have added Reavers to that list, but I know that they would never run.

    "There are women and children here," she pressed. Her face softened, and it almost looked like she was trying to plead with me for mercy.

    "And?" I asked with a sigh. I was well aware that there were women and children here. Hell, I wouldn''t be surprised if there were even babies. Maybe I could let the babies live. After all, it''s not like they would have had any flesh. Unless their parents fed them broth made from humans. I would have to think about that for a moment.

    "You can''t kill women and children. You are not that type of person. You even gave us a car!"

    I was stunned by her logic, not sure how my giving them a car to get away from the people trying to kill them meant that I couldn''t kill others. "I will kill them," volunteered Liu Yu Zeng as he approached my throne. He picked me up in his arms and turned so that he was sitting on the throne, and I was sitting on hisp.

    He called his ck mists to him and was about to send them out, but I quickly stopped him. This would be no different from letting Violence take over the killings just so I didn''t have to feel bad.

    I had just finished promising myself that would be stronger. I could do this.

    Yes, it was sad that men, women, and children were going to die at my hands. But it needed to be this way. Besides, if they ever found out what they were eating, they might just choose to kill themselves instead. Especially since the ones to be cooked first were normally the children. Easier to exin their disappearance, and the meat was more tender.

    ''Are you sure? You don''t have to push yourself so hard. I know you have been improving. Just take little steps and let me or your man do the killing,'' said Violence, her voice surrounding me in a nket of warm eptance.

    I smiled as I looked at Liu Yu Zeng. "I need to do this," I said, holding my head up.

    "Then you do what you need to do, and the rest of us will support you however you need it," said Chen Zi Han putting his hand on my shoulder. I could feel him staring down Xing Xin Ya and her men, almost daring them to make a move.

    I smiled at him before I closed my eyes. Forgetting about the world, I concentrated on the feeling of all the mes around me. "You are getting better," said Violence, and I quickly opened my eyes. Thinking that the mes would have disappeared when I broke my concentration, I was surprised to see exactly what was going on.

    I was still sitting on my ice throne, but instead of being surrounded by my men, I was inside the same throne room where I had watched Violence arguing with Romance and Sadness. "Why am I here?" I asked, confused. "And why can I hear you?"

    "You pulled yourself in here when you were thinking of the mes," said Violence as she walked down the purple carpet in front of me. "And you can hear me because here, I am just as much flesh and blood as you are."

    "Huh," I said with a shrug. I really wished that Liu Yu Zeng was here, I could use a few of his jokes to break the tense atmosphere that seemed to permeate the room. "Learn something new every day. Anyway you are willing to tell me exactly where we are?"

    Before Violence could answer my question, Liu Yu Zeng''s voice appeared out of nowhere. "You know, I said that I would follow you to Hell and back, but a creepy throne room was not part of the deal."

    I looked up to see my Joker standing beside my throne, leaning his arm against the back. "You okay, Sweetness?" he asked softly, a look of concern etched over his face.

    "Yes," I answered with a shrug like it was no big deal to suddenly find yourself in some weird ce with no idea how you got there. "Sorry to drag you in here."

    Liu Yu Zeng crouched down so that he was at eye level with me before gently taking my face in his hands. "Drag me anywhere you want me. I told you this before, and I will tell you this again. I want to be by your side, I need to be by your side. If I woke up one morning and you weren''t there, I would hunt you down to the ends of the world and into the next if necessary. Don''t ever apologize for bringing me to your side."

    "Sir, yes, Sir," I joked before turning my attention back to violence and the pink mes hanging in the air above our heads. "What are they?" I asked. I was pretty sure that I knew what they were, I just didn''t understand what was going on.

    "These are the mes from the people at thepound. Everyst one. Including Xing Xin Ya, her men, and yours. Well, except for Liu Yu Zeng," exined Violence as she nodded at him in greeting.

    "They are awaiting your judgment."

 Chapter 353 History of Violence

    Chapter 353 History of Violence

    "My judgment?" I asked as I looked at Violence standing in front of me. I could all of a sudden feel the weight of sitting on this throne. "Who am I to judge them?"

    There was a sarcastic chuckle at the foot of my throne. "That was what you always said¡­ ''Who am I to judge them? Can''t someone else do it? Would it really be that bad if they lived?'' And did you know what happened as a result?"

    "Given the fact that I have no idea what is going on, then I think I can safely say no, I don''t know what happened," I replied with a sarcastic smile of my own. I leaned my elbow on the armrest as close to Liu Yu Zeng as I could.

    "That was the result. You were betrayed so badly by your man that you shattered into a thousand pieces, and the world shattered with you. Because you wouldn''t kill those that needed to be killed, they went out and kill more. Because you listened to your man when it came to what you should do, you never made an actual decision. And when he betrayed you time after time after time, do you know what you did?"

    I was silent. Apparently, Violence needed to get this off of her chest. And I needed to hear it.

    "You rolled over and took it. When he broke his promise, you made an excuse. When he came to you looking for one of his men to be granted life, you gave him life. When he dragged your other three men with him, you just sat here and waited for them toe back. For centuries you waited." There was a snort of disgust as the woman with my face gave me a twisted look.

    "You silenced all of us until we couldn''t take it anymore. If you wanted them so badly that you were willing toy down and take it, then we would go out and live our own lives. Simple."

    "Who was it?" snarled Liu Yu Zeng. I looked up at him to see a look on his face that I had never seen before. He was so enraged that he bypassed trembling and now stood as still as stone with his lip curled up over his teeth.

    "I am not allowed to say," replied Violence as she looked at Liu Yu Zeng. "But you know very well in your heart who betrayed your woman for countless others. Isn''t ironic that the ones he betrayed Li Dai Lu for are now the ones betraying him left, right, and center? Poor baby has only been betrayed three times, and yet he is already plotting his revenge against them. How do you think he would react if he was betrayed century after century? Are you going to offer an excuse or death?"

    Liu Yu Zeng was silent as he thought about her words. He slowly closed his eyes.

    "I was asked that same question not long ago," he said as he opened his eyes, and a harsh look came over his face.

    "Ah, yes. Famine was always the smart one," Violence said with a smile on her face. "Is your answer still the same?"

    "No," he snapped. "And Chen Zi Han is Famine?" he asked, confused. I would admit that even I was not sure what was going on.

    "All five of you have lost your memories about who you were. Liu Wei might not have remembered, but he has fully stepped up into his role. Even you have be stronger, more so than you ever were before. I might be harsh, but even I have seen how much you struggle to be who you were supposed to be," said Violence as the mes continued to flicker in front of me.

    "How do we fulfill our roles?" asked Liu Yu Zeng.

    "Protect what is important to you. When the time is right, you will understand what you are. Although I am a bit disappointed that you haven''t quite figured it out." Violence chuckled as she walked up the two steps to the throne before kneeling in front of me. "You are¡­ you are so much more than you give yourself credit. Stop caring about the voices of people that don''t care about you. They will quickly forget you and move on. You need to do the same."

    "Beginning with the people from thepound," she nodded her head and smiled at me. "Oh, one thing. I told it to Wang Chao before, but I don''t think he passed on my message." Violence turned to Liu Yu Zeng for confirmation. When he shook his head no, she merely sighed. "Figured. He wasn''t impressed with what I said."

    "What is your message? I will make sure that the rest of the guys are aware," said Liu Yu Zeng as he stared at Violence.

    "The message is that there needs to be four of you, but it doesn''t need to be you four. Do you understand?" asked Violence returning his stare. I still concentrated on the mes in front of me, seeing different things in it that I never noticed before.

    "Li Dai Lu gets four men at the end of the day, but those four men might not be us," said Liu Yu Zeng slowly. "How do I make sure that that doesn''t happen?"

    "I have already answered that question," replied Violence, raising her eyebrow. "I am not in the habit of repeating myself."

    "By protecting what is most important to us," said Liu Yu Zeng with a nod of his head. He then looked down at me with his signature smirk on his face. "That won''t be hard at all."

    Violence nodded her head and gave a small smile. "Now that that is settled, back to these mes. Lesson one: what type of mes are they?"

    I looked at the me in confusion. "They are obviously human," I said with some confusion. For the most part, they were all bright pink mes.

    "Good. Now, what do you notice inside of them?"

    "They all have a varying degree of silver in the center," I answered. This seemed like something I have always known, although I don''t remember how.

    "Exactly, and what does the silver center mean?" asked Violence, a smirk on her face as she turned to look at me.

    "Death," I responded.

    "Good. And that one?" she pushed, pointing to a pink me that had a white me in the center.

    "Disease," I said, but that didn''t feel right, "Pestilence," I continued, quickly correcting myself.

    "Perfect. Is there a single me here that doesn''t have a different color at its center?"

 Chapter 354 Secrets Worth Killing For

    Chapter 354 Secrets Worth Killing For

    "There are nine different mes," I said, looking through the sea of mes in front of me. There were 714 mes in total, but only 705 of them called out for death. And there was a single me in there that wasn''t pink at all.

    I cocked my head and looked at the bright silver me in and amongst the pink. It looked so familiar. How could I not know who that one belonged to?" "Liu Wei," I said as I stared mesmerized at it. It was an exact copy of what was currently encased in a diamond inside of me.

    "Yup," nodded Violence, not even bothering to look at the silver me. "The others are harder to find, but you should be able to."

    "Chen Zi Han," I said, pointing to arge me that was pink at the tips but otherwise burned ck.

    "Two for two," said Violence sarcastically. "It''s almost like you know your men inside and out. But there is still one more. Can you find it?"

    I searched through the vast expanse of mes, trying to find one that called to me. It wasn''t as easy to find as Liu Wei and Chen Zi Han, but eventually, I found it towards the back. The me was mostly pink with only the smallest hint of red at the center. "Wang Chao," I said, narrowing my eyes at it. Why didn''t it call to the me inside of me like the others did? "Is he okay?"

    "I guess that depends on your definition of okay. Physically and mentally, he is perfectly fine. But he is going through a lot of internal conflict right now. And Wang Chao is winning."

    "Isn''t that a good thing then?" I asked, confused.

    "That depends on the final oue. Should I tell you a secret?" asked Violence as she turned to look at me. Her expression caused goosebumps to break out over my skin. "It''s a really good secret. Your man might like to hear it too, you know, in case he is on the fence."

    "What is the secret?" demanded Liu Yu Zeng, clearly not happy with Violence right now.

    "I can''t tell you," she continued, briefly looking up at him before turning her attention back to me. "Only she can ask me to tell."

    "What is the secret?" I asked. I was starting to feel nauseous, arge part of me dreading what was about toe out of her mouth.

    "Did you ever wonder why Kindness, Icy, and Bitch told you that your men didn''t belong to you? That they had soulmates and apletely different fate other than the one with you?" she said, cocking her head to the side to look at me.

    "Yes," I admitted. I wasn''t stupid. Every atom of my body screamed out for these guys. So how could they have another soulmate?

    "That''s because there is more to your men than you know," she smirked, telling me the exact same thing as before. "But they weren''t wrong. Wang Chao has a soulmate; Liu Yu Zeng has a soulmate¡ª"

    "Fuck that I do!" snarled Liu Yu Zeng. "Li Dai Lu is my only soulmate. There is no other."

    Violence nodded her head. "Yes, yours is dead, thanks to a very well-ced bullet to the brain. However, I think you have forgotten that you haven''t killed Wang Chao''s soulmate yet. She snuck out of the Sanctuary with the cousin, or don''t you remember? But about your soulmate, whether she is alive or not, you still have a soul attached to your own. Now, please pay attention because this part is really important."

    She looked at Liu Yu Zeng as if to double-check that he was paying attention. "Liu Yu Zeng has a soulmate." Violence held up a hand to stop his protest. "Liu Yu Zeng has a soulmate, but¡­ Li Dai Lu is also your soulmate. It will depend on which side of you wins to know who is destined for you."

    "But Wang Chao¡­" I stuttered. I don''t think I like where this is going.

    "You have two mes in you. One is pink, the other is blue, right?" said Violence,pletely throwing me for a curveball.

    "Yes," I answered nodding my head.

    "And what have we learned about pink mes?"

    "That they are human."

    "And if you have a second me inside of you?"

    "Then I have a second soul inside of me."

    "Good girl," smiled Violence as she reached forward to pinch my cheeks. "And like you, three of your men have two souls living inside of them. Liu Wei is the exception because he killed one of them and took its ce. He was always the one dedicated to you the fastest."

    "And if Wang Chao is fighting himself, then there is no promise that he will choose the soul that is my mate and not hers," I said slowly as it felt like a knife pierced through my chest. He told me he loved me, I felt that connection, and yet¡­

    "Fine, onest secret before we go killing all the people that need to be killed. The second souls can take possession of their host bodies. Kind of like we could take possession of yours; if you ever gave it up. There is nothing saying that he lied when he told you he loved you. It just might not have been Wang Chao that said it."

    "Then who did?" I demanded, feeling my heart break. But what concerned me most was that it wasn''t nearly as painful as I thought it would be.

    "The other soul. And given the state of Wang Chao''s me, the other soul might just give up on him," said Violence like it wasn''t that big of a deal. "But now that I have told you way more secrets than I should have, it''s time to pay up."

    "And how do you want me to do that?" I asked with a snort. I was just as willing as her to change subjects, not willing to entertain the idea that one of my men was less than devoted to me.

    "By killing those that needed to be killed, of course. Do you know which ones they are?"

 Chapter 355 Crying Over Spilled Milk

    Chapter 355 Crying Over Spilled Milk

    "I know who needs to die," I said with a nod. I didn''t even bother to go through each and every soul, looking for a bleeding-heart story that might make me change my mind. I needed to take this step.

    "Then make it so," smirked Violence. "Unless you are too¡ª" She didn''t even manage to finish her sentence before there were only nine mes remaining in the giant throne room. She paused and turned to look at me for a moment. "You really have changed. How are you feeling?"

    "Fine," I said honestly with a shrug. "If there is one thing my second life taught me was that if you don''t kill them, they are likely to kill you instead."

    "Ah, yes. The default of a human in survival mode. Not like I overly me them. It would just be nice if they didn''t get us involved every time," sighed Violence as she studied the mes still left burning. She paid extra attention to Wang Chao''s.

    "We probably should go. People are going to wonder where we went," I said as I stood up and took Liu Yu Zeng''s hand.

    "No, they won''t. No time will have passed at all," reassured Violence as she turned to look at me. "Are you sure you are okay?"

    "No, I really am not," I admitted. "But that has nothing to do with killing 705 people and more to do with Wang Chao."

    "Don''t overthink it. This was probably one of the reasons why we all agreed not to tell you anything until you remembered it on your own. It just pisses me off to see you trailing after the military time and again." I could tell that Violence was genuinely upset over letting things slip.

    However, I had apletely different thought on the matter. "If I found outter that the devotion and dedication that I was giving him wasn''t returned, then I might have been crushed all over again. And, ording to you, I don''t do breakups by half measures."

    "No, you definitely don''t. But don''t count Wang Chao out yet. He still has the potential. After all, your soulmate''s soul is still inside of his body."

    I hummed in agreement, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with her. I would sort things out as they came. After all this time, I was used to rolling with the punches.

    "All right, just blink back to where you were. You can just do the same thing if you need toe here. And technically, it is easier to do mass killings when you are in the throne room. Go have fun, get that fucking device, and then bring it here. There is no need for the humans to fuck things up even more," grumbled Violence as she waved her hand, and Liu Yu Zeng and I went back to thepound.

    We looked at each other for a brief second before turning our attention back to Xing Xin Ya. "Do you want your ce back?" I asked, interrupting her rant. Enough time had passed for me to not even remember what she was bitching about. Something about men, women, and children? Well, except for the people in this room, the rest were dead.

    No use crying over spilled milk.

    "What?" she asked, confused as to why I just brought it up. "I thought you were going to take it," she continued, looking at the men around her.

    "What use do I have for this ce?" I replied, just as confused as she was. "I already have my own ranch and two safe cities. This is really not even on my list. No offense, of course," I continued with a shrug.

    "Of course," she answered with a strained smile.

    "Look, if you don''t want it, someone wille and grab it up soon enough. It really doesn''t matter to me," I said. It was too much work to set up safe zones all over the country. But now that I was thinking about it. I have only been to the east coast. It might be fun to travel around now that zombies aren''t exactly going to be a problem.

    "If you are sure?" Xing Xin Ya asked with a hopeful smile.

    "More than sure." I still had a crap ton of things on my list of things to do. What was it again? Commune, device¡­ then¡­?

    ''Then City A,'' came a voice inside of my head, and I rolled my eyes.

    Fine. I will add City A to that list. Why was I going to do that?

    ''You will see,'' smirked Violence.

    ''You would make a crappy Oracle,'' I grumbled under my breath, getting pissed at her half-answers and secrets. It was enough to drive a girl insane.

    ''Hardly. She liked Chen Zi Han and went back without any problems.''

    I was really, really done for the day. "We are leaving," I said as I stood up from my ice throne. I took a moment to study it closely and realized that I really did manage to duplicate it inch for inch to the one in the throne room. Yay me.

    "You aren''t staying until the morning?" asked Xing Xin Ya.

    "I have been up for 18 hours. I am more than a little tired, and I still have to deal with stupid men that don''t understand that they are stupid. I need my sleep just to make sure that I don''t identally kill people tomorrow that shouldn''t be killed. Now, the ce is yours. Live long and prosper."

    With those final words, I walked out of the living room and the farmhouse. Taking a deep breath of the crisp spring air, I walked out of the gates of the cannibalisticmune, hoping that I won''t ever have toe back here. Let the Fury and her men do what they wanted.

    "Where to next?" asked Liu Weiing up behind me and scooping me up into his arms.

    "Sleep," I said as he carried me a few miles down the road. After we had put enough distance between us and Xing Xin Ya, I brought out the RVs. "This should be good."

    "Any reason why we went this far?" asked Wang Chao as he came up to me smiling.

 Chapter 356 Sharing With The Class

    Chapter 356 Sharing With The ss

    I tried to smile back at the man, but I was still feeling too raw inside. I let out a big yawn and then smiled apologetically. I had my shields up, and I knew that he wouldn''t be able to read my thoughts right now. Until I knew what my next step was with him, I needed a bit of distance.

    "I left a surprise for her. She should find it tomorrow morning. And, since I know she is going to be pissed, I wanted a bit of extra space between us," I said, answering Wang Chao''s question.

    "We can take Cerberus and the bikes further away if that will make you feel better," added Liu Wei, looking at me concerned. I rested my head on his shoulder and simply closed my eyes.

    "Too tired. Sleep now, deal with crapter," I grumbled as Liu Wei carried me up into my RV andid me down in bed. Taking off my boots, he undid my pants and pulled them off. "If you think you are getting anything," I grumbled at him weakly. My eyes were already staying closed.

    "I like you awake and participating. I can wait," he assured me as he gave me a kiss on the forehead and tucked me under the covers. He opened the door to my bedroom and paused for a second. "My brother is here. Do you want me to kick him out?"

    "I am actually here to talk to you," smirked Liu Yu Zeng before he looked at me over his brother''s shoulders. "We''ll be backter to cuddle."

    I nodded my head, letting sleep im me.

    ----

    Liu Yu Zeng looked at his brother and Chen Zi Han from where he sat on the couch of his personal RV. There was no way he was willing to sleep here, away from Li Dai Lu, but he also needed to talk to the two of them without anyone else around.

    "Why are we here?" grumbled Chen Zi Han from where he stood in the kitchte. Liu Yu Zeng was sure that if he had food in his cupboards the other man would already be cooking something. For Famine, he really enjoyed feeding people.

    "While we were at thepound, Li Dai Lu and I were pulled into a space," started Liu Yu Zeng, not sure how he should exin what happened.

    "Was it her space? Was she okay? What happened?" demanded Liu Wei, not at all impressed that he hadn''t been by her side when that happened.

    "Yes, it was her space, but not the one that we have all been to. This one waspletely different. But that isn''t why I called you here," said Liu Yu Zeng, holding up his hand to calm his brother down. But then again, he would have been acting the same way if he was left behind.

    "Then why are we here?" demanded Chen Zi Han as he crossed his arms in front of his chest.

    "Because I had a really interesting conversation with Violence," replied Liu Yu Zeng.

    "Violence?" asked Liu Wei, a confused look on his face. Maybe it was because he was too tired, but he really didn''t know what his brother was talking about.

    "One of her personalities. Now, are you going to listen so we can get this over with and get back to her?" snarled Liu Yu Zeng as he remembered some of the more important parts of the conversation. But should he tell them about Wang Chao?

    "Violence knows what happened in the past, a part of the past that none of us seem to remember," he started his question answered before he even finished asking it. "She said that Wang Chao betrayed multiple times over many centuries, causing her to ''shatter'' to pieces. That is why she is hearing so many different voices in her head."

    "When she said betrayed does she mean¡­" Chen Zi Han couldn''t finish his sentence without the overwhelming urge to go out and kill someone. And there was a very particr someone that he had in mind.

    "She didn''t specify. Only that sometimes, he brought all of us with him," said Liu Yu Zeng, his stomach clenching at the very idea of leaving Li Dai Lu behind simply to follow Wang Chao. From the looks on the other two men''s faces, it appeared that they were thinking the same thing.

    "Violence also said a few other things, but the most important one is this: there needs to be four of you, but you don''t need to be the four. Apparently, she said the same thing when she was talking to Wang Chao, but he never passed on the message," said Liu Yu Zeng, wishing that he had whisky or some other type of hard liquor in his hand right now.

    "Not happening," said Chen Zi Han with a shrug.

    "Oh, I agree," answered Liu Yu Zeng. "But each one of us has two souls living in our bodies, one is Li Dai Lu''s soulmate, and the other one is ''ours.'' But I don''t agree with that statement. Liu Yu Zeng might have a soulmate out there that died. But my soulmate is Li Dai Lu."

    "Did Violence exin that any further?" asked Liu Wei, unnaturally still.

    "Nope, just that you are the only one of us to have a single soul. You are closer than any of the rest of us to where we should be, but even then, you don''t remember," said Liu Yu Zeng. "Do you want to share with the ss as to how you managed to do that?"

    "I had a voice talking to me almost as soon as the apocalypse started," said Liu Wei slowly, looking out the window of the RV and into the dark night. "It told me things like I wasgging behind. That if I didn''t hurry up, Li Dai Lu would never choose me. Stuff like that. But when I was pulled into that space by theke, it tried to stop me. It tried to hold me back from swearing my alliance to her. So, I killed it."

    "That simple?" scoffed Chen Zi Han, trying to think if he had ever heard a voice in his head.

    "No, not that simple."

 Chapter 357 Be Careful What You Wish For

    Chapter 357 Be Careful What You Wish For

    The other two men looked at Liu Wei as if he had the answer to eternal happiness, and in a way, he did. He smiled at them and blinked.

    "Well, aren''t you going to tell us how you did it?" demanded Liu Yu Zeng to his older brother. He needed to know how to kill the other soul, and so far, only Liu Wei has been able to do it.

    "Nope," replied the man with a self-satisfied grin on his face.

    "What? Why not?!?" whined Liu Yu Zeng.

    "Kind of like you didn''t tell me about the whole evesting vows to Li Dai Lu in a dream verse which connected the two of you with her on a whole new level. If I am correct, I was thest one to know about it," said Liu Wei as he cocked his head to the side, a sarcastic smile on his face. "Just don''t be thest one."

    "Fucker," grumbled Liu Yu Zeng under his breath. It wasn''t like Liu Wei was wrong. They didn''t tell him shit about it, and he can keep this secret. Besides, it is pointless unless he actually hears the voice, right?

    "Does anyone want to take a guess as to why Wang Chao runs hot and cold all the time?" asked Chen Zi Han, changing the subject. "I mean, he made the same vows that we did. He has also slept with her."

    "And told her that he loved her," added Liu Yu Zeng with a cold smirk on his face.

    "And then he acts like he wants nothing to do with her," continued Chen Zi Han, turning to look at Liu Wei, hoping that the other man had the answers. He had spent the most time with Wang Chao and should know what was going through his head.

    "Maybe it has something to do with the two separate souls," theorized Liu Wei. He sat down on the stools and leaned against the kitchen ind, trying to get his thoughts in order. "If one soul is destined for Li Dai Lu, then it stands to reason why he runs hot. On the other hand, if the second soul is destined for the other woman, then when that one is in control of the body, he''ll run cold."

    "And how do we know what soul is in control at what times? I don''t exactly want to leave her in a vulnerable position with the one that doesn''t give a fuck about her," growled Chen Zi Han.

    ''What''s this? You are inviting us to the party now? Are you sure you really want to do that? I mean, you have done some fucked up shit,'' said a voice deep inside Chen Zi Han''s head. He paused and looked at the other two men.

    "Are the voices annoying?" he asked, looking directly at Liu Wei.

    "Annoying, helpful, seductive, all sorts of different things," confirmed Liu Wei with a smile. "Be careful not to be dragged down a path you don''t want to go. I have a feeling that it is the voices that belong to Li Dai Lu."

    ''Death was always the smart one,'' grumbled the voice. Inside of Chen Zi Han''s mind, the picture of a skeleton came to the forefront. It was dressed in a ck cape with old-fashioned scales in one hand. Tossing the scales aside, the skeleton seemed to stare directly at Chen Zi Han. ''Pleasure to meet you. Now, could you kindly fuck off so I can get my woman? After all, yours isying around here somewhere. Oh, that''s right, you killed her. How does it feel to kill the one woman built perfectly for you?''

    "I am going with annoying right now," said Chen Zi Han in a deadpan voice.

    "At least you are hearing it. I have never wanted to hear voices in my head so much as I do right now," grumbled Liu Yu Zeng.

    ''Ah, ah, be careful what you wish for. You just might get it,'' said a new voice inside Liu Yu Zeng.

    "Great, now we are all going crazy," grumbled the man as he ran his fingers through his hair.

    "Not all," smirked Liu Wei. "I already did the crazy and came out on top."

    "And yet you still don''t know who you are," shot back Liu Yu Zeng.

    "Better than having long conversations with yourself on what a crappy job you are doing looking after your woman, how you don''t belong to her. You know, all the standard crap."

    "Advice on how to get them to shut up?" asked Chen Zi Han as he rubbed his temples.

    "Stuff them into a giant dark hole," suggested Liu Wei with a shrug. "You guys figure out the voices. I am going to go sleep with Li Dai Lu."

    ''You can''t let him go!'' shouted the voice in Liu Yu Zeng''s head. ''That fucker has always had a head start when it came to her. And as much as she doesn''t y favorites, it just not fair,'' it continued toin.

    ''Then what do you suggest?'' sneered Liu Yu.

    ''Got beat him to her! She hates it when we fight, but there is more than enough room for the four of us in her bed right now.''

    Liu Yu Zeng looked at Chen Zi Han and realized that he had been given the same advice. The two of them shot to the front door. Liu Yu Zeng made it out first, but Chen Zi Han was a fast runner. They overtook Liu Wei within a few seconds, and all three of the men grinned at each other as they sprinted as fast as they could to Li Dai Lu''s RV.

    Not wanting to wake her up, they slid to a stop in front of her door. "I get under. You two can have each side," suggested Liu Yu Zeng. "We can rotate positions every night."

    "Fair," grunted Chen Zi Han. He didn''t care where he slept as long as he got to sleep with her.

    "Done," agreed Liu Wei with a nod of his head.

    Opening the door quietly and making sure it was locked behind them, the three men slipped into their woman''s bed. Even the new voices quieted down, enjoying the mere presence of their Queen.

 Chapter 358 Two Sides To The Same Coin

    358 Two Sides To The Same Coin

    "I wondered where everyone was," said Wang Chao, waking Chen Zi Han up. He looked at Li Dai Lu, relieved that she was still sleeping on top of Liu Yu Zeng. There was a brief sh of rage in the other man''s eyes, but he calmed down quickly when the woman in his arms started to stir.

    "You know how she is without her puppy pile," shrugged Chen Zi Han as he rolled out of bed. Tilting his head towards the kitchen, he indicated for the other man to proceed him. He definitely didn''t want Li Dai Lu waking up before she absolutely had to.

    ''Fucking War, can''t stand to be left out of anything. What''s the new term for it? YoYo?'' grumbled the voice in Chen Zi Han''s head.

    ''FOMO,'' replied the man as he shrugged on his clothes and left the room, shutting the door behind him. ''Fear of missing out.''

    ''Yup, that fits War to a ''T'','' agreed the skeleton as he appeared in Chen Zi Han''s head. ''Fucker was always the one fucking things up for everyone. And now that he feels he has done enough penance, he wants what the rest of us always had.''

    ''And what is that?'' asked Chen Zi Han as he started making breakfast. He ignored Wang Chao, choosing instead to have a conversation with the voice in his head.

    ''Our woman in our arms,'' smirked the skeleton as much as a skeleton could smirk. ''Can you make extra food for me? Look at me, I am wasting away to nothing,'' it continued, holding apart his cape so that Chen Zi Han could see his bones.

    Chen Zi Han chuckled out loud, causing Wang Chao to turn to look at him suspiciously. "Is there something funny?" the man snapped, really not looking impressed that Chen Zi Han might beughing at him.

    ''Any idea what soul that one is?'' asked Chen Zi Han.

    ''Hard to say. Both Wang Chao and War are assholes,'' replied the voice with a shrug of his shoulders.

    ''And what am I going to call you?'' asked Chen Zi Han.

    ''I am Famine,'' chuckled the skeleton. ''And whether you get the girl or not will depend on how well the two of us get along.''

    ''That''s bullshit, Liu Wei killed his voice,'' smirked Chen Zi Han.

    ''Yes, well, with Death, it was always going to be one or the other. Especially when it came to ¡­ her. He hates sharing what he considers to be his. But the problem is that she belongs to all of us. Well, War is on thin ice. It would be interesting to see if he is kept.''

    "You never answered my question. What are youughing at?" said Wang Chao looking at Chen Zi Han with a strange look on his face.

    "Apparently, Li Dai Lu''s voices are contagious," smiled Chen Zi Han, not caring about the other man. If he stayed, great. If he left, fine too. Their Queen would be the one to decide all matters. All he needed to do was stand beside her, and things would be just fine.

    ''Smart way of thinking about it,'' said Famine. ''Then again, we were always smart. But I think I like you much more than the others.''

    "Voices?" demanded Wang Chao.

    ''Others?'' asked Chen Zi Han, not paying attention to Wang Chao until the other man walked right up to them.

    "When I ask a question, I expect an answer," snarled Wang Chao causing a brief glimpse of rage to pass over Chen Zi Han''s face. Too bad that Wang Chao caught it. "What? Not impressed? You are nothing but a lowly enforcer for some criminal organization. Nothing more than the scum of the world as far as I am concerned."

    "And he is my man, which is more than I can say about you right now," snapped Li Dai Lu as she strolled into the living room of the small RV, staring down the man twice her size.

    "Sorry, Trouble," said Wang Chao, taking a 180 from his previous attitude. "There seems to be something wrong," he continued rubbing his forehead in frustration. "Some days, I want nothing more than to wrap you in my arms and never let go. And other times, I am ready to burn down everyone and everything in the world. And that mood seems to switch at the drop of a hat."

    The poor man seemed to bepletely beside himself. Liu Wei shared a look with the other two men. "I think I know why," he said slowly, not sure if Wang Chao wanted to hear what he had to say. "We were recently informed that there are two souls in our bodies. One that is us and another that is¡­ other. I think the other one takes control sometimes."

    Wang Chao studied Liu Wei for a second. "You think that is why I both want to kneel down at Trouble''s feet and¡­" Wang Chao stopped mid-sentence.

    "Say it," suggested Li Dai Lu looking at the man. "If you at least voice it out and then tell us your thoughts on the matter, then we might be able to work through whatever is going on."

    "There are some days that I want to kneel at your feet, swear my loyalty to you and only you. Find my ce among the other men, one where I don''t question my usefulness to you, and live happily ever after on the ranch," said Wang Chao as he grabbed Li Dai Lu''s hand and brought her to sit down on the couch.

    "And then there are others where I think that you are just a useless little girl that is overly dramatic and always wants to have things done your way." As Wang Chao spoke, his voice took on a harsher, more sinister tone to it. His eyes narrowed on her, and he started squeezing her hand mercilessly. "What man wants to be subservient to a woman that can''t hold a sword or kill to protect her people? What man wants to be subservient to any woman, period? Not a real man, I can tell you that."

    New Discord Channel

 Chapter 359 Kill Me Now

    359 Kill Me Now

    I was absolutely stunned listening to the venoming out of Wang Chao''s mouth. In fact, I couldn''t react at all. What this what he was thinking the whole time? Even when we were making love?

    The idea that I had let him touch me when he thought like that made me want to puke. Did he really think that I wanted a subservient man? I have never pushed the others to do things my way¡­ or did I?

    I was getting so lost in my spiraling thoughts that I didn''t hear Violence until she was practically screaming in my ear. ''You don''t need to listen to this. Let me take over just for a bit. Give yourself a break. Go into your space, do some farming, whatever you need to do. I am here, I got this.''

    I thought about her words. Would it be okay to just take a back seat for a second? Yeah. I think so.

    Giving her my consent, I felt her push me down into the recess of my mind until I was on the farm in my space. Without thinking, I grabbed some ice cream from the freezer and went upstairs to watch movies and just rx on my bed. I needed a me day, and I was damn well going to take it.

    ----

    "Hello, War," said Violence as she flicked her hand out of War''s grasp and gotfortable on the couch. She looked around at the other men and saw Liu Yu Zeng staring at her. With a bloodthirsty smirk, she winked at him.

    "Ah, if it isn''t the bitch. What? Could Princess not hack it anymore and sent you out to deal with me?" sneered War, using Wang Chao''s voice and face.

    "You will watch what you say," growled Chen Zi Haning around the counter to confront the other man. Violence held up a hand, and Liu Yu Zeng stopped him from going any further. He looked at his friend and shook his head.

    ''You don''t want to mess with that one,'' said Famine as he backed a few feet away. He seemed to hope that if he was in the back of his mind then Li Dai Lu wouldn''t notice him. ''Not Li Dai Lu, that girl is a sweetheart. Her, I don''t want her to notice me.''

    "Bitch isn''t around anymore; you will have to deal with me instead. I mean, isn''t that what you wanted? To destroy the Queen so badly that she would forever be fractured. Why? Wanted her realm so badly?"

    War scoffed at that idea. "I wanted nothing to do with that realm. Always so boring. Give me the bloodshed, the fields of men being real men, fighting for what is theirs. Not her realm. She couldn''t even control it. Isn''t that why you had to show up?

    "I had to show up because you didn''t know your ce," smirked Violence as she crossed her legs in front of her and rested her elbow on the armrest. "But heaven forbid a woman tell you your ce, right?"

    "I should have been the leader! The others followed me! Why couldn''t she trust me to lead?" snarled War. "And then to be given this body, someone that wants to submit to her every desire. Where is the desire to kill, to conquer? He was even in the military for all of his life! He should have learned. Instead, he is so weak that those lesser than him can order him around."

    Violence could only smirk when she heard War''s rants. "Ah, must be so frustrating to have your soul fractured and not be able to fully control it anymore. But someone has to pay penance for you. After all, how many times did you betray her?"

    War paused for a second to study Violence. "What do you know?"

    Violence let out a chuckle that had the hair on the arms of all the men standing at attention. "Do you forget who I am? Who WE are? I know everything. And so does she. I mean, wasn''t that why you tried so hard to destroy her?"

    "She is nothing," scoffed War, causing the three men to turn on him and snarl. "What? Don''t you agree? It''s not like you fought all that hard to stay back."

    "To my recollection," started Liu Wei slowly, the wordsing from seemingly nowhere but feeling right. "You can''t go anywhere without the three of us." He chuckled. "Poor War. You are nothing without us. And yet, you think you are the leader, themander of us all."

    "You might not have wanted toe, but you still followed," sneered War, not enjoying the fact that everyone was ganging up on him.

    "We followed to relieve the suffering of those that paid the ultimate price for your need for conquest," shot back Liu Wei. "After all, without me, none of them would be able to move on."

    "You''re Death? You don''t feel like him," said War confused. Then he looked around the room for the first time. "None of you feel like how you should."

    "Doesn''t make us not them," shrugged Liu Wei. "After all, I killed Death. It is only right to take his ce. Don''t you agree? Maybe Wang Chao should do the same."

    "That fucker isn''t strong enough to kill me,"ughed War. "If he was, I wouldn''t be able to take over the personality so much, would I?"

    "Then I guess there is only one way to do it then," smiled Violence. "We kill Wang Chao and hope that your next reincarnation is stronger than this one."

    "You wouldn''t," said War taking a step back. "I am War, the Second Horseman of the Apocalypse. Without me, the entire world will be plunged into chaos."

    "So good of you to remember that you are the second," smiled Liu Yu Zeng, repeating the words that the voice inside his head wanted to get out. "You always seemed to have forgotten that you were second. But don''t worry. You won''t actually die. Just be absorbed into a new body. Simr to how Li Dai Lu absorbs all of her multiple personalities."

    "And hopefully, the next one won''t be such a dick," added Liu Wei, looking at the being that had taken over his friend''s body.

    "Kill me," came a strained voice out of War''s mouth. "Kill me now."

    Apparently the characters might force the issue.

    Oops.

    <3

    D

    Devilbesideyou666

 Chapter 360 Hamburger Vs Filet Mignon

    Chapter 360 Hamburger Vs Filet Mignon

    "I am sorry," said Violence as she looked at the man in front of her. She could see Wang Chao fighting hard for possession of the body, but War was not willing to give up his control. "Only the Queen can make that call."

    "And we all know that she can''t bring herself to kill anyone. Always was too weak," sneered War as he pushed Wang Chao into the back of their mind.

    "Li Dai Lu!" came a yell from outside the RV. "Get your ass out here! Why did you kill everyone?!?"

    "You were saying?" asked Violence as she stood up and walked toward the door. She was impressed and happy when the other three men followed her out.

    "Had to have been you. No way that girl could pull off killing someone," said War stubbornly.

    "Hate to burst your bubble, but I had nothing to do with it," smiled Violence over her shoulder as she came to a stop in front of a woman and her five men.

    "Bullshit, you had nothing to do with it," snarled the woman looking like she wanted to fly across the distance and strangle her.

    "Wasn''t talking to you," replied Violence airily. She waved a hand in the air, and a throne was created behind her. It wasn''t the same one that Li Dai Lu created out of ice but rather seemed to be made from swords. "And that is a very bad habit to get into, thinking everything is about yourself. I am pretty sure that that is one of the circles of Hell."

    "It''s not," said Liu Weiing up to stand on her right. "Unless you consider them under the fraud category in that they are able to fool others, but as it stands right now, narcissism is not one of the circles."

    Violence looked over her shoulder and raised an eyebrow at the man. "Are you really trying to mansin Hell to me?" she asked, concerned.

    "No," said Liu Wei looking down at her. "Merely suggesting that you might want to add an additionalyer is all."

    Violence studied him for a moment before turning her attention back to the group in front of her. "They were judged, and the ruling was death."

    "That was not your call to make," snarled Xing Xin Ya. She had woken this morning to realize that everyone but her and her men were dead.

    "It was exactly my call to make, little Fury," replied Violence as she stood up and stalked toward the other woman. "There is no one other than me to make that call, do you understand?"

    Xing Xin Ya looked at the woman and could practically taste the blood in the air around her. "I wanted them to live," she said softly.

    "Okay, then, for shits and giggles, let''s say they did live. What then?" demanded Violence, returning to her throne and the three men standing around it. She didn''t even bother to look to see where War was.

    "What do you mean?" demanded one of the men beside Xing Xin Ya.

    "I mean, how are you going to feed them? They now have a taste for human flesh. Are you going to continue to supply it to them?" asked Violence tilting her head curiously.

    "I would just stop giving it to them," said Xing Xin Ya with a wave of her hand like it wasn''t that big of a deal.

    "Have you ever tried to just stop giving an addict what they were addicted to?" responded Violence. It appeared that humans were even dumber than what she remembered. Thank God she had long given up wanting her own life and went back to the original body. She shuttered at the idea of having to deal with such stupid people.

    "It''s not the same. It''s just meat," replied Xing Xin Ya, not fullyprehending what was going on.

    "No, it''s not just meat. Unless you are saying that a hamburger is the same as a filet mignon. I mean, they are both beefs, right?"

    Xing Xin Ya paused for a moment. She had never thought of it in that manner. But still, it shouldn''t matter. They could just give up eating meat.

    "Ah, just give up eating meat. Sure, ask anyone that has done that if it is easy or not. Or how long they were able to maintain that kind of diet. Unless you truly believe in it, there is no way that anyone would go through with it."

    "But it is human meat," said Xing Xin Ya, confused.

    "And? When you are starving, meat is meat, and humans are still around inrge enough numbers to provide a lot of meat," shrugged Violence. "They were killed because they were never going to stop eating human meat. It is very simple. In some cases, they were also slowly dying of illnesses that went unchecked. Either way. They''re dead. Deal with it."

    "And what do you suggest we do with the bodies then? There are hundreds of them," asked Xing Xin Ya as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. She fully agreed that there was nothing to be done now that they were all killed, but she was not going to back down on the issue either.

    "705, to be precise," answered Violence with a smile that wasn''t a smile. "And if you aren''t going to eat them, I suggest burning them."

    "I can''t burn that many people, I don''t have any powers." Xing Xin Ya gritted her teeth, hating to admit that fact.

    "Wood and matches worked to burn people in the olden days," interjected Liu Wei. He could tell that Violence was not handling the conversation as well as Li Dai Lu could have. But right now, Li Dai Lu needed some time to herself, and Violence offered to take over. In order to support his Queen, he needed to help this personality.

    "I don''t have that much wood," said the woman looking around at the four people in front of her. "Wait, wasn''t there five of you? Where is the other?"

    "You seem to be very concerned about my man," said Violence, and the eerie way she was looking at Xing Xin Ya was how a snake looked at prey. "Are you concerned about my man?"

    War would never be her man. But Wang Chao? He was a different story. And she would not let anyone give her men undue attention.

 Chapter 361 Agree to Disagree

    Chapter 361 Agree to Disagree

    "What? No?!" said Xing Xin Ya, shocked. She couldn''t care less about the other woman''s men. She had more than enough to deal with with her five that she wasn''t interested in adding to it any time soon. "Just wondering where he was."

    "Probably out trying to start a war," replied Violence with a shrug. "You know how men are. Now, if you are done being stupid, please feel free to turn around and deal with the bodies."

    "Did you just call my wife stupid?" growled the biggest man in the group. Violence didn''t particrly care to remember the names of inconsequential people.

    "Yup," said Violence, not caring at all about his opinion. "After all, I was with you guys the entire time. When did I have the time and ability to kill the people? And if I didn''t go and kill them in person, then I must be strong enough to do it from miles away. And if that is the case, which it was, and your wife still came to confront me about it, which she did, then what would you call it?"

    "Stupidity," said Liu Yu Zeng with a smirk, his arm still resting on the back of the throne of swords.

    "Idiotic," added Liu Wei as he adjusted his sses.

    "Death wish," finished Chen Zi Han.

    "Ah, is that it? Your wife has a death wish, and she wants me to amodate her?" Violence asked, tilting her head to the side and looking at Xing Xin Ya. "You know, there are much easier ways of going about it."

    "Fuck off," growled the man as he took a step forward. That was all it took for the three men standing around the throne to take action. Before anyone could register what was going on, Chen Zi Han had the man by the throat. The other man''s feet started to dangle in the air as Chen Zi Han continued to hold him up higher and higher.

    The other four men tried to go help one of them, but they were allid out on the ground thanks to the Liu brothers. The two of them stood side by side in front of the throne, both adjusting their leather gloves, just waiting for one of the men on the ground to get to his feet.

    "Stop!" screeched Zing Xin Ya as she looked at her men. Four were on the ground,pletely unable to move, while the fifth''s face was turning blue fromck of oxygen. And still, none of the other men stopped when shemanded them to.

    "They are not yours tomand, little girl," said Violence as she got up from her throne and walked toward where Liu Wei and Liu Yu Zeng were standing. They parted ways before she even got close enough to touch them.

    She more than definitely approved of that move. As much as she was a personality of Li Dai Lu, she was not her. And her men shouldn''t be touched by anyone else. Besides, Violence didn''t share any more than Li Dai Lu did.

    "I don''t know what your grand n was, hunting us down and confronting us. Did you expect us to bring them back from the dead? I''m afraid that not even genies could do that. So, what was your purpose?"

    Xing Xin Ya opened her mouth but then quickly closed it. She was pissed, and she felt betrayed. She thought that Li Dai Lu was one of the good guys. And a good guy could never kill that many people. She wanted an exnation, but even then, she didn''t feel better. Summarizing all of her thoughts, she spoke a single sentence.

    "You betrayed me."

    "No, I didn''t," said Violence with a sigh. She really had high hopes for this Fury, but apparently, that was all it was, hopes. "I never promised you that I would let them live. In fact, I told you point nk that I was going to kill them all. You made your case then, and I ignored it."

    "But I don''t agree with you that they all needed to die," Xing Xin Ya said, her hands clenched at her sides. She watched as Chen Xin Ya''s face started to turn purple.

    "And in that, we will have to agree to disagree. Listen, I want to be your friend, but you need to understand that there are things that I need to do," said Violence. She didn''t particrly care if they were friends or not, but she knew that Li Dai Lu liked her.

    "And you needed to kill them?" sneered Xing Xin Ya. "And can you tell your brute of a man to let mine go? It''s no wonder someone would take his name if he wanted to put fear in people. Fucking criminal."

    "Nope, sorry, just no," said Violence as she approached Xing Xin Ya and grabbed her by the throat. "A part of me understands that you are just hurt and need tosh out at anyone or anything. But that is my man, and no one speaks to him like that and lives." Violence started crushing the woman''s throat, her eyes blinded by rage and you for handling Wang Chao when I couldn''t. But I got it from here.''

    bloodlust.

    ''All right, time to tap yourself out,'' came a voice inside of Violence''s mind, and all of a sudden, she was back in her throne room. ''Thank you for handling Wang Chao when I couldn''t. But I got it from here.''

    ''How much did you hear?'' asked Violence, concerned.

    -----

    ''Enough to know that Wang Chao isn''t the problem," I assured her. I didn''t know what she was talking about with War and all that stuff, but I knew enough to know that the man that loved me was trapped with someone that hated me.

    I was pretty sure that Wang Chao had it worse than me.

    "Now, where were we?" I asked as I smiled at Xing Xin Ya, her throat still in my hand. Ah, yes, you were insulting my man." I was really not impressed as I squeezed a bit harder. I had killed the people that needed to be killed. It was not her ce to interfere. She wanted toe here and start shit? Then I would be more than happy to finish it.

 Chapter 362 On Ice

    Chapter 362 On Ice

    "Right, you thought that my man was nothing but a criminal¡­ sorry¡­ ''fucking criminal''. And for what? Because he is stronger than your man? That is not his fault your man is weak. That is something he needs to work on himself."

    I watched as her face turned red. It was really too bad. I thought that I might finally have a female friend. Someone that had the same experiences as me with multiple men. But there was no way to build any type of friendship after she insulted Chen Zi Han.

    If she is lucky, she might walk out of here with her life. But anything more is pushing it.

    She frantically tapped my hand like that was going to be enough to let her go. It wasn''t, but it was enough for me to loosen my grip and at least let her talk. "I am sorry," she said as she gasped for air.

    "No," I said, shaking my head. "You are sorry that there are consequences for running your mouth. But you aren''t sorry for what you said."

    "I am," she assured me. "I was just worried about Chen Xin Ya, and it just came out of nowhere."

    "Things don''t juste out. They tend to be long-suppressed feelings that finally make their way to the surface, but they nevere out of nowhere. You look down on my man for his brutality, but maybe you should look down on yours for hisck of it." More than done with her, I flicked my wrist and sent her flying.

    I didn''t know that I was strong enough to do something like that. It was probably an after-effect of Violence. That personality seemed the type to need to work out some aggression.

    "It''s dirty. Drop it," I said to Chen Zi Han as I turned around and looked at the throne that Violence created. It was¡­ nice, very her with all the swords, but I will take my ice throne any day of the week. I quickly rebuilt my throne over top of hers and went to go sit down.

    Chen Zi Han threw in man in his hand in the same direction as his woman and dusted off his hands as best he could. He walked towards me with a smile on his face. "Nice to see you back," he said as he gave me a kiss on my head.

    "Sorry about that. Apparently, I needed a bit of a break. But I am back and more than willing to kick some ass. Now, what should we do with them?" I asked him. After all, she insulted him, not me, so he could get the final say in what to do.

    He paused for a moment before he started to speak. "I have an idea, I just need to run out for a moment. Is that okay?" he asked me hesitantly.

    "Whatever you need. I''ll be here. But take one of the other guys with you. I don''t want us going anywhere alone right now. You never know when the military is going to pop out of nowhere and have a new assignment that we just can''t say no to," I said with a sarcastic smile. Liu Yu Zeng and Chen Zi Han chuckled low, and even Liu Wei huffed out augh.

    "I''ll take Liu Yu Zeng. Back in a bit," said Chen Zi Han, and all of a sudden, Lin and Kronos were there, quietly rumbling as they waited for the men to get on.

    "Be safe. Come home to me," I said with a wave. The words seemed toe out of nowhere, but like I told Xing Xin Ya, it was probably because they were long repressed.

    "Always am, always do," said Liu Yu Zeng back, and it felt like we hadpleted some sort of ritual between us.

    "You will never get rid of me. Keep the hearth fire burning. I will be home soon." And just like that, another puzzle piece clicked into ce, and I was able to breathe just a bit easier.

    However, as happy as their words made me, there was also an echo of sadness at the same time. Like I had said those words too many times.

    I shook my head. They were literally going right down the street. If I was that anxious, I could just meet up with them.

    "And then there were two," smirked Liu Wei, and he leaned down to nibble on my shoulder and ear. I groaned in approval.

    "Well, two plus six," I chuckled as the first of Xing Xin Ya''s men managed to get to their feet. "And I have no idea what Chen Zi Han wants done with them."

    "Then we''ll put them on ice for right now until theye back," said Liu Wei with a shrug. He came to the front of my throne and picked me up. Spinning the two of us around until I was sitting on hisp, he got usfortable once again.

    "When you say put them on ice, do you mean literally or figuratively?" I asked, just wanting to be clear. He chuckled and shook his head. "You don''t actually have to freeze them; we will just have to make sure that they aren''t running off any time soon."

    I studied the six bodiesying on the ground in front of us. "I think you guys did a pretty good job at that yourselves."

    "Too slow; we should have been faster. Will probably have to start training again," shrugged Liu Wei, and he, too, turned to look at the bodies.

    "Does this training have a montage with lots of push-ups? Because if there are push-ups, I want to watch," I said with a smirk. "But seriously, is Wang Chao okay?"

    "Probably not, no," replied Liu Wei, really not seeming to care about his long-time friend and boss. "But I am sure that you know better than all of us what happens when you have voices in your head that keep trying to push you in one direction instead of the one you want to go in."

    "Did that happen to you?" I asked as I turned around to look at him with concern.

    "It did," he said with a small smile.

    "What happened?" I asked, not able to help myself.

    "I killed it."

 Chapter 363 Hell Can Be Paradise

    Chapter 363 Hell Can Be Paradise

    "So, what''s your n?" asked Liu Yu Zeng as he and Chen Zi Han pulled up to the desertedpound. Well, it wasn''t that deserted if you counted all the dead bodiesying around. But Liu Yu Zeng didn''t count them unless they transformed into zombies.

    "No idea," admitted Chen Zi Han as he walked over to the gates and unchained them. Getting back on his bike, he drove through thepound and to where the fields were located in the back. "But Famine has one."

    "Famine?" asked Liu Yu Zeng. He got off Lin and followed his friend to where he was kneeling in front of the first line of crops. He had no idea what was growing, but he also didn''t think that it mattered so much. Not if ''Famine'' had its say.

    "Yup, the voice inside my head," answered Chen Zi Han as he ced his hands into the soil. Liu Yu Zeng''s eyebrows raised as he could literally see the crops in front of them withering away to mere shells of what they had been. "There might still be something useable this year, but it will take some time for the nutrients to go back into the soil," he continued. He turned to look at Liu Yu Zeng as he stood up and dusted the dirt off his hands.

    "I don''t know what is going on in my head," said Chen Zi Han honestly. "But I don''t know how I feel about being one of the Four Horsemen of the apocalypse."

    "I think you are overthinking things," said Liu Yu Zeng with a carefree smile on his face, his head tilted to the sun. "I love the idea that I am one of the Four Horsemen."

    "Why? I mean, the Four Horsemen are supposed to bring about the end of the world and bring Hell on Earth. Doesn''t that worry you? Upset you?" pressed Chen Zi Han. For once, Famine was silent inside his mind. Chen Zi Han was a nurturer. He prided himself on being able to look after people. He knew, deep down, that death was a part of life, but he didn''t want to bring about more death than was absolutely necessary.

    Even his form of revenge was petty and weak. He killed their crops. Yes, it might result in their deaths. But they could go out hunting for supplies to live through the year. At the end of the day, they were still alive.

    "I think you are looking at it all wrong," said Liu Yu Zeng with a shrug of his shoulders. "If we are the Four Horsemen destined to bring about the end of the world and bring Hell on Earth, then we are essentially creating our own world in the vision that we want it to be." He turned to look at his friend, who still had a worried look on his face.

    "If I can control Disease, then Li Dai Lu will never be sick a day in her life. If you control Famine, then she will never go hungry. And if Wang Chao is War, that leaves Liu Wei as Death. And can you really see him willing to take Li Dai Lu''s life? We would be immortal, and Li Dai Lu will never suffer or die. I mean, isn''t that worth however many deaths to aplish?"

    Chen Zi Han straightened and stared at Liu Yu Zeng. "Bring about the end of the world, create a new one with Li Dai Lu in the center?"

    "Exactly," replied Liu Yu Zeng with a smile on his face. "Now¡­ instead of Hell on Earth, doesn''t that sound like paradise?"

    Chen Zi Han climbed on Kronos and leaned over the handlebars, a smirk of his own on his face. "You know what? It really does."

    "Still conflicted about people dying?"ughed Liu Yu Zeng as he, too, got on Lin.

    "Let the bodies hit the floor," answered Chen Zi Han.

    "Let the bodies hit the floor," agreed Liu Yu Zeng. The two of them revved their bikes and sped off down the road wanting to get back to their woman as fast as they could.

    She kept telling them that it was the end of the world, but in some cases, it seemed like nothing had changed. Now, though, now they would make sure to bring in an apocalypse to end everything.

    Hell really could be paradise.

    ----

    I raised my head as I heard Kronos and Lining down the road. With a wave of my hand, I smiled excitedly. Where there was once a boulder on my chest that appeared as soon as they left, I now felt like I could breathe again.

    "Did you boys have fun?" I yelled. They weren''t gone for more than thirty minutes, all told. In fact, only about half of the people on the ground had regained consciousness. Unfortunately for me, one of them was Xing Xin Ya. Someone really needed to tell her that the silent treatment was not that big of a deal when they weren''t the ones in power.

    As far as I was concerned, her not speaking was nothing more than a blessing to my ears. It was kind of like a prisoner that went on a hunger strike. If you don''t want to eat, that is fine. The person next to you does. The only one that they were harming was themselves.

    "Loads," smiled Liu Yu Zeng as he jumped off Lin and sped up to where I was sitting on his brother''sp. "But I missed you like crazy," he admitted as he gave me a sweet, gentle kiss on my lips.

    I hummed in agreement. "I missed you guys too. I really hate it when you aren''t all around me. It feels like I have fire ants under my skin that are trying to eat their way out."

    "Well, that was unnecessarily graphic," chuckled Chen Zi Han as he came up to me and gave me a kiss. "But Ipletely agree. I don''t think I can ever leave your side anymore."

    "But did you do what you needed to do?" I asked, searching his face for an answer. For some reason, he looked a lot calmer and more collected than he had before.

    "I did. You can let them go," he promised with a quick kiss to my forehead.

 Chapter 364 I Have Issues

    364 I Have Issues

    "You''re the Bossman," I said with a smirk on my face. "Or at least, in this matter, you are the boss." He chuckled at my joke, the both of us knowing the truth. I will never not be the boss.

    "Did you hear him? You and yours can leave," I said, looking directly at Xing Xin Ya. "You know, we could have been friends. But I will never, can never, be friends with someone that thinks like that about one of my men. So, you shot yourself in the foot. Congrattions."

    "But¡ª" started Xing Xin Ya as she stared at me and Chen Zi Han. "I already said that I didn''t mean it." I could practically see her mind going with how to get back in my good graces.

    Something that I have been learningtely was that people were more wanting to be my friend for the benefits I could provide them, and not necessarily because they wanted to actually be my friend. But there were always growing pains when you wanted to be stronger.

    No longer will I be friends with people that had alternative motives when it came to me. Even if that meant that I didn''t have any friends, I could live with that. I had my men, and that was enough.

    I watched as Xing Xin Ya helped support one of her men that was just regaining consciousness, her eyes briefly turning to me and narrowed into a re before she and her men stumbled down the road to theirpound. Oh, did I forget to mention the small fact of me taking back the SUV? Yeah, I wasn''t leaving my supplies with them. Not after that.

    I took in a deep breath and looked around. "Any idea where Wang Chao is? We need to be meeting up with the Commander soon," I asked, not seeing the man in question.

    "No idea," said Liu Wei with a shrug of his shoulders. "I figure we can get on the road, and if he shows up, great, and if he doesn''t, fine too." I looked at Chen Zi Han and Liu Yu Zeng to make sure that they were on board with that n. When they didn''t offer up any objections, I shrugged my shoulders.

    I didn''t want to wait around for the man to maybee back here. I mean, for all we knew, he was already on his way to themander. And that could fuck up my ns depending on who was in charge of the body.

    With a flick of my wrist, I vanished all of the RVs into my space. I looked around to make sure that I wasn''t missing anything and then nodded my head. "All right. Let''s get this show on the road," I said with a smile.

    The men chuckled and got onto their bikes as I climbed into Cerberus. It was really handy to have our vehicles appear when we needed them and disappear when we didn''t.

    I gotfortable in the driver''s seat and rubbed my hands around the steering wheel, my thoughts a chaotic mess.

    The first issue to be addressed is that Wang Chao wasn''t an asshole; the soul inside of him was.

    That issue was then divided into two possible solutions: I either put up with the asshole to have Wang Chao, or Wang Chao gainedplete control over the body. There was a third option, death to both souls, but I really didn''t know how I felt about that.

    Putting the first issue on the back burner for right now, I opened my mouth to talk to Cerberus. "So, the guys are the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse then, huh?"

    There was a moment of silence before Cerberus tentatively came through the speakers. "And you are?"

    "No idea, but if you want to add some helpful information in that regard, I would be all ears. For now, I will just deal with the guys," I snapped. There was nothing worse than everyone around you knowing what you are but not telling you ''for your own good''. It waspletely and utter bullshit if you asked me. But no one was asking me.

    We had already established that I was not the main character of my life, so I really didn''t know why I needed to go on a quest to find myself.

    On the flip side, I could look at this in terms of selective amnesia. An event so traumatizing caused me to lose all my memories, and my mind and body weren''t able to cope with it yet, which was why I still didn''t remember. Putting it that way, it seemed a little less bullshit as to why everyone wasn''t pushing me to remember. Maybe they were doing it out of some sense ofpassion.

    Whatever it was, it wasn''t the main point. "Back to the Horsemen," I said, reminding both of us to stay on topic. My mind wandered enough. I didn''t need my truck''s help to go off on another tangent.

    "Yes, your men are the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. However, did you figure that out?" asked Cerberus, not sounding mean, more pissed off that someone let the secret slip.

    "Violence called Wang Chao, War. In fact, she never called him anything other than War. I had just originally assumed that she was talking about an actual war and not a person," I said with a shrug. I watched Chen Zi Han and Liu Wei driving in front of me. I knew that Liu Yu Zeng would be behind us, protecting our backs.

    "And?"

    "And, if I had to go based on power, then Liu Yu Zeng is Disease," I said slowly as I tried to organize my thoughts. To me, it made the most sense because his main power was poison. Poison could be either fast or slow, just like a disease.

    "Actually, his true name is Pestilence, but Disease is close enough," said Cerberus. "Any other guesses?"

    "Well, I know that Wang Chao is War, which was probably why he could get the zombies to turn on each other," I continued. The ones that I was having the hardest time figuring out were Liu Wei and Chen Zi Han.

 Chapter 365 Speak of the Devil

    365 Speak of the Devil

    I remembered that we had jokingly referred to Chen Zi Han''s powers as famine because he was able to take away the essence of what was inside a zombie. Maybe we weren''t too far off. "Chen Zi Han is Famine?" I asked cautiously. I mean, how could a man whose main goal in life seemed to be feeding me actually be Famine?

    "Yup," replied Cerberus with a chuckle. "Weird, huh?"

    "Yeah, it seems to go against his need to nurturepletely," I said with a chuckle of my own.

    "Ah, but haven''t you noticed that he only needs to nurture you? The other guys are fed as a default. I can promise you that nobody would be eating that night if you weren''t around to eat." I took a moment to think about what he had said. Yeah, Chen Zi Han really did have a different attitude toward me than anyone else. But hey, I wasn''tining. I liked being special.

    "All right, that would make Liu Wei Death?" I asked, still not believing it. I didn''t really know what I thought about when it came to how a reaper or Death should be, but my sweet Liu Wei wasn''t it.

    "Yup," answered Cerberus. "You are taking all of this much better than I thought you would."

    "I have transmigrated once, reincarnated once, am in the middle of a zombie apocalypse with zombies that don''t look like zombies, and I have multiple boyfriends with multiple souls inside of them. That doesn''t even include the mystery surrounding me. I think knowing that they are the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse is the least of my concerns," I said with a tired sigh.

    "And what about the prophecy that the Horsemen are going to bring Hell on Earth?"

    "Sounds so much better than how Earth is currently," I continued, not at all worried about any prophecies. In my experience, they normally didn''te to pass. No point in getting my hopes up.

    "Good to know," said Cerberus before bing quiet for a while. I turned up the music on my phone because driving without music wasn''t really driving at all.

    ------

    It took us an hour and a half before we made it to the meeting point that Wang Chao and themander had agreed upon. Only there was no Wang Chao and nomander.

    Cerberus came to a stop, and I got out just as my three men were getting off of their bikes. "Are we too early or toote?" I asked as I went to stand in between Liu Wei and Liu Yu Zeng. Chen Zi Han came up right behind me, and I rested my head on his chest.

    "I don''t know," replied Liu Wei as he adjusted his sses. "What do you want to do?"

    "It''s not so much what I want to do as much as what needs to be done," I said, a grim look on my face. Themander was our ticket to knowing exactly where the device was. Without him, we were looking for a needle in a haystack.

    I wasn''t as concerned about zombies in the water now that I had my own horde to deal with them. But there was still an issue of sharks and other marine creatures. And the fact that we needed oxygen tanks to breathe under the water meant that we were on a very strict time limit. So, how the fuck were we going to do this?

    "Where is the Admiral?" came a voice from a distance behind us. Turning around, we saw themander strolling towards us with his team in tow. Speak of the devil, and he shall appear.

    "Busy," I said with a shrug. If he wasn''t here and he wasn''t with themander, I didn''t know where he could be. However, I would trust Wang Chao and let him do what he thinks needs to be done. War, on the other hand, I didn''t trust as far as I could throw him.

    Commander Huang Nian Zu looked at the four of us for a while before nodding his head. "Fine, we still need the help, whether the Admiral is here or not. Let''s get going." With those parting words, themander turned around and walked away.

    I looked at my men with a smirk on my face. This man was a bit toocent if you asked me. I definitely would not trust a group of unknown people to walk behind me. Or maybe he just assumed that because he was military and we were with Wang Chao that we would just ept whatever he would dish out. The poor, poor man was going to learn a very hard lesson about trusting people.

    The boys returned my smirk, and we started walking behind themander and his people.

    It took us a few more hours to get to the Navy base, and by that time, the sun was already setting. I could hear the challenging roars of zombies in the distance and chuckled to myself as the members of the Sea Dragon team clutched their hands tighter around their guns like that was going to save them.

    I debated the idea of sending out a challenge of my own, but I thought that would be much too much effort on my end. Besides, I also ran the risk of the zombies avoiding the Navy base after I had left, thinking that it was part of my territory.

    I was doing more than enough for them. I wasn''t going to fight their battles too.

    "You guys can sleep out here for the night," said themander with a smile. "I am sure that it won''t be a problem seeing how much you guys sleep outside normally. Liu Wei, if you want, there are quarters avable for you in the single officer''s barracks."

    "Thank you so much for your consideration," said Liu Wei with a kind smile on his face. He readjusted his sses as he looked at themander. "But I think it will be safer for me to stay out here with the others."

    "You really think that it will be safer outside than in? Fine, it''s your choice. Don''t say I didn''t offer you an alternative," said themander with a shrug as he and the members of his unit walked through the guarded gates and into the building in front of us.

    I tilted my head and studied the operation. "Isn''t this exactly how the Navy base was set up in City J?" I asked, not sure if that made sense.

 Chapter 366 Wang Chao

    366 Wang Chao

    "Right down to thest nail," assured Liu Wei as he pulled me into his arms. "The government thought that it would be better for all of the bases to look the same so that as soldiers had to move, at least they were moving to a familiar ce."

    I thought about what he said and had to agree. There must be somefort in knowing that whatever city you were in, you were still sleeping in the same ce and, knowing the military, on an identical bed.

    Either way, I was experiencing some severe PTSD just being near the building. With my luck, Zhao Jia Li wille out, or I will be roped into doing a supply run for ungrateful assholes. Either way, I was more than happy not to have to set foot in that base.

    I brought out my RV for all of us, knowing that with Wang Chao away like he was, I wasn''tfortable letting any more of my guys out of my sight. We all settled into our routines for the night, and as I stared at Chen Zi Han, a part of me was almost sick to my stomach, knowing that our fifth was nowhere to be found. I might hate War with a passion, but I needed Wang Chao.

    "It''s okay, Sweetheart," said Liu Wei as he picked me up and put me on hisp. "He is out there somewhere, and I know that wild horses couldn''t keep him away from you."

    "And what about death?" I asked softly, looking up at the man that held me so gently. "Would he seek death instead of being next to me?"

    "If he does seek Death, well, I wish him the best of luck," smirked Liu Wei. "After all, I am told that Death decides who crosses over, and there are some that will never experience that."

    I couldn''t help but let out the sigh that was trapped inside of my lungs. I knew he was doing his best to cheer me up, and it was working, for the most part. But not having Wang Chao around was a lot like having a splinter in my finger. I was okay if I wasn''t thinking about it. But as soon as I did, it hurt like Hell and made me want to cry.

    ------

    "Are you sure that this is what you want to do?" asked Ares in a tone of voice that Wang Chao had never heard from him before. "There are always alternatives."

    Wang Chao chuckled as he swung his leg over the bike and got himself settled onto the seat. Putting on his helmet, he took a moment to enjoy the peace and quiet. It was one thing when the mood swings werepletely out of control, but it waspletely different now that there was a voice attached to them.

    "And what alternatives would you suggest?" asked Wang Chao sarcastically as he put his hands on the handlebars and revved the engine. "If I stay, I take the risk that War is going to push my little girl too far. And I can''t have that happen. I will not let him shatter her again. And if that means that I have to leave, then so be it."

    "What are your ns then?" asked Ares as he shot down the road. Wang Chao took a second to look behind him and stare at Violence as she dealt with whatever bullshit Xing Xin Ya was cooking up. He hated not being there, but at the same time, he felt somefort in the fact that she still had the other men around her. They wouldn''t let anything happen.

    And hopefully, by the end of it all, he would either be better or dead. Either way, Li Dai Lu wouldn''t have to put up with War.

    "You know, there is more than one War out there," said Ares slowly. "When our Queen shattered, you guys weren''t that far behind her."

    "So, you are saying that the War inside me is only a personality?" asked Wang Chao, thinking about how Li Dai Lu called the voices in her head.

    "Exactly," said Ares, and Wang Chao could practically feel his bike smiling a twisted smile. It appeared that he was not the only one that didn''t like this War.

    "Then what do I need to do?" he pressed, willing to do just about anything to have Li Dai Lu back and be the man that she deserved.

    "Honestly? I have no idea," admitted Ares as they continued to speed down the highway, weaving in and out of the stalled cars and dposing bodies. "Li Dai Lu needs a War. Anyone with a piece of War will do."

    "Can I kill this War and take over for him?" asked Wang Chao, his brain spinning over what his next move should be. He needed to do what he did before everything happened. He would push everything aside and concentrate on only one thing at a time.

    First things first, deal with War. And he knew just the right person to help him with that. Unfortunately, it was a matter of finding him.

    "Technically, Reaper''s rider did just that. But Death weed it and left his powers behind for him. Then again, Liu Wei had the advantage of Death realizing that he would be better for the Queen than anyone else and stepped to the side. I don''t see War gracefully stepping to the side."

    "Yeah, I don''t see him doing that either," sighed Wang Chao.

    "Where are we going?" asked Ares, switching the subject. It would be getting dark soon, and he still had no idea where he was going.

    "City A," replied Wang Chao through gritted teeth. He could feel War inside of him starting to stir, but he ruthlessly pushed him back down into the darkest recess of his mind. "We don''t stop for anything."

    "Understood," growled Ares as he picked up speed. If they didn''t stop, they should be able to get there within a day or two.

    There was a long period of silence before Ares once again opened his mouth. "Are you good?" he asked cautiously.

    "No," replied Wang Chao tly. "Until I am back at her side and no longer a threat, I am not good."

 Chapter 367 More Than a Little Perky

    367 More Than a Little Perky

    I woke up the next morning still worried about Wang Chao, but a brief glimpse at his me inside of me reassured me that he was ok. Giving it a stroke to let him know I was thinking of him, I rolled out of bed and into the shower.

    I don''t know if I was choosing violence today. I assumed that that would be something Violence told meter, but I was going to have to be in meetings with idiots all day. I sighed as I let the hot water run down my body. Without Wang Chao dealing with the military, I was going to have to do it.

    And I really didn''t know how I was feeling about that idea. Scratch that, I knew how I was feeling about it; I was pissed. But I had to get my hands on that device that made the world go ''boom'', and the only way to do that was to y nice with others. Definitely not my strong suit.

    But you know who was good at dealing with stupid people and still maintaining a smile on his face? Liu Wei. And¡­ he was military¡­ and he was Navy. He was my perfect scapegoat. I could sit at the table and drink my coffee while the ns could be made around me.

    I got out of the shower, more than a little happy about the n in my head. After getting dressed, I skipped into the main living room part of my RV with a big smile on my face. "Good morning!" I said cheerfully. "Did everyone have a good night''s sleep?"

    "You are way too perky this morning, and I know you haven''t even had your first cup of coffee. What are you nning, Sweetness?" asked Liu Yu Zeng from where he sat at the ind. Chen Zi Han was in the kitchte, cooking us an amazing breakfast, and things were going perfectly.

    "What? I can''t be this happy? I think it is great!" I said before I forced myself to freeze. He was right, I was much too perky, even aftering up with a good n. "I think I have a new personality," I grumbled with a frown before I felt myself smiling again. "But that''s good too!"

    ''Violence!!!!!'' I shouted in my mind, now more than a little concerned that I had taken the wrong meds this morning. And considering that I didn''t even take meds, it was a little worrying.

    ''I see you have met Perky,'' said Violence with a deadpanned voice. Clearly, she was as impressed with Perky as I was. ''I suggest that you just let her have her moment so she can merge with the rest of them.''

    ''I need to let her have her moment? Now? When I am about to go into a meeting with a bunch of stone-cold military dudes? This is your good idea?'' I asked,pletely stressed right now. Perky was not something that I did, like at all.

    Fuck, I would have to warn the guys.

    ''You can''t keep her squished down here with Romance and Sadness?'' I knew that the answer was going to be no, but I had to try anyways.

    ''Nope. Besides, with Wang Chao gone, you need something to force you to be happy,'' replied Violence with a shrug. I could see her sitting on her throne of swords; her legs crossed and a big smile on her face.

    ''Happy, yes. I can do happy. I don''t want to do perky.''

    ''What''s wrong with being perky? I think a lot of the world''s problems can be dealt with with a bit of perkiness.'' A girl skipped into the throne room in my mind. Her long ck hair was tied up in pig-tails, and she wore a blue Alice-type dress with knee-high socks, ck shoes, and a little apron toplete the look.

    ''She looks a lot like Crazy,'' I said, looking at Violence. And even though I was not the biggest fan of Perky, I did approve of her style. It was kind of cute, in a Halloween costume kind of way.

    ''She also looks like Psycho,'' warned Violence. ''Forck of a better word, the three of them are triplets. But, I would be a bit worried about Psycho popping her head in right now. Perky can be dealt with with a lot less bloodshed than Psycho.''

    ''Exactly how many personalities do I have to deal with?'' I asked, concerned.

    ''You are a woman. You have more personalities than there are days in the year,'' chuckled Violence. ''But a lot of them merged together long before you started this life, so you won''t need to worry about them. For now, just deal with Perky.''

    I would fully admit that Perky sounded a lot better than Psycho, but I would have to warn the guys about both. With a sigh, I blinked back into my RV, surrounded by my men looking at me with more than a little concern. "Are you all right, Sweetness?"

    "Yes, apparently, today is Perky''s day. We will be giving her today and today only, and then she will go away and leave me alone. I have also been told that Crazy, Perky, and Psycho travel together. Crazy has been handled, thanks to Chen Zi Han, and we all have to worry about Psycho."

    "So, we are going to have to deal with you talking incredibly fast and with run-on sentences?" smirked Chen Zi Han as he put a te of pancakes in front of me.

    "More than likely, yes," I said with a nod of my head before I dug into the offering in front of me. Nothing made a morning better than pancakes and maple syrup¡­ unless. I looked up at Chen Zi Han as he added some whipped cream to my te. "But you love me, and I love you, so everything is all good."

    Everyone froze for a moment while what I had said was processed. "I am going to wait until you are back to normal to take those words to heart," chuckled Liu Wei as he started to cut into his pancakes. "But I appreciate the sentiment."

 Chapter 368 Fucks Up Majorly

    Chapter 368 Fucks Up Majorly

    I waited until everyone had finished their breakfast before I broke the news of my n. "I was hoping to put Liu Wei in charge today, dealing with themander and all that crap," I said with a bright smile. "I figured that without Wang Chao here; you were the most logical choice."

    "And you didn''t think to put yourself in charge?" smirked Liu Wei as he delicately wiped his face with a napkin.

    "Nope," I admittedly shook my head. "I didn''t think that I would be able to deal with all the crap about military vs. civilian and whatever else they could throw at us without wanting to stab one of them. Mind you; I think stabbing one of them would be a very fun thing to do. How did the word stab evene about? I mean, it doesn''t make sense. Knifed would have made sense since the instrument would have been a knife. You could have forked somebody. But forked sounds a lot like fuck, and maybe you won''t want to say that."

    "All right, Sweetness, let''s take a deep breath and calm down," said Liu Yu Zeng, gently taking my cup of coffee out of my hands. "I don''t think that you need caffeine on top of Perky," he continued.

    "The word ''stab'' is derived from an old 14th century word ''stob'' meaning to pierce," said Liu Wei as he once again adjusted his sses. Liu Yu Zeng and I turned around to look at him. "It was not until 1895 when it transformed from being pierced to also including the concept ''to try'' and in ''taking a stab in the dark.''"

    I turned to look at Liu Yu Zeng. "Is Perky contagious?" I asked in an overly loud whisper. Liu Wei simplyughed.

    "No, but you asked a question, and so you got an answer. Was there anything else that you wanted to know?" he asked me with a smile on my face. I could feel the Perky personality trying to peer out of my eyes to look at him.

    ''That is the first time that anyone has taken my ramblings seriously,'' she whispered to me. ''Is he always like that?''

    ''Pretty much,'' I replied with a nod. ''He is superb at going with the flow, and not much phases him.''

    ''So, Death can handle me?'' she asked again, and I could feel her eyes burrowing into me, and hope shone in her eyes.

    ''Yup,'' I said with a nod. ''In fact, I think that he can take whatever we dish out.''

    ''Huh, thest Death couldn''t. He loved you, but not so much the rest of us.''

    ''To love me is to love the rest of me, too,'' I said with a smirk. ''So, maybe that Death didn''t love me as much as he thought he did.''

    ''Might exin why he always went with War at the end of the day. I just figured that I was too much for him,'' said Perky softly.

    ''That man is not going anywhere,'' I assured her as the two of us looked out my eyes at Liu Wei.

    "Come on, Sweetheart, give me a hard one," he joked. "I have a whole encyclopedia of useless knowledge at my disposal."

    "All right," I said with a nod. "Here is one for you. If someone is unable to handle multiple personalities, do they really deserve to be with that person?" There was a pause as the three men looked at me. Liu Wei was about to give me a response when Perky interjected. "I mean, you don''t really have to worry about that. I know that there are some personalities that are harder to handle than others, so it is just normal not to be able to handle all of the personalities within the same mind. Did I say personalities too many times? I mean, it is a weird¡ª"

    "Hush, Perky," said Liu Wei as he put a hand on my shoulder. "Everything is okay. Just take a breath and rx. We are not going anywhere. I promise. And no. To love a person means to love all of them. The good and the bad. The Crazy, the Violent, the Perky, and whatever elsees next. You all make up the same person."

    "Does that mean you won''t leave because of me?" asked Perky in a subdued voice.

    "It means that I won''t leave. Period. Not even Death can drag me away. And trust me when I say he tried," chuckled Liu Wei, giving me a sweet smile of eptance. I could feel the tension inside of me melting away at his words.

    "I''ll trust you for now," said Perky, sounding¡­ well¡­ perky. "And if you fuck up again, it won''t be me that shatters, understood?"

    "Of course, if I ever cause Li Dai Lu hurt, you are more than wee to tear me apart. I won''t even put up a fight," answered Liu Wei.

    "You won''t have to worry about me," replied Perky, once again using my mouth to deliver her message. "I''ll send Psycho after you."

    There was a moment of silence before I felt Perky give me a kiss on the cheek and disappear into the back of my mind. Arge part of me was hoping that Psycho was not on her way out with how many times people were talking about her.

    ''I''ll stay back here for now,'' I heard a new voice say. ''Until someone fucks up majorly. Then I make no promises.''

    ''Thank you,'' I said, meaning it with my whole heart. There were a lot of ways that Psycho could go, and none of them were suited for what I was about to walk into.

    "Perky''s gone," I said out loud. "Apparently, my personalities just need a little reassurance that you guys aren''t going to screw me over."

    "Makes sense," said Chen Zi Han as he tidied up the kitchen. "After all, we are the reason why they appeared in the first ce."

    "But now that Perky is gone, can I get my coffee back? I think I am going to more than need the caffeine to deal with themander and his FUBAR mission."

    The men chuckled just as Liu Yu Zeng handed me back my cup. I quickly reced my in mug with another one from my space when there was a knock on the door.

    "Come in," I said with a sigh, taking a sip from my new mug.

 Chapter 369 Sticky Fingers

    Chapter 369 Sticky Fingers

    Now, I am not saying that I picked this mug for a specific reason, and I am not saying I didn''t. But the extrarge travel mug with a demoning out of the fiery pit of Hell saying, ''Touch my coffee, and I will drink it from your skull,'' was pretty appropriate.

    Especially since the energy boost that Perky had given me also seemed to have left with her. I was now tired and done with the day. And I had just gotten up.

    "Good morning," said themander as he walked inside my RV. "I see everyone is up," he continued, looking straight at me. Yeah, the man had a death wish, one that I was more than happy to indulge.

    "Good morning, Commander," smiled Liu Wei as I took a sip from my mug. This is why I let him be in charge for the day. Look at how good he was pretending that he didn''t want to rip the man''s spine out. Or maybe I was just projecting my feelings onto him.

    I guess we will never know.

    Liu Wei turned to me for a moment and raised his eyebrow. Ah, yes, the man was more than aware of what was going through my mind right now. Handy that.

    "What can we do for you?" continued Liu Wei, turning his attention back to themander.

    "You can start by telling me where the Admiral is," grinned themander, like he was in some big secret. Something told me that he wasn''t in on the really big secret, so whatever he thought he knew, he didn''t.

    "You know, that is something that I always found funny. You admit that Wang Chao is an Admiral, but then in the same breath, you insist that you know his location. Are you unaware that you are several ranks below the Admiral and, as such, shouldn''t be able to demand shit from him?"

    I had really thought that out of all four of us, Liu Wei would have been the mostid back to deal with themander. But apparently, I read that wrong. Liu Wei was definitely tearing into the man and managed to do it with a smile on his face.

    "Now. You have requested our aid in your mission. Because Admiral Wang understood that it was a matter of national importance, he agreed to help you. But make no mistake; this was supposed to be your mission, which you screwed up¡ªand needed outside help toplete. All of this will be recorded in your permanent file. Do you still wish to know where the Admiral is?"

    "I didn''t think that there were even permanent files anymore, Captain," said themander with a smile that I just wanted to smack off his face. Maybe I should have kept Perky around for longer. She might have helped me get through the next few hours.

    "If there aren''t permanent files, then what are you doing?" demanded Liu Wei as he went to sit down beside me on the couch. "Or are you trying to say that there is no longer a military that records Conduct unbing of an Officer?"

    I had to smirk at how well my man was handling the situation.

    "Of course, there is still a military," sputtered Commander Huang Nian Zu. "As long as Country K is standing, there will always be a military looking after its best interests."

    "Then who has given you the order to get the device, and what are your ns once you have it?" pressed Liu Wei.

    "You are not cleared to know that," snapped themander, not happy about being pushed back into a corner. He had seen nothing yet.

    "I am the private secretary for Admiral Wang of Country K Navy as well as General Wang of Country K Ground Forces. I have more security clearance than you. Nice try," said Liu Wei, still maintaining the smile on his face. I would fully admit it was hot to watch him bitch-p the other man into his ce.

    "The Leader has personally requested the device," said Huang Nian Zu through gritted teeth.

    "And where is the Leader?" asked Liu Wei, neither epting nor denying his response.

    "In City A."

    "Then why haven''t you requested our help to escort you to City A? I mean, it is quite the distance now. A lot of things can happen between here and there. You wouldn''t want to be responsible for losing a device that the Dear Leader has asked for. Especially not one that is so important." Themander''s gaze shot over to Liu Wei, and his eyes narrowed into a re.

    "Just what do you know about the device?" he demanded, reaching for the gun that should have been at his waist. Unfortunately for him, I had taken leave to remove it from its holder. I was not going to have someone with a loaded weapon around one of my men.

    "Probably more than you. Higher security clearance and all that," said Liu Wei as he leaned back and crossed his legs like he had all the time in the world.

    Themander just red at him. "Fine. This afternoon at 1300, you and three of my men are going to thest known location of the device, retrieve it, and hand it over to me for safekeeping. You understand that, right?" he said, giving up any sense of politeness.

    "Understood," said Liu Wei, not at all bothered by how the other man was speaking to him. "But it isn''t our fault if the device is not there. You understand that, right? I mean, it is at the bottom of the East Sea. Anything could have happened to it. Including being eaten by a fish." Liu Wei adjusted his sses, not bothering to hide his smirk.

    Themander let out a low growl that would have impressed any zombie. "My men will be there to make sure that no one has sticky fingers."

    "We will be in a wetsuit. Pretty hard to have sticky fingers in one of those," interjected Liu Yu Zeng for the first time. He was resting both of his arms on the ind behind him.

    "There will be inspections before and after you get into the water."

 Chapter 370 Not a Threat

    Chapter 370 Not a Threat

    "The fuck you say?" demanded Liu Yu Zeng as he stood up and walked toward Commander Huang Nian Zu. Chen Zi Han quickly skirted around the ind and put a hand on his friend''s shoulder.

    "I said that everyone will undergo a physical inspection before they enter the water and when theye out," sneered themander, and I could tell that he was enjoying getting under Liu Yu Zeng''s skin. However, given the number of times, themander looked at Liu Wei, I would say that he was hoping to piss him off more.

    "That''s fine, Commander," said Liu Wei, the smile on his face never wavering in the slightest. "If you and your men have that much of a death wish, then there are a lot easier ways to die."

    "Are you threatening me, Captain?" demanded Huang Nian Zu, no longer smiling.

    "Absolutely not, Commander. I am merely saying that if you really wanted to go on this mission alone, you could have just said so," shrugged Liu Wei.

    "And why do you say that?" sneered themander, clearly not impressed.

    "Because if you really think that someone, man or woman, will be touching our woman, then you have another thinging," answered Chen Zi Han. "But by all means, push us on that one."

    "You know, if you weren''t nning on taking the device yourself, then you should have no reason to worry about an inspection."

    "One has nothing to do with the other. And please, feel free to inspect us. But Li Dai Lu will not be undergoing that delight," said Liu Wei. He uncrossed his legs and leaned forward, staring themander down. "I have not threatened you, nor will I ever threaten you. But I will make you a promise; anyone that touches my woman will die, and their body will be tossed to feed the sharks. Do you understand me?"

    Themander could only stand there sputtering, looking around at my men before turning to look at me. I offered a shrug and a smile. "Sorry about that; they are a little overprotective." I gave him a ''what can you do'' look before turning my attention to Chen Zi Han. "Can you grab me an orange juice?"

    Out of all of my men right now, Chen Zi Han needed a distraction the most. I could feel the rage simmering under his skin. He pulled his anger back and nodded to me. "Of course, Princess," he said with a bit of a strained smile.

    "We will meet you at the docks at 1300," said Liu Wei. "You are dismissed until then."

    Themander, having no idea what to do, turned around and left my RV.

    "Well, that went well," I said with a smile as Chen Zi Han handed me an orange juice. I quickly drank it down before turning my attention back to my coffee.

    Liu Wei only hummed as Liu Yu Zeng started to pace back and forth between the confines of the RV. "What the fucking Hell is that man thinking?" he growled, spinning around to look at his brother, his eyes narrowing to mere slits.

    "He thinks he has all the power and is trying to lord it over us," shrugged Liu Wei. "Technically, anyone that has been put in charge of a mission is the one in charge, no matter the ranks of anyone else."

    "Then what is the point of being of higher rank if you still have to listen to those of lower rank?" I asked, curious. I had always wondered why an Admiral or General was lowering his head to help amander.

    "It is very unusual for it to happen," said Liu Wei. "Normally, it urs in the case of an emergency when the higher-ranking individual is there to help out with the situation. Since Huang Nian Zu was given this mission first, he is technically the one in charge. He is the one with all of the information. Anyone else that joins after is simply there to help, not to take over."

    I looked at him nkly. It still didn''t make sense to me, but I guess that was why I wasn''t in the military.

    "What are we going to do if they insist on searching Li Dai Lu?" demanded Liu Yu Zung throwing his arms up in the air in frustration.

    "We kill them," said Chen Zi Han as he stared at his friend. "Let the bodies hit the floor." That statement seemed to have calmed Liu Yu Zeng down fast.

    "You are right," answered Liu Yu Zeng. He cracked his neck a few times before looking at me with a smile on his face. "What should we do in the three hours we have until we need to meet them?" The smirk on his face told me all that I needed to know.

    "Down, boy, I need to go to the beach for a while," I said, standing up. I put my mug back into my space and pulled out my wetsuit.

    "Oh no," said Chen Zi Han adamantly. "Do you not remember what happenedst time you went to the beach?"

    "Yup," I replied with a nod. "Which is why I need to have things in ce before we get into the water again. Or did you forget that I had my own horde underwater?" I was 50/50 on my horde. I knew that they would be the key to us getting the device, but that was precipitated by the Beta obeying all of mymands.

    Technically, I still should be the Alpha, plus I had the connection to the Beta that promised his undying loyalty. But that didn''t mean that the rest of the horde would follow them. It had been a few days since my horde had soaked in the water and gotten more powerful. I didn''t need them to be getting more stupid at the same time. My bond was reassuring me that things would go ording to n, but I wanted to triple-check things.

    Not to mention, there wouldn''t be much point in them obeying my everymand if they were at the other end of the ocean from where I needed them to be.

 Chapter 371 Getting My Ducks in a Row

    Chapter 371 Getting My Ducks in a Row

    We left the RV a few minutester after we had all changed into our wetsuits, and I made sure to put it and everything else back into my space. Thest thing that I needed was for themander to think that he could enter my ce without permission. Let alone think that he could take anything.

    Let''s face it; normally, the thief is the first one to cry, thief. And he has already used us of having sticky fingers.

    Not wanting to deal, or be seen by the military, the guys and I made sure to pick a section of the beach far away from the Navy base. I looked at the guys nervously as I went far enough into the water to get my ankles wet. I didn''t want to be dragged under again by a zombie, and honestly, even this far into the water had my heart pounding.

    I looked inside of me for the bond that I had with Beta and pulled on it. Within minutes, an eggnt-colored zombie rose out of the water. Behind it was hundreds of other zombies, the top of their heads and eyes just poking out of the water. "You''ve been busy," I said, raising my eyebrows as even more zombies poked their heads out of the water to look at me.

    "My Lord," answered Beta cing his fist against his chest and bowing his head. "I have be the supreme Alpha," he continued.

    I nodded my head in understanding. To be the supreme Alpha meant that there was not a single one around that was stronger than him. In fact, he would even have other Alphas in his horde.

    "Are you the supreme Alpha?" I asked, tilting my head to the side and staring at him.

    "No, my Lord. You are the supreme Alpha," said Beta, quickly reassuring me. I knew that he wasn''t able to break the bonds between us, and I would always be one up on him. But a little verbal reassurance went a long way. I also had a sneaking suspicion that I gave him some of my power which was why he was able to dominate so many others.

    "How far does your territory extend?" I asked him. He looked at me and cocked his head to the side.

    "For many sun ups and sun downs," he answered. Huh, zombies, apparently, didn''t know distances and only measured things in days. Well, it makes sense. I wouldn''t know how far something was underwater. And if it was multiple days, then the area I need to search should be well within his territory.

    "Understood," I said with a nod of approval. "You did good. Is there something you want in return?'' I asked him. I firmly believed in the carrot and the stick method of leadership. He did well so he can get the carrot.

    I watched him thinking about something before shaking his head. "Nothing," he said just before he rified his statement. "I just want to stay in the water."

    "Of course, not a problem. I will be going into the water in a little while. I want you and your horde to form a perimeter around me and mind to make sure that we are safe. Do you understand?" Beta paused for a moment, and I could see him processing my words.

    "Youe, I protect my Lord," he repeated. Meh, it was close enough.

    "Yes," I said, pleased with how things were going. I was getting all of my ducks in a row, and for the first time ever, it was working the way I wanted it to. "Wait until I call you and make sure that you stay hidden from other humans."

    "Can eat?" he asked me with a toothy grin.

    "We will see," I replied with a shrug. If themander or any of his men fucked up, then Beta and his horde were more than wee to a snack.

    "Understood." Beta turned around and continued to walk into the waves until he disappeared under the water. Eyes blinked at me a few times before submerging and following their Alpha.

    "Things going well?" asked Liu Wei as I turned around and walked back to the beach where my men were standing.

    "Things seem to be going well," I agreed with a small smile. "But I won''t bepletely happy until I have the device in my space and we are back on drynd."

    "Still, it must be nice to have a horde in the water," smiled Liu Yu Zeng as he put an arm around my waist, and the four of us walked back up to the road.

    Alpha of my own horde, let alone two. Now, let''s just see how far that power will take me.

    "Yeah, between that one and the one in control of City B, I am feeling a lot better about my chances of survival," I answered with a grin of my own. Not once did I ever think that I would be the Alpha of my own horde, let alone two. Now, let''s just see how far that power will take me.

    "How are we doing on time?" I asked as I looked at Liu Wei. I wanted to be there early, at least by 30 minutes. I had more than a few reservations about letting themander n everything. Especially when it came to the important things, like oxygen.

    "It''s 11 am right now. We have time to do whatever you want," answered Liu Wei checking his watch.

    "I always hated this feeling of hurry up and wait. I mean, we have an hour and a half between now and when I want to be at the dock. Too much time to just be sitting on the beach and not enough time to actually go out and do something," I grumbled. "Is there anything to do on base?"

    Liu Wei thought for a moment before shaking his head. "Not that I can really think of. Besides, I don''t want to really deal with anyone military-rted right now."

    "Yeah," I said with a sigh. I could see his point. "Is there an aquarium around? We could go out on a date if it isn''t too far away." As soon as the words were out of my mouth, we came up to a sign with a big arrow pointing to the aquarium.

    "Well, isn''t that convenient?"

 Chapter 372 Quack, Quack

    Chapter 372 Quack, Quack

    Our impromptu date, wetsuits and all, was exactly what I needed. Just the ability to rx around the guys and make jokes made all the difference in the world. Even the dead fish floating around the bottom of the tanks being eaten by the other fist wasn''t enough to dampen our spirits. And now, I was more than ready to face whatever themander was going to throw at us.

    We made it to the docks around 1230, and before any of the Sea Dragons managed to. I sat that the end with my feet dangling in the water. Knowing I was the biggest bad around made it a lot easier to do shit like that.

    "You''re early," growled themander. It was obvious that he wasn''t impressed with our punctuality.

    "What? I thought that you would be worried that we were going to bete, so to put your mind at ease, I thought being here 30 minutes ahead of schedule would make you happy," I said with a shrug of my shoulders as I stood up. My men nked me, and the four of us watched as the Sea Dragons dragged oxygen tanks and other equipment behind them.

    "Is that for us?" I asked, cocking my head to the side as the men threw them into the bottom of a boat like it was no big deal. To say I was unimpressed was an understatement.

    "Well,st I checked, you can''t exactly breathe underwater, now can you?" sneered Commander Huang Nian Zu. "Unless, of course, you are a reincarnated Goddess or something."

    "Nope, no Goddess here," I said with a strained smile. "But I didn''t know if those were for your men or if you had prepared them for me and mine. Unless, of course, you are all reincarnated Sea Dragons or something?"

    "These ones are for you. My men have their own," confirmed the Commander, and I had never been so happy to have stol¡ª

    mandeered those oxygen tanks a few days ago. There was no way I was trusting themander to have our best interests in his heart.

    In fact, it wouldn''t surprise me if there was just enough oxygen to get us to the device. I looked at Liu Wei, and he nodded his head, getting into the boat and inspecting the tanks. "What is he doing?" demanded themander, ring at my man.

    "Inspecting the tanks," I replied as I crossed my arms. "I figured it is a lot like a parachute. You can never be too careful."

    Themander only grunted as he looked at one of the men with an oxygen tank already on his back. "This is Jiang Chang Ming. He is in charge of the underwater team. You will be answering to him," he introduced as the new man came forward. I looked at his face for a second.

    "Liu Wei, why does he look familiar?" I called out, my eyes never leaving the man in front of me. Maybe Beta will be able to get that snack after all.

    "I had him pinned down on the beach a while ago," replied Liu Wei, only taking a second to identify the man before going back to inspecting the tanks.

    "Ah, that''s it," I said with a nod. "Nice to meet you. I am sure that we will get along fabulously well," I continued with a smile on my face. The other man grunted before turning to the other men behind him. "Guo De Lun, Luo Jia Yi, they will being down with us." Okay, so make that one man and one woman. Sorry, in my defense, it was really hard to know she was a woman in that wetsuit.

    "Maybe we should discuss how this is all actually going to work? This is my first time really going scuba diving," I said with a shrug. If there was one thing I could do well, it was making people underestimate me.

    "Are you serious?" demanded Luo Jia Yi. "You''ve never scuba-dived before, and you areing into the water with us?"

    "Well, I figured that if you wanted to live, it would probably be a good thing if I tagged along," I replied with an even bigger smile. "Besides, I''m already dressed for it."

    I watched as the Sea Dragons all looked at each other with a smirk on their faces.

    "And I didn''t think that there was much need to know how to scuba-dive. After all, I am nothing but chum, right?" Yeah, that''s right, bitch, I remember you too. A second snack for Beta. I turned to look at themander.

    "Last time you did this, you lost six men. How many are you nning on losing this time?" I asked. Have I mentioned how fun it is to press buttons? I didn''t even need Perky to be happy right now.

    "I better have all of my men at the end of this dive," said themander grinding his teeth.

    "But not all of mine?" I replied, cocking my head to the side. "You might want to be more careful,mander. You need us more than you know." No longer bothering with them, I turned around and boarded the boat with Liu Yu Zeng and Chen Zi Han right beside me.

    I closed my eyes and gently tugged on the bond between me and Beta. Within seconds, I could see a pair of eyes rising out of the water in the distance. Perfect. My ducks were all gathering like they should be. Now, hopefully, Beta and I were on the same page when it came to just how far his territory extended.

    "Is everything okay?" asked Guo De Lun as he boarded the boat and walked over to where I was standing. He, too, looked off in the distance. "Quack, quack," I said with a smile on my face.

    "You know, it''s okay to be nervous," he said with a small smile as he looked at me. My eyes narrowed, trying to figure out his angle. Was he being a dick, or was he a genuinely nice guy?

    "And if I am?" I asked seriously. "It''s not like it will change anything."

    "I can swim next to you; make sure you are safe," he suggested with a kind smile on his face. Wow, he might just be one of the few nice people left in the military.

 Chapter 373 Laying It On Thick

    Chapter 373 Laying It On Thick

    "You are more than wee to fuck off. We can ensure the safety of our woman," growled Liu Yu Zeng as he came up behind the poor guy and patted him on the shoulder. I would have to give it to the guy; he didn''t flinch too badly.

    "Everything okay?" asked Liu Weiing over to the three of us.

    "Except for this guy offering to swim with our woman if she is nervous? Everything is peachy keen," said Liu Yu Zeng with a smile on his face that was definitely not a smile.

    "How kind of you," said Liu Wei as he turned to the guy from the Sea Dragons. I hadpletely forgotten his name, but the poor bastard was now stuck between the two Liu brothers with identical smiles on their faces. "But Guo De Lun, we have our woman. And as much as she might not like water, it doesn''t make her nervous; it makes her smart."

    Guo De Lun. That was his name. Maybe one of themander''s men might actually make it back to the surface. Wouldn''t that be a pleasant surprise?

    "Get the boat ready! We are leaving in five," called out themander, and the three members of his team started to scramble around the boat with the rest of them. I watched thempletely unimpressed before turning my attention back to Beta.

    Only the top of his head and eyes peered over the waves, but it was enough. ''You good to go?'' I asked him, testing out our bond.

    ''Yes, my Lord,'' his voice hissed back in my mind. The bond between us was as strong as ever. I nodded and watched him disappear beneath the surface.

    "Is he there?" asked Chen Zi Han as he came up behind me and wrapped his arm around my waist.

    "Yup," I replied with a nod. I quickly checked on the link between me and Wang Chao, needing the reassurance that he was still okay, even if he wasn''t beside me. I felt a brush against my me from him and allowed my shoulders to rx.

    I had more than enough on my te to deal with War. As long as Wang Chao was doing okay, then that was enough for me.

    "Everything is all good to go. But I make no promises about themander''s men," I said, still staring out at the horizon. There was something so calming about the water. The sound of the wavespping against the hull of the boat, the seagulls screaming in the distance. We were still attached to the deck, and yet it seemed like we were in apletely different world.

    "You don''t need to care about themander''s men," growled Liu Yu Zeng turning around to look at me. "Especially not that dipshit," he continued, tilting his head towards Guo De Lun.

    I chuckled at the pouting look on his face.

    Our time was interrupted by Commander Huang Nian Zu approaching us. "Are you all set?" he asked, looking us up and down. He sneered when he saw that we had nothing in our hands and only the oxygen tanks that he had provided us.

    "Yup," I answered with a nod. If he was stupid enough to forget that I had a space, then that was his own fault. "Will you be providing us with weapons to bring down with us?"

    He looked at me for a second and then raised an eyebrow. "You didn''t even bring weapons with you?"

    "Just our guns, but I was under the impression that normal guns wouldn''t work under the water," I said, shrugging my shoulders like it was no big deal. I wanted him to feel as safe and confident as he possibly could that there was no way we could hurt his men.

    That way, he couldn''t me it on us when they didn''te up. I mean, there are zombies and sharks down there!

    "No, you are right," he said with a nod. "Normal guns will not work underwater. But you won''t need to worry about anything like that. My men will be going down with you and will offer your protection against the zombies."

    "Thank you so much,mander," I said with a smile and brought out a mug of coffee from my space. "I knew that Wang Chao''s belief in you wasn''t misced. You really are a good man."

    Okay, so I might beying it on a bit thick, but I was having fun, and I wasn''t about to stop myself on his ount.

    Raising my mug to hide my smile, I looked at him over the top of the rim and smiled when he read it. It was a very inconspicuous mugpared to most of mine¡ªin white with some ck writing on it. There were no blood stters or skulls or demons. Just your typical cup. Something that you can find in any average person''s cupboard.

    Of course, the writing might set it aside just a smidge. On it was, ''I''m sorry I called you an asshole. I thought you knew.'' Yeah, it was perfect.

    I watched as themander''s face went from white to pink and finally red. I thought he was going to blow a gasket. Ah, I loved it when I could be a passive-aggressive bitch like that.

    "You do know that I can''t guarantee the safety of you and your men down there, right?" asked themander once he managed to get himself back under control.

    Once again, I smiled at him and took a sip of my coffee. "Ipletely understand. God only knows what will happen beneath the waves. I mean, you almost died by being dragged under by a zombie. How could the rest of us stand a chance? But this mission is for the good of our country and the world as a whole, so we need to do our best. Even if I have no idea why I need to be one of the ones getting the device. But you are the smart one; you are themander. We will just follow your orders."

    Yeah, I was a bitch. But what could you do about it?

 Chapter 374 18th Century Pirates

    Chapter 374 18th Century Pirates

    The small boat crashed through the waves as we got further and further away from thend. The ''seasoned'' Sea Dragons held onto the overhead metal bars, leaving the four of us to adapt to the up and down motions on our own. If they thought they were proving something, they were utterly wrong.

    My three men stood at the stern, their legs parted and knees slightly bent in order to maintain their bnce. No matter how the boat rocked, they didn''t move. And because I was wrapped firmly in Liu Wei''s arms, I wasn''t going anywhere either.

    The sea air filled my lungs, and the spray from the waves hit my face and skin. I could see why people liked big boats and yachts. Maybe I''ll grab a couple if I find a marina nearby. Or perhaps I would go looking for a marina.

    "Do you know where I could find a few yachts?" I asked, looking up at Liu Wei. I figured that if anyone knew where to find some, it would be him.

    "You want a yacht?" he asked with an indulgent smile on his face. "I think we have a few in one of the harbors in City H. Maybe we can go check them out there. If not, I think there are a few marinas around where we can find one. The problem with doing it that way is that you are never guaranteed where they might be. It would depend on the will of their owner."

    "But you guys own a couple?" I would fully admit to being surprised. I mean, I knew they were rich before the world ended. But now that that didn''t mean anything, it was something that I overlooked.

    "Sweetness, not to rain on your parade, but you know that most yachts arepletely electric," said Liu Yu Zeng giving me a slightly guilty and upset look. "So, unless they were out in international waters, they will probably not be working right now."

    Way to rain on my parade. I felt my shoulders dropping in disappointment. There went the pirate fantasy.

    "That doesn''t mean that we won''t go looking," said Chen Zi Han in a reassuring manner as he turned to re at his friend. "There is nothing saying that they weren''t out in international waters at the time and then came back to harbor."

    "So, I can still picture you as 18th-century pirates?" I asked with a sly grin on my face. It was enough to make the other three menugh, dispelling some of the tension. Goal achieved.

    But now I really wanted to yacht.

    "You can picture us however you want," growled Chen Zi Han in my ear. "And once this crap is done, you can bet I will be showing you just what Liu Yu Zeng and I can do."

    Well, fuck. Now I wanted to hurry up and get the device.

    ----

    Wang Chao sat on Ares, looking at the gate and fence surrounding what was once City A. It looked to be something out of a post-apocalyptic movie, but then again, that wasn''t far off from their current situation.

    The chain link fence that was at least 10 feet tall was topped with barbed wire, looking more like a prison than an entrance. Four guards stood at the first chain link gate. They were carrying the standard issued Ak-15, their uniforms impable.

    On the other side of those gates were two 6-foot-long A-frame barricades manned by two more military personnel. They had on helmets and gas masks, their rifles at the low ready position, and they paced back and forth in front of the closed beam.

    Just a few feet from them were another barrier, a portable folding safety barrier that looked to be installed at one end andtched together in the middle. This third barrier was also manned by two military guards, pacing back and forth in an opposite manner to the guards in the previous barrier. It honestly looked like the hypnotic manner that the zombies had marched in when they descended on City J.

    The fourth barrier wasprised of three ck spike strips that seemed to disappear into the road. Most people would never be able to see them and either run over them or impale their feet on them if they tried to rush the entrance. And that was only if they managed to get through the first three barriers. That was also not counting the four guards that paced back and forth, two in front of the spikes and two behind.

    City A was clearly not taking any chances. It was no wonder Li Dai Lu wasn''t able to get in here in herst life. Wang Chao didn''t think a frigging rat would be able to get in.

    After the spike strips was another chain link fence that four more soldiers guarded, and thest barrier to get into the city was a guard house with what looked like another three guards inside of it. That meant there were six barriers and 19 men guarding it within the space of maybe ten feet.

    Really, Wang Chao had no words. The sheer number of supplies needed to support just the guards alone would be astronomical, let alone all of the people in the city. It made him wonder how long the people in charge knew that this wasing and prepared for it.

    ''Are we just going to sit here for the day, or are we going to join the line?'' demanded Ares, not impressed that he was stuck with his rider when he could have been with his Queen and the rest.

    "Well, might as well get into line," sighed Wang Chao, spinning the bike around to line up.

    ''You get in line? Kill them all and take the city!'' growled a voice deep in the back of his mind. Wang Chao felt his face twist into a sneer that had nothing to do with the voice taking control of his body.

    "What? You think you are king shit? Fuck off. If it weren''t for you, we wouldn''t even have to be here right now," replied Wang Chao with a growl of his own. Ares revved his engine showing his own version of displeasure.

    ''So weak, that is why that bitch was able to walk all over you. You even submitted and made promises!'' sneered War. Wang Chao walked his bike up the foot of space that appeared as people were being refused entrance.

    "That woman is mine, and you will never speak about her like that again," snarled Wang Chao.

 Chapter 375 City A

    Chapter 375 City A

    Inside his head, Wang Chao gripped War around the throat and pulled the other soul to him. "I think there are a few things you have overlooked, so maybe I should rify them for you. Li Dai Lu is everything. You are nothing. My devotion to her has nothing to do with you or whatever else you think. My devotion is based on her strength, intelligence, kindness, sympathy, and countless other traits she has shown me. Understood?"

    Wang Chao waited a minute, and when War didn''t say anything, he continued. "I will not let some overbearing piece of shit like you ruin the only good thing in my life. So, I suggest that you hide somewhere in the recesses of my mind where I will never be able to find you. Because you seem to forget that I am War too, and make no mistake, when ites to Li Dai Lu, I will destroy anything thates between us."

    Finally, it was Wang Chao''s turn to approach the first barrier. As soon as the guard saw him, he immediately raised his gun, causing all the other 18 guards to do the same. "Take off your helmet," the guard demanded, approaching Wang Chao. "And get off your bike."

    Wang Chao lifted the visor to his helmet and stared at the guard. "Do you really not know me? Or are you telling me that I can''t enter my own city?" There was a sarcastic grin on his face as he looked at the guards. Yes, he might have pushed everything to the side to make Li Dai Lu like him, but deep down? This was who he was.

    "Sir," said the guard, putting down his gun anding to attention. "Sorry that I didn''t recognize you." Wang Chao grunted his reply. "It''s fine. You are doing a good job. You shouldn''t have given me an easy pass without being able to identify me. But now that you have "Yes, Sir, General, Sir," shouted the guard. The rest of the guards saluted him before rushing to remove all of the barriers.

    seen me and my bike, I expect not to have to wait at the back of the line next time."

    "Yes, Sir, General, Sir," shouted the guard. The rest of the guards saluted him before rushing to remove all of the barriers.

    ''So, you actually are a someone. I was worried that this reincarnation was nothing but a pussy,'' said War before he slipped back into the darkness. Wang Chao snorted. He understood that the War inside of him was all bite, no bark. He just had to figure out how to get him out. Hopefully, his friend would be here to help him.

    Ignoring War, Wang Chao lowered his visor and nodded his head to the men. He revved his engine and then sped off down the street.

    Outside of all the barricades, City A hadn''t changed a bit since the end of the world came. The streets were cleared, and not a single car or burnt bus littered the streets. The buildings were clean, still standing tall and proud, with not a hint of graffiti on them. In fact, he would never have thought that there were zombies just outside the gates if he hadn''t seen them himself.

    It was no wonder that Li Dai Lu said that the city would fall a few years from now. They were utterly unprepared for the reality of the current world. There were even families walking around with their young children, going shop to shop, and finding what they were looking for.

    And yet, he just came from apound near City N where people were eating children simply to survive.

    Inside the privacy of his helmet, Wang Chao sneered his disgust at the whole thing. And the worst part of it all was that if he had been here when the EMP went off and never met Li Dai Lu, he would have thought this was perfectly normal. With a shake of his head, he raced down the empty streets and to one of the tallest buildings in City A. Next to his own, of course.

    ----

    "Are you going to be okay?" asked Wang Chao as he got off Ares. Pulling off his helmet, he ran his fingers through his hair and ced his helmet on the handlebars. Ares snorted at his question. ''I might not be Lin, but I am more than capable of handling anyone that wants to go for a ride. But that is beside the point. I will disappear as soon as you leave until you need me again."

    "All right, I''ll let you know when I need you. And Ares¡­ If something happens and I don''te back, bring a man named Bin An Sha to Li Dai Lu. He will protect her if I can''t," said Wang Chao, feeling a sharp, shooting pain in his heart as he said those words. But he was being pragmatic. He would fight tooth and nail to get back to his woman, but if he couldn''t¡­ well, that was what n B was for.

    Ares snorted. "What? You think just anyone can drive me? Ha!" Not bothering to confirm Wang Chao''s orders or deny them, Ares disappeared right in front of Wang Chao''s eyes.

    Wang Chao walked up the marble steps to the front doors of the building. He gripped the handle but quickly discovered that it was locked. With a sneer, he quickly melted the metal lock and strolled in like he owned the ce.

    Where the security guard once sat, greeting the prominent members of society who lived there, there was nothing. Wang Chao stopped for a second, wondering if maybe something happened here that he didn''t know about. After all, he had left the city a month before shit hit the fan.

    "Are you lost?" asked a maning down the stairs in front of him. The lobby to the condo had changed. There was never a set of stairs so obvious, the patrons preferring to take the elevator wherever possible, but without electricity, Wang Chao guessed that things had to change.

    "Nope," he said with a tight smile. "How have you been, Zhao Jun Jie?"

    "Better before you showed your face," replied the other man. Wang Chao stared at the man who was Li Dai Lu''s original fianc¨¦. Then scoffed.

    This pretty boy would be eaten in a matter of minutes if he ever showed up in front of her.

 Chapter 376 Bin An Sha

    Chapter 376 Bin An Sha

    "You don''t need to worry about my face," chuckled Wang Chao as he

    started up the stairs. When he came to the same step as Zhou Jun

    Jie, he leaned down to whisper into the shorter man''s ear. "And you

    don''t need to worry about your fianc¨¦. I''ll take good care of her, I

    promise."

    Continuing on up the stairs, Wang Chao couldn''t help but smile.

    Pissing off Zhou Jun Jie was always the highlight of his day. Nice to

    know that some things didn''t change. He could feel the other man

    staring daggers into his back, but it really didn''t bother him.

    After all, as far as he was concerned, he had Li Dai Lu; he was

    already winning at life.

    "I don''t know how well my sister will take to you having a mistress,"

    called Zhou Jun Jie. "And I will never ept your leftovers."

    Wang Chao turned around on the firstnding and looked down at

    the man in front of him. "I have rejected your sister so many times

    that if she keeps persisting, it will only make her look like the

    pathetic, desperate woman she really is. I suggest you leash her

    before she does something to ruin your name."

    "You know she is a healer, right?" scoffed Zhou Jun Jie. "She has

    men falling over themselves to get her attention. I don''t know why

    she has set her sights on you."

    "Not even being a healer would make her more desirable, and for

    those men falling over themselves? The best of luck to them. I want

    nothing to do with her," shrugged Wang Chao, not really caring.

    "You are engaged to her; you have no choice in the matter," replied

    Zhou Jun Jie.

    "Ah, how desperate the whole family is to attach themselves to my

    thigh," chuckled Wang Chao. "By all means, keep insisting; we will

    see how long you live after."

    Turning back around, no longer caring about the man he once

    considered to be his toughestpetition, Wang Chao continued

    his journey to the top floor. Because why wouldn''t the fucker be at

    the very top of the building?

    ----

    By the time Wang Chao reached the 42nd floor, he was more than a

    little done with stairs. While he continued to look the same, not a

    hair out of ce or a drop of sweat to wipe away, he was still

    cranky.

    He pounded on the only door on the floor and waited until the

    bastard came to open it.

    After waiting two minutes, Wang Chao had enough and let himself

    into the condo. Looking around the space, he would have to admit;

    he was impressed. It was very much the typical whiteyout that

    the upper crust seemed to prefer. But like Li Dai Lu pointed out, it

    was only because they didn''t have to clean it themselves.

    However, the ce was absolutely immacte. Not a trace of dust

    could be found anywhere. But then again, what did he expect from

    one of the best surgeons in the world?

    Entering the kitchen, he searched through the cupboards for

    "You want to tell me what the fuck you are doing in my house?"

    came a disgruntled voice from the doorway. Wang Chao turned

    something to eat. He was really starting to miss Chen Zi Han''s

    cooking, that was for sure. Finding a bag of chips, Wang Chao

    walked over to the ck leather couch and made himself at home.

    ----

    "You want to tell me what the fuck you are doing in my house?"

    came a disgruntled voice from the doorway. Wang Chao turned

    around from where he was in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows

    and looked at the man by the front door.

    "Took you long enough," scoffed Wang Chao with a smirk. He held

    up the empty bag of chips and waved it back and forth. "You are out

    of food. Might want to go get some more."

    "You are an asshole," grumbled the man as he took off his outdoor

    shoes, put on his slippers, and walked into the kitchen. "But it is

    nice to see you alive."

    Wang Chaoughed and followed the other man. "What? Did you

    really think that a zombie apocalypse could stop me?"

    The man turned around and leaned against the counter, his eyes

    narrowing on Wang Chao. "Are there really zombies?"

    "You''re not serious, right?" asked Wang Chao with a look of

    confusion on his face. "Don''t you know what is going on outside of

    the city?"

    "No," replied the other man with a shrug. "Only that on the other

    side of the barrier isn''t safe, and we shouldn''t approach it."

    "Huh," said Wang Chao, wishing that he had something hard to

    drink right about now. "And, of course, there is no news avable

    from the outside world."

    "There is no news avable, period. But I am going to guess that you

    are not here to shoot the shit. What do you want?" asked the man

    whose house it was. He walked over to one of the chairs in the

    living room and sat down.

    "I hear voices in my head. Do you happen to have any medications

    for that?" smirked Wang Chao as he sat back down on the couch.

    "What?!" demanded his friend, a look of concern falling over his

    face.

    "Voices. In my head. I need them to shut up, and I was pretty sure

    that there should be some medications to help with that," said

    Wang Chao, his smile never wavering. "At least until I figure out how

    to kill it."

    "I think I am going to need a few more details," sighed the other

    man as he leaned back in the chair and sipped from his ss of

    water.

    "Nope," shrugged Wang Chao. "It''s one of those need-to-know

    things, and you, my dear Bin An Sha, don''t need to know."

    "You know, I might be a surgeon, but that doesn''t mean that I have

    forgotten how to extract information from an unwilling subject,"

    said Bin An Sha, dropping the mask of civility from his face, a cold

    aura flowing out of him.

    "Good luck with that one,"ughed Wang Chao. "My wife is a lot

    scarier without her coffee than you have ever been, my dear

    assassin."

    "Wife? When did you get married?" asked Bin An Sha, confused.

    "Long story. The meds, please."

    "Long story? We have all the time in the world," replied Bin An Sha

    as he gotfortable in his chair.

 Chapter 377 There Can Only Be One

    Chapter 377 There Can Only Be One

    "You are an ass; you know that right?" asked Wang Chao with a tired sigh. He hadn''t slept in days, wanting to get here that much quicker so he could get his hands on the meds.

    "I am well aware. In fact, I have been called much, much worse. But you were about to tell me how you got married without me knowing it," smirked Bin An Sha, not letting his friend off the hook for even a second. He could see how tired the other man was, so clearly, this was more important than he was letting on. "Does your wife even know?"

    "Does she know what? Whether I am married or not? Oh yeah, she knows."

    "Well, I guess that helps," smirked Bin An Sha, happy for his friend.

    "Now, the meds?" asked Wang Chao. "I need to get going back. I left them in a bit of a lurch."

    "I am sorry," said Bin An Sha, actually looking sorry. "But I won''t be able to get my hands on them until tomorrow at the earliest. Why don''t you tell me exactly why you need them so I know what dosage to give you?"

    "The strongest dosage possible. And you won''t believe me, even if I tell you," sighed Wang Chao as he rested his head against the backrest of the couch.

    "Try me. You might be surprised," smirked Bin An Sha.

    "I have a second soul inside of me that I need to kill off before I get back to my wife. He really hates her. But I don''t know how to kill it-him right now, so I need the meds to at least shut him up or weaken him." Wang Chao looked at the man across from him. "What do you say? Do you believe me?"

    Bin An Sha studied Wang Chao in front of him. "Can''t be any worse than the voice in my head," he admitted. Wang Chao''s eyes went wide at the other man''s words. "What does your voice say?"

    "Find the Queen, promise to never leave," said Bin An Sha, pulling a knife out of nowhere and started to twirl it between his fingers. "But I have no idea what it is talking about."

    Wang Chao scoffed at his words, causing Bin An Sha to re at him. Wang Chao might be a good friend, but that didn''t mean that he would not hesitate to slit his throat if necessary.

    ''War!'' growled War in the back of Wang Chao''s mind. ''Kill him! He is going to take your ce!''

    Wang Chao was startled when he heard War''s voice. ''How can there be two of you?'' he demanded, but War remained stubbornly silent. Instead of pushing, he turned to Bin An Sha. "How close is your voice to the surface?"

    The other man simply stared at Wang Chao and didn''t answer him. However, this was too important for Wang Chao to back off. Bin An Sha might be the answer to all of his problems, even if it wasn''t in the way he was expecting. "I can take you to the Queen, and you can tell her whatever you need to," pressed Wang Chao with a smile on his face.

    ''You wouldn''t,'' hissed War inside of his mind. ''You can''t rece me!''

    ''Watch me!'' smirked Wang Chao. He needed to be War, it was the only way he could stay beside Li Dai Lu, but he didn''t need to be this War.

    "What''s the catch?" asked a voiceing out of Bin An Sha''s mouth, but the tone was all War.

    "The catch is that youe into me and kill the part of you that is inside me," shrugged Wang Chao. Never in a million years did he think that he would be having a conversation like this. But that was the magic of his woman.

    "You know it doesn''t work like that, right?" continued the other voiceing out of Bin An Sha''s mouth. "You have to absorb the soul inside of you in order to kill it. And Bin An Sha will have to absorb me. If you can''t conquer us, do you really deserve your ce next to the Queen? Don''t forget that this is all our fault."

    "Do you have any idea what it is talking about?" said Bin An Sha after a moment of internal struggle.

    "Unfortunately, yes," grumbled Wang Chao.

    ''Told you; you can''t get rid of me that easily,'' sneered War, but there was definitely a note of relief in those words.

    "And now that I know that the meds aren''t going to work to shut up the voices, I am going to get back to Li Dai Lu," said Wang Chao standing up from the couch. Unfortunately for him, he was much too tired, and his body started to sway.

    "I''ll show you to the guest room," sighed Bin An Sha. "Something tells me that I am going to end up going with you."

    "Fuck that you are," growled Wang Chao. "You don''t know what is going on out there. How the Hell do you think that you areing with me?"

    Bin An Sha simply raised an eyebrow and looked at the other man. "We will discuss this in the morning."

    "Fine," grumbled Wang Chao, understanding just how tired he really was. "But make no mistake; we will be discussing it in the morning."

    Bin An Sha sat there and watched the other man stumbling down the hall toward the guest bedroom. After making sure that he was gone, Bin An Sha stood up and walked to the windows overlooking City A.

    "All right, now that it is just the two of us, tell me what is going on." This was the first time he had ever acknowledged the voice that had been moring inside of his head for the past few months. "If we are going to get what you clearly want, then you need to tell me everything."

    Only silence met his words, but Bin An Sha was nothing if not patient. ''Even if it means to kill a friend?'' asked the voice in his mind. Bin An Sha''s reflection took on a twisted smirk as it stared back at him. "What friend?"

 Chapter 378 Time to Take the Plunge

    378 Time to Take the Plunge

    "We''re here," said Commander Huang Nian Zu with a smirk. As far as I could tell, we were in the middle of the ocean, with nothing around us, so how could he be so sure?

    "You sure?" I asked, raising my eyebrow. I looked over the edge of the boat and saw, deep down beneath us, the outline of a big fucking shark. ''Where are you?'' I demanded to Beta, not sure where my zombie minion was.

    ''Under you, my Lord,'' he assured me, but given the fact that there was also a shark under me, I was not all that assured.

    ''What about the shark?'' I asked him, still looking down and ignoring themander. He could fuck right off if he thought that I was going to be jumping on top of a shark.

    I could see something purpleing out of the shark, and all of a sudden, it disappeared. ''Eaten,'' came the answer. I narrowed my eyes. I knew that blood in the water would attract more sharks, and that was the exact opposite of what I wanted.

    ''Keep all zombies and sharks away from me and my men. When ites to the others, two of three are up for grabs,'' I grumbled, not at all happy or impressed about the idea of jumping in the water right now.

    "Having second thoughts?" pressed themander as he came over to stand beside me. I didn''t know what was going on in his head, but if he really thought that I trusted him in such a vulnerable situation, he was crazy.

    "And third and fourth," I assured him. "In fact, I am wondering why we even need to go down there in the first ce. Can you remind me again?"

    "We need more people in the water to find the device quicker and easier," exined themander, sounding really put out over the fact that he had to go over this again.

    "But there are ten of you right now, and only three going in the water. If you wanted as many bodies as you can searching, wouldn''t you all go in?" Huh, maybe there was a n B that I could sneak in.

    "But someone has to stay in the boat and make sure that everything is going okay up top," answered themander, the smile still on his face. There was nothing I wanted to do more than drop him over the side of the boat. Tell me again why I couldn''t?

    "Then why don''t me and the guys stay in the boat, and the rest of you go in the water? That way, you have more people searching for the device while still having people on top. I think that is a fantastic n. Don''t you?" I said with a big smile, taking out my asshole mug again.

    Commander Huang Nian Zu looked at my mug before looking back at me. "No," he said simply.

    "I understand," I said, my head nodding like a bobblehead. "It is really scary going into the water. I don''t me you at all for wanting to get out of it." I took a deep breath and let out a long sigh. This time I shook my head, "We will be more than happy to make the sacrifice for you. Really, it would be our honor. Just please, think of us every so often."

    Themander stared at me stupidly, and I saw him trying to think through my words. "Wait!" he said after a moment. Once again, my handy mug was just what I needed to hide my smile.

    "Yes,mander?" I asked, tilting my head to the side.

    "I am not scared!"

    "Of course, you aren''t," I said with a nod. I took another sip of my coffee as Beta spoke to me through our link. ''No sharks.'' I sighed in relief hearing his words. "Well, I guess we might as well get ready to jump in. That was what you wereing over to say to me, right?"

    "Right," said themander feeling like he had once again managed to take control of the situation. "Suit up! It''s time to go in!" he shouted to everyone on deck.

    "You heard the man," I said, looking at my men. "It''s time to take the plunge."

    "Are you sure about this?" demanded Liu Wei as he wrapped me in his arms. "We can go down and get the device. You can stay on the boat." I know he meant well, but the very idea that he was in a dangerous situation without me made me want to puke. No, I would deal with my fears to make sure that my men were safe.

    "Thanks, but I''ll be going in with you. Someone has to watch your back, and who better than me?" I said with a tilt of my head. There was a sinking, pukey feeling in my gut, and I didn''t know if it was a premonition that something bad was going to happen, my fear of the water, or too much caffeine. But being away from my men was going to make it worse.

    I forced myself to stop thinking about it.

    Step one: get my tank on.

    Step two: make sure that I could breathe. (I was considering that to be one of the most important steps)

    Step three: find the device.

    Step four: get back to the surface.

    Step five: don''t get eaten by anything.

    Step six: toss the fuckingmander and all of his men overboard without their oxygen tanks and let the zombies have a snack.

    I took in a calming breath and smiled at my men. Six steps I could do that. And I was most looking forward to the final one.

    Liu Wei gently ced the heavy oxygen tank onto my back and made sure that everything was in working order. It looked like one of the ones that the Sea Dragons had given us, but I had exchanged them with the ones from my space.

    I had a lot more confidence in the tanks from my space than I did in his.

    With me ready to go, my guys and the three military men (and woman) got themselves ready.

    I looked down at the water beneath us and smiled when I saw Beta floating there,pletely surrounded by zombies.

    I might just survive this yet.

 Chapter 379 Karmaâ€™s a Bitch, And So Am I

    379 Karma¡¯s a Bitch, And So Am I

    I closed my eyes as the water closed in around me. I would survive. But the fucker who pushed me in? Yeah, he was a dead man.

    I turned around and looked up just in time to see a ssh as another body entered the water. It was one of the Sea Dragonsing in after me but without his gear or oxygen tank. The poor bastard probably got caught by one of my guys and was tossed into the water.

    ''All yours,'' I said to Beta, pointing to the man that was currently treading water. Not my fault he was a dick. There was a burst of speed beside me and a zombie shot out of the murky darkness of the East Sea. It wrapped a hand around the ankle of the unsuspecting man and dragged him under the waves, leaving a trail of bubbles in its wake.

    The sweet zombie then swam toward me, carrying its prize. The Sea Dragon fought as hard as he could. Going so far as actually to slice the zombie a few times on the arm. However, if he thought that was going to help him. Well, he had another thinging.

    I watched as he continued to kick and sh as best he could, his cheeks puffed out with air as he tried to hold his breath. The zombie stopped with his prize right in front of me, and the Sea Dragon got to see me for the first time since he pushed me in. His eyes went wide, and I wiggled my fingers in a sarcastic wave.

    Yeah, Karma was a bitch, and so was I.

    I looked at the zombie and nodded my head. Realizing that I had just signed his death warrant, the Sea Dragon looked at me with rage and turned his knife away from the zombie and toward me. Unfortunately for him, the zombie moved faster than he did, and he was dragged down to the bottom of the ocean floor.

    There were more sshes on the surface, and I motioned for the zombies to disappear for right now. I didn''t want to show my cards so early and give my prey time to escape. ''Have a few of your men guard the boat. I don''t want to take the chance that it leaves us here,'' I said to Beta.

    ''And if it does?''

    ''Everyone on board will be dead at some point in time today. If they try to leave¡­ enjoy your food,'' I said. Something told me that boats were soon going to be like basements to me. I would always need someone I trusted in them just to make sure that they didn''t disappear.

    My men quickly swam towards me, and I saw Chen Zi Han looking around as if trying to find someone. Grabbing his attention, I made a quick sh across my throat. Well, that answered that question as to who tossed the body over the boat. He nodded his understanding, and we waited for the three Sea Dragons that were supposed to be offering us their protection to finally get in the water.

    I don''t know if they were testing the waters to see if we would be killed as soon as we got in or what, but it was a good three to four minutes before we saw them.

    Ha! Testing the waters! I get jokes.

    thought that I would be so grateful to have a zombie around, let alone keep an eye on me. It was 09:49

    amazing how much could change in a lifetime.

    They swam over to us and proceeded to point down. No shit Sherlock.

    I rolled my eyes, and the seven of us started to descend to the bottom. ''Anything interesting on the floor?'' I asked Beta, the silence beginning to drive me insane. I would invent a mask that yed music while you dove. It''s not like you would hear anythinging up behind you anyways. Might as well listen to some tunes.

    ''Ship,'' replied Beta. I could see him swimming parallel to me out of the corner of my eyes. I never thought that I would be so grateful to have a zombie around, let alone keep an eye on me. It was amazing how much could change in a lifetime.

    ''Ship?''

    ''Ship with people inside,'' he rified. Oh, shit. What the Hell were we getting ourselves into?!?

    ''Guys,'' I said, using my link with the guys to be able to share that critical bit of information.

    ''Yeah?'' answered Liu Yu Zeng.

    ''Everything okay?'' asked Chen Zi Han.

    ''I''m here, Sweetheart,'' added Liu Wei.

    ''ording to Beta, we are heading down towards a submarine with people still inside of it,'' I said as I looked at the three men around me. ''Do you think they knew that fact before they sent us down?''

    ''No,'' said Liu Wei. ''It would have been a rescue mission, not a retrieval. Chances are they assumed that there are no survivors.''

    ''Well, ording to Beta, there are. How else would he know that there were people inside if they weren''t walking around making noise? And how the Hell are we going to get into a sub with people inside?''

    This was not part of my six-step n. And I was not happy to have to deviate. If everyone weren''t already going to die, then I would say people were going to die; however, now it just seems redundant.

    ''I hate to stress anyone out more, but are we sure that they are even humans in here? I mean, could they have all be zombies?'' asked Liu Yu Zeng, putting that cheery thought into my head.

    ''Beta, are they humans or zombies?'' I asked, turning to the only person here that might have the answer. And yes, I was using the term person very loosely.

    ''Humans; can hear talking,'' answered Beta, and I didn''t know if he just made the situation better or worse.

    ''Beta says humans. He can hear them talking,'' I said, passing on his message.

    ''Fuck,'' said Chen Zi Han under his breath, and I could see him reaching for the knife he always kept close.

    ''Agreed,'' came Liu Wei''s voice over the link.

    ''What the fuck did we just sign up for?'' asked Liu Yu Zeng, looking at his brother.

    ''No idea,'' I answered. ''But we are going to be finding out really soon.''

 Chapter 380 Fuck Me

    380 Fuck Me

    Have you ever felt like you were swimming to your death? I have. Right now. And I really didn''t rmend it. Especially with people you knew were going to actively try and kill you at any point in time.

    My instruments, a round gage-y thing, told me that I was approaching 500 feet, which hopefully meant that we were getting close to the bottom and whatever fresh nightmare waited for us there. We swam for a few more minutes when the dark shape came out of nowhere, surprising the crap out of me.

    The submarine looked almost ck where it rested on the sandy bottom. There were schools of fish swimming around it, and I even think I saw an octopus. They seemed to be extremely surprised to see us and quickly disappeared from our sight.

    Want to guess who wasn''t surprised to see a submarine at the bottom of the East Sea? The three Sea Dragons, that''s who.

    They swam to the top of the sub, where a round wheel was sitting on top of a tube. One of the Dragons started to spin the hatch opening with a lot more ease than I thought would be possible, given the pressure of the water and the fact that the wheel should have been practically soldered shut to prevent water from getting in.

    But what did I know? I was smart enough not to get in a death tube and then go to the bottom of the ocean. Clearly, not everyone was.

    It took all three of them to be able to open the hatch underwater, with me and mine just sitting back, not doing anything. One of them motioned for us toe closer and then pointed inside the chamber just on the other side of the door.

    Now, I am not sure how dumb they thought I was, but if they were expecting me to go into that chamber willingly without one of them leading the way, then they had another thinging.

    I slowly shook my head and crossed my arms over my chest. Liu Wei gestured for one of them to go in first, and, low and behold, one of them did. Maybe this wasn''t a trap. Still, I wasn''t willing to take any chances. Well, any more than what I currently was.

    There was a bit of a stand-off for a while, but eventually, all seven of us were squeezed into the small tube, and one of the Sea Dragons was closing the hatch on top of us. I watched as the one to screw the hatch shut raised his thumb in a very universal gesture, and a second one pulled a leaver against one of the walls.

    Very quickly, the water drained out of the chamber, and we were able to take off our oxygen masks. "What the fuck was that?" asked the dipshit whose name I forgot. Not the one that tried to fight Liu Wei, but the woman that called us all chum.

    "What was what?" I asked tiredly. So far, today had been filled with surprises, and not a single one had been pleasant. I was due for a meltdown or a temper tantrum, and neither one would prove to be good for anyone around me, including my own guys.

    "What took you so long to get into the chamber?" she demanded. I cocked my head to the side, trying to remember the totally amazing nickname I had for her¡­ Fucktrumpet? Was that it?

    "Intelligence," I said with a smile. "Now, how long have you known that the device was in a submarine filled with Navy members and decided not to tell us?"

    "What do you mean?" asked the male dipshit.

    "You don''t know that most people are alive in here?" I replied with a question of my own.

    "They should all be dead, ording to our intel," said the sweet one.

    "Then your intel sucks," muttered Liu Yu Zeng. "But we might as well get this over and done with. Something tells me that it is going to be a race to the top. And if the men here aren''t already dead, they will be when you leave the hatch open and drown them all."

    The three Sea Dragons exchanged a look before the man in charge opened a hatch at our feet with adder down to the next level.

    I paused for a second. I was pretty sure that I had made a promise to myself not to ignore mymon sense and go into dark tunnels that I didn''t know anything about. Yeah, pretty sure that happened.

    "Ladies first," said the asshole with a smile.

    "I couldn''t agree with you more," I answered with a smile of my own before I pushed Fucktrumpet down the hole. A scream and a bang let me know she got down safely. "Now, age before beauty."

    Dipshit red at me and gripped thedder with both hands before sliding down. I heard some murmurings between him and the other woman, but they were cut off quickly when Chen Zi Han simply jumped down, not bothering with thedder at all.

    Guo De Lun looked at me wide-eyed, and I shrugged my shoulders. "Safe!" came the shout from my man, and I took a page from his own book and simply jumped down. I knew that he would be there to catch me.

    I had tough at Fucktrumpet from Chen Zi Han''s arms. "I am really sorry. I thought when your teammate said, ''Ladies first,'' he was talking about you. No one would ever mistake me for ady," I said with a smile on my face as I patted Chen Zi Han to put me down.

    We got out of the way for thest two of my men to have room to drop down. Guo De Lun was thest one toe down, taking thedder like how hisrade did. "Okay, now what?" I asked as the three Sea Dragons took out their guns and started to unwrap them. Huh, I didn''t see that.

    "Now we split up and grab the device," said Dipshit as he knelt down at the entrance of the room we were currently in and brought the gun up to his shoulder. I exchanged a look with Liu Wei, not liking what I was seeing at all.

    If it were our, sorry, their, men in here, then why would they be so cautious?

    Fuck me.

 Chapter 381 Sweet but Psycho

    Chapter 381 Sweet but Psycho

    "This isn''t a Country K submarine, is it?" I asked with a tired sigh. I really hadn''t had enough sweets or coffee to deal with this level of fuckery.

    The three Country K Sea Dragon team members turned to look at me, their silence saying more than words ever could. Yup, we were fucked, and not in a good way, either. I looked at my three men and closed my eyes, stretching my neck back and forth to loosen up the tense muscles.

    I was really going to need a rxing massage when this was all over and done with.

    "Need anything from the vaults?" I asked, wanting to make sure that they had what they needed. Me? I was probably just going to kill everyone. In fact, it was getting even higher on my list of things to do. ''Violence, do we really need the device?'' I sighed, already knowing the answer before I finished the question.

    ''Do you really want someone to have ess to Country M''s weapons?'' she replied with a question of her own. Sometimes it was really annoying to argue with yourself.

    Wait¡­

    "This is a fucking Country M submarine?!? As in the country that managed toe up with the zombie virus in the first ce?!?!" I demanded. I mean, I wasn''t happy with any of this in the first ce, but to know that this was a Country M submarine and that we were there to get the ASAT device for Country M''s nuclear satellites, well, that put me on a whole other level of pissed.

    "Oh, you really fucked up badly," said Liu Yu Zeng with a smile. "And Sweetness, I''ll take my bullet-proof vest, four of my guns with their holsters, and my knives with their sheaths, please, and thank you."

    "This is why you wanted us to be with you. usible deniability. We are civilians, not military. That way, if the world ever goes back to normal, Country K has us as scapegoats and them as the innocent victims. I''ll take my knives, swords, sheaths, and maybe three of the 9mm. Please," said Liu Wei as he removed his sses to clean them.

    I took out what the boys asked for, including Liu Wei''s bulletproof vest. He looked at it for a second before looking at me. "If you die, I will bring you back to life just to kill you again. Do you understand me? Wear it," I growled at him before tossing a third vest to Chen Zi Han. "You too; what do you need?"

    "A kiss," he smirked at me. Well, I could never say no to that. Walking over to him, I went onto my tiptoes and gave him a gentle kiss on the lips.

    "Nothing can happen to you, understood?" I said, looking into the eyes of the man that I loved. "You have made me a lot of promises that you haven''t fulfilled yet."

    "Understood," he chuckled. "But unlike these two, I work much better in the dark. I only need my knife."

    "That''s fine," I said. I was not going to tell him how to do his job. "But wear the vest."

    "Awe, isn''t that sweet?" asked Fucktrumpet as she grinned at her two teammates. "They are so in love."

    Without a word or a change in expression, I took out the 9mm with the silencer from my space and shot her point-nk in the head. Blood sttered all over the walls and her teammates.

    "Awe, thank you, we really are," I said, looking down at her corpse with a smile. Then I looked up at the shocked faces of the two men before me. "What? Do you think any of you areing out of this alive? I mean, I originally thought Gup De Lun was going to, simply because he seemed sweet. However, you have majorly fucked me and my men over."

    I kicked the body at my feet, a little cranky that I hadn''t controlled myself better. "I was supposed to leave your guys to the zombies outside, but they don''t like dead bodies. Oh well, I guess there are always the sharks. Waste not, want not."

    "You are fucked in the head; you know that, right?" demanded Dipshit as he raised his gun to me. I could even see the slightest trembling of his hand as he tried to hold it steady. How cute.

    "I prefer the term Psycho, but yeah, I am well aware," I giggled. Huh, I guess Psycho came for a visit. No time like the present, I guess. "You boys ready?" I asked. Oh, wait, I had a question. "Liu Liu," I called out sweetly, and both Liu Yu Zeng and Liu Wei looked at me. "No, not Zeng Zeng, Liu Liu," I said with a shake of my head. "Or should I call you Wei Wei? Nah, I like Liu Liu better."

    "Yes, Sweetheart, what can I do for you?" smiled Liu Wei, not at all put off by my current personality. And that is how you know he really loves you.

    "On a sub, is fire or ice better?" I asked cocking my head. I really wanted it to be fire, but then I thought that maybe I would start blowing things up that probably shouldn''t be blown up. We were 500 feet under the ocean after all.

    "Let''s stick to ice for right now, okay?" he said with a gentle smile on his face. "You can blow up whatever you want to after we get out of the tub." The man was smart; what could I say?

    "Okay," I said with a nod before I pushed aside the two Navy members and opened the door.

    On the other side of the hatch stood five men in the Country M Navy uniform, their FN SCAR raised and pointed at me. Great, as if the Navy wasn''t bad enough, they had to be SEALs. And I didn''t mean the cute kind.

    "Well, Bless your heart," I said with a shake of my head right before I flicked my wrist and brought all of the guns into my space. "But I really don''t like to have a gun in my face. Now, it seems like we have a few things to talk about, don''t we?"

 Chapter 382 Dipshit was Right

    Chapter 382 Dipshit was Right

    "What the fuck are you doing? Kill them!" shouted Dipshit as he raised his gun at the nearest SEAL. Well, that won''t do. I turned around and shot him before he could get his shot off first. He quickly joined Fucktrumpet on the ground.

    "Sorry about the mess," I said with a shrug as I tried to kick the corpse back into the chamber so I could close the door. Guo De Lun was smart enough to hold up his hands and let one of my men take his gun away.

    Then again, I guess I had killed enough chickens for him to be smarter than the average bear.

    "Now, where were we?" I asked with a sigh. It was really hard to keep a single thought in my head right now. "Ah, right, we have a few things to discuss. Right," I said with a nod of my head. When nobody moved, I simply blinked at them in confusion.

    "Am I missing something?" I asked as I looked at Liu Wei and Liu Yu Zeng behind me.

    "Your gun, Sweetheart. They might need some reassurance that you aren''t going to shoot them," said Liu Wei, still with a smile on his face. I was willing to bet that as Wang Chao''s assistant; he was privy to a lot of fuckery. Hell, this might not even make the top-five list. I kind of miss Wang Chao right now.

    "What?" I asked again, confused as to whether or not there was something I should be doing.

    "Gun," said the strange man in front of me. "Want to make it disappear like you did ours?"

    "Is there a point? If I can make it disappear, then I can make it reappear just as easily, Silly." Okay, I was going to have to let Psycho out here in the sub where no one can see me like this. Hopefully, by the time we got back to the surface, I would be back to normal. This was like Perky on acid with murderous tendencies. Wait, I didn''t have murderous tendencies right now.

    ''Psycho had a thing for romance books,'' sighed Violence, and I could practically see her rubbing her head in frustration. ''Especially about Navy SEALs with so many red gs that they could start their ownpany and possessive to boot. She won''t be too interested in killing them,'' she continued with a shrug. ''Fucking them, though? That is another story.''

    Dipshit was right; I really was fucked in the head.

    Meh, what was I going to do about it? Might as well enjoy the ride until she disappeared...and make sure that she didn''t fuck anyone.

    "What were we talking about? Sorry, the voices in my head were telling me all sorts of fucked up things," I said with a sigh. "Right, guns. Did you want mine?" I asked cocking my head to the side and looking at the SEAL in front of me.

    "You know, I think you are actually more fucked than I am," I said with some concern.

    "Gun, please," said the man. Look at how polite he was, saying please. With a shrug of my shoulders, I handed him over my 9mm. I mean, I had a crap ton more where that came from, plus fire, ice, and the ability to consume his soul. If he felt safer with my gun, then who was I to judge?

    "Here you go," I said with a smile on my face as I handed him the gun, butt first. Because I was gun smart like that. And I had seen it in a movie once.

    "Thank you. Now, what were you saying?" he asked with a smile on his face as he handed my gun to the guy behind him, who gave it to some other guy.

    "About what?" I asked, confused. Maybe I wasn''t the best person for this meeting. Turning, I looked at Liu Wei. "They are fucked, I can get them to the surface, but there is no way to get them home. We need the device, but I can promise that no one will ever be able to use it," I said as fast as I could before my mind started to go off in another direction. "Oh, and say ''Bless your heart often''," I added with a nod of my head.

    There, I handed things off to the sane one. Hopefully, that will help. "Is there anyone I can kill right now? I am feeling kind of stabby," I asked the man standing in front of me.

    "Sorry, I''m afraid that we are fresh out of people to kill," replied the man with a shrug of his shoulders as he smiled at me.

    "Damn," I grumbled under my breath as Liu Yu Zeng came up behind me and dragged me back by my waist.

    "Come on, Sweetness," he said softly. "Let''s let big brother handle everything, okay? We still have a whole boat up top filled with people you can kill."

    "But I told Beta that he could have those ones," I replied, my bottom lip going down into a pout. Life really wasn''t fair.

    "Huh," said Liu Yu Zeng as he thought about it. "Well, when we get back tond, if you are still in a stabby mood, you are more than wee to go out and kill anyone that you want."

    "You are the sweetest man ever," I said with a happy smile and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "You promise you will let me go on a killing spree?"

    "Of course, Sweetness. Whatever you want," he chuckled.

    "You''ll do, Disease." As soon as the words came out of my mouth, I could feel myself start to rx. I don''t know if I was happy or not that Psycho left that fast. It was certainly a lot less stressful with her being out in the open. Now I still had to deal with a boatload of Navy SEALs from Country M. Or was it a sub-load?

    "You''re back?" asked Liu Wei with a smile.

    "Yeah, sorry about that. Apparently, I was a bit more stressed about the situation than I thought. But Violence was right. Psycho was a lot like Perky and Crazy. No wonder those three are always together," I said with a smile as I rubbed my forehead.

    "Now, where were we?"

 Chapter 383 Long Lost Daughter

    Chapter 383 Long Lost Daughter

    Wu Bai Hee watched as the man approached her. He was dirty, his clothes unkept, and she could smell him from where she stood. She tried to suppress her urge to vomit when the man, probably around his 40s or 50s, smiled at her, his teeth yellowed and some missing fromck of care. His fingernails were caked with dirt and blood as he tried to scrape some of it out from underneath the nail.

    She shuddered. This was not how things were supposed to go. She was supposed to have a soft, cushy life with the idiot old man. But when Liu Wei killed her, she had toe up with a new n. She couldn''t risk Liu Wei getting in contact with his grandfather and learning that she was still alive.

    No, she would have toy low if she wanted to be able toplete the mission from the Goddess and rule the new world with Liu Wei. He woulde to heel like the rest of the men in her life. Yes, she had everything nned.

    But she needed to get to City A first. Unfortunately, there was a long way to go before she could get there, and the roads were filling up with humans during the day and zombies at night. No. She needed a safety, someone that she could throw away when needed but also would keep her protected.

    However, beggars couldn''t be choosers, and this guy lead one of the biggest groups she hade across so far. A big group meant a better chance of surviving the other people and zombies, as well as allowing her to disappear.

    Yeah, she would need toe up with a better n, but this was what she had right now.

    "Well, now, are you a sweet morsel of food," said the man as he licked his lips. Wu Bai Hee suppressed her shudder of disgust and leaned forward enough to be able to capture the man''s eyes.

    "Hello," she purred, sliding through his weak barriers and into the very center of his mind. The images shing through his head of what he wanted to do to her made her sneer as if he was good enough to even touch her finger. But a weak man was easier to manipte, and a weak man that had his own army? Well, that was just perfect.

    The first thing she needed to do was to build her foundation.

    She searched through his mind until she nted the smallest of nuggets in a memory from 20 years ago. He had a wife and daughter, but the wife took her and ran away with another man. Wu Bai Hee smiled as she manipted that memory and made herself his daughter.

    Then she changed every memory after that to include herself in it. Birthday parties, fights, schools, everyst detail. She moved as fast as she could, and she knew that her work wasn''t perfect, but it would be enough to stay at his side and continue to manipte.

    "Wu Bai Hee?" asked the man suddenly, his facepletely changing. "Is that you? It''s me! Dad! I was so worried when I couldn''t find you! I went to your university, but your friends said that you had already left, trying to get back to me. I knew that you would do anything to get back to me. Not like that bitch of a mother of yours. No, you are a good girl, aren''t you?"

    Wu Bai Hee''s face took a sudden turn as tears poured out of her eyes. "Daddy! I didn''t recognize you! What happened to you?" she asked as she reached for his clothes and tried to wipe the dirt off of them. "Don''t worry. I am here now. That''s all that matters, right?" she pressed, cocking her head to the side and staring at the man in his eyes.

    The key to maniption was to not press so hard that it was apparent they were being manipted, but subtly like everything was their own idea.

    "Yes, you are here, and we will protect you. Come, meet my friends," said the old man as he wrapped an arm around Wu Bai Hee and brought her to therge group of people milling around the road. "Everyone! I have finally found my daughter! Come meet Wu Bai Hee!"

    One man came forward and studied Wu Bai Hee for a second before looking her in the eyes. The skepticism on his face quickly melted away, and he turned to the older man. "Wow, Peng Youn Rui, I can''t believe that you finally found her." He turned back to Wu Bai Hee with a smile. "He has been looking everywhere for you! You should have stayed at the university! Such a bad girl to worry her father like that."

    "I''m sorry, Uncle," replied Wu Bai Hee as she lowered her head. "I will do better in the future, I promise."

    "Now, now, don''t listen to Li Sai Hong; you know he''s been like that all his life. Harsh words, but the heart of a marshmallow. He was worried about you, too," smiled Peng Yong Rui, guiding Wu Bai Hee to meet more people.

    "I know, Daddy, don''t worry. I know that Uncle Li really cares and looks after you well," nodded Wu Bai Hee as she quickly took in the situation. "Where are we going now?" she pressed, looking at her ''father'' and pressing the idea of going to City A next.

    "Well, now that I have found you, I thought that we could go to City A. I have heard that it is one of the safest ces to be right now, and I want you safe," said Peng Yong Rui as he turned around and gripped Wu Bai Hee''s hands in both of his. "I need you to be safe. There is nothing more important to me than your safety. You know that, right?"

    "I know, Daddy. You are so good to me," smiled Wu Bai Hee innocently. Peng Yong Rui put his hand into her hair and gently started tob it. He gave her a tear-filled smile and kissed her on the forehead.

    "You are the most important thing in my life; I hope you know that."

    "I know, Daddy," Wu Bai Hee assured him again. After all, how was she going to ensure an easy path for herself if she wasn''t the most important thing in his world?

 Chapter 384 Mud Water?

    Chapter 384 Mud Water?

    "You are finally awake, and here was me thinking that you were on a time limit or something," smirked Bin An Sha from where he was drinking a cup of coffee on the couch. Wang Chao only red at him as he ran his fingers through his hair. His clothes were crumpled from sleeping in them, and his face had indentations from where it rested on his pillow.

    "Yeah, yeah. Ares can make up the time," he grumbled as he went to the kitchen and grabbed the pot of coffee. He poured himself a cup and walked over to the other man. Sitting down in one of the chairs, he crossed his legs and brought the coffee up to his lips, and took a sip.

    It was all he could do not to spit the¡­ swamp water?... out. Whatever was in his cup was not coffee, no matter how much it looked like it.

    "Not to your tastes?" smirked Bin An Sha as he took another sip from his own cup. He would admit that it had taken him a while to get used to the mud water, but after he did, it no longer tasted that bad.

    "Hardly; I am surprised that you drink that," said Wang Chao, a look of disgust on his face as he put the cup down on the table beside him.

    "Well, now that there is no more coffee, mud water is the only thing we have to rece it," shrugged the other man like it wasn''t that important. However, if he ever found someone with real coffee, he might have to marry them: man or woman.

    "There''s no more coffee?" asked Wang Chao, surprised. He knew that, ording to Li Dai Lu, coffee would eventually run out, but with how much of it she drinks every day, he hadn''t realized that it was that bad right now.

    "You seem surprised. Do you know where to get some of the good stuff?" demanded Bin An Sha. He was man enough to admit that he would cheerfully slit the other man''s throat if he were holding out on him.

    "Maybe, but what can you give me in return?" smiled Wang Chao with a shrug of his own. He was a businessman, after all. There needed to be some give and take. And by the sound of it, coffee was in high demand.

    "I already told you; I can''t help but get rid of the voice in your head," answered Bin An Sha as he leaned back into a morefortable position. "But I will be going with you. We can discuss the particrs on the road."

    "So, you will give me nothing but expect coffee in return?" said Wang Chao, copying the other man''s posture. "Seems a little unfair."

    "Ah, but the sooner you give in, the faster we can go back to your wife. I mean, you do want to see her, right?" smirked Bin An Sha as he drank thest little bit of mud water. It was made out of mushrooms and other herbal ingredients that could be found easily around City A. It gave people the same amount of caffeine as a cup of coffee but tasted nothing alike.

    "Fine," answered Wang Chao. "But we have to go to one ce first."

    "To go see your grandfather?" asked Bin An Sha as he stood up and went to wash out his cup. Wang Chao followed him and did the same. "I never thought I would see the prince of City A washing his own dishes," he continued as he watched Wang Chao.

    "You would be surprised at what I do now," smirked the other man as he turned his cup upside down to dry.

    "Then, if you are ready, Man of Mystery, let''s get going," said Bin An Sha as he walked to the door and started putting on his shoes.

    Wang Chao raised an eyebrow but didn''t say anything.

    His first was to go to the ranch and make sure that everything was as it should be. He knew that Li Dai Lu was hesitant about going back because she was worried that it would not be like she remembered. If that was the case, then he would make sure that it was put back in order before she came back.

    The two men left, Bin An Sha locking the door behind him. Although there was nothing really in the condo but some furniture, he didn''t want to tempt anyone dumb enough to steal from him.

    As soon as they were outside, Wang Chao spotted Area. The bike flew over to him, followed by another one.

    "What the Hell is this?" asked Wang Chao, more than a little confused.

    "This would be Phonoi," grumbled Ares, clearly not impressed with the add-on. "As long as that man is here, he will be helping. Then he can disappear into the depths of Hell for all I care."

    "Gee, big brother, try to act like you are a little happy to see me," sneered the other bike as it approached Bin An Sha. "Sorry, he has a stick up his exhaust pipe. It makes him cranky. I am Phonoi." The new bike looked a lot more streamlined than the other four. But Wang Chao had no idea where it hade from.

    "I thought the scientists made only the four of you, plus Cerberus," asked Wang Chao as he climbed on Ares.

    "Yeah, well, we thought there were only four of you, plus the Queen. Now that this guy has shown up, the fates decided to y a fucking joke. He literally came out of nowhere," grumbled Ares, his engine revving his dissatisfaction on the matter.

    "Like I said, he is a grouch. Feel free to ignore him," said the new bike as Bin An Sha climbed on. "And you can just call me Murder. Phonoi is too much of a mouthful."

    "Murder?" asked Bin An Sha as he looked at Wang Chao in confusion. "What the Hell is going on? First the voice in my head, and now a talking bike? I think that you have not told me everything, Wang Chao."

    "Don''t worry, I''ll have plenty of time to read you in," muttered Wang Chao as he put on his helmet and took off.

    "War is clearly not happy either; I wonder what happened to throw a wrench in everything?" asked Murder, not sounding like he really cared either way.

    "He is no longer the only War," smirked Bin An Sha, "And there can only be one."

 Chapter 385 Tin Can

    Chapter 385 Tin Can

    Being stuck in what amounted to a tin can at the bottom of the ocean was not doing wonders for my stress level. asionally, I would hear creaks and groansing from the walls around us, and there were even a few bangs as if something was hitting the outside.

    "I don''t suppose you know what that is?" I asked one of the men as they continued to lead us deeper and deeper into the belly of the beast.

    "No," shrugged the man as if it wasn''t that big of a deal. "Well, the creaks are from pressure on the hulls. That is normal, but the thudding? The best we can think of is that it is something outside trying toe in."

    Was there any way to get Psycho back? I really could use her right about now.

    ''You do know we are all a part of you, right?'' asked Violence inside of my head. ''So it''s not like Psycho has really gone that far.''

    I rolled my eyes and ignored her unhelpful advice. Another bang, louder this time, caused a bunch of rms to echo around us and red lights to start spinning around. Fuck my life. This was how I was going to die. Trapped in a tin can with my men and not even getting to the group sex yet!

    I was looking forward to that part!

    Nope. Fuck that. I would take matters into my own hands.

    "Beta, what the fuck is that?" I demanded out loud. Not caring if anyone thought I was crazy.

    ''A squid,'' answered Beta, and I could feel him nearby. ''It seems to be wrapped around the submarine that you are in and squeezing it," he continued. He was so calm and s¨¦ about the whole thing that it made me even more mad.

    "There is a fucking Kraken outside of the submarine that is trying to get to the gooey center, and you don''t see a problem with that?!" I screamed, my voice echoing down the hallways. I knew that panic was not the way to go, but really, who could me me?

    ''You said to keep you safe from sharks and zombies. That is neither a shark nor a zombie,'' came Beta''s reply. I might need to get a new Beta; I was seriously contemting killing that one.

    "Can you keep everything that is going to try and kill us away?" I demanded with the sweetest voice that I could. "That includes sharks, Krakens, zombies, and any other form of life down here with teeth."

    ''So, I shouldn''t worry about the box jellyfish?''

    Yup, I was going to kill him. Right after, I killed themander for bringing us down here and Wang Chao for thinking this was a good idea. Hell, I was even adding Violence to that list because, even though she is a part of me, she is still one of the major reasons why I am down here.

    Ignoring Beta, I turned my attention back to the Navy SEAL in front of me. "If you are unaware, you are currently wrapped up in the tentacles of arge squid," I said with a sweet smile. "We might want toe to a decision quickly before this tin can gets squished."

    "We are heading to the conning tower now," smiled the man. If I thought I was crazy, this guy certainly had me beat. I told him there was a Kraken outside, and he smiled at me. I swore that if he patted me on the head, he was a dead man¡ªPsycho''s crush or not.

    "And you realize that I have no idea what that means, right?" I asked with a smile on my face. The fact that I was ring at him at the same time seemed to do nothing to worry him.

    "It is the ce where the officer in charge is, Sweetheart," said Liu Wei, taking my attention away from the man in front of me. "There, he is able to control the movements of the ship, figure out what is going on around it and send orders to the other operations on the submarine."

    "And when he is stuck at the bottom of the sea, with nowhere to go?" I asked sarcastically. I mean, really, it''s not like whatever orders he gave would be overly helpful right now.

    ''Kraken gone,'' said Beta through our link. ''It was good.''

    ''d you enjoyed it,'' I replied, also through the link. I was in a bit better position now, knowing that at least one thing was checked off my list. "Kraken was eaten," I said to the guys as the SEAL led me into a darkened room with a giant window showing the surrounding waters.

    Whose idea was it that a sub needed a window anyways?

    "I don''t care! Find out what took that thing off of our sub!" shouted an older gentleman as he passed back and forth. "We need to know if it ising back!"

    "The Kraken won''t being back," I said aloud as I saw Beta passing through the window. I waved, happy to see him patrolling around outside. "He was eaten."

    The man whipped around and stared at me. "Where the fuck did youe from?" he demanded, clearly not impressed that we were there. Honestly? Neither was it, but what could you do about it?

    "Your fairy Godmother sent us to rescue you," I answered, the grin on my face holding firm. I just had to avoid looking out the window, and everything would be fine.

    "Fuck off," snarled themanding officer/captain guy. I cocked my head and studied him. He looked extremely frazzled, but that was to be expected.

    "I can save everyone on board and get them to drynd. What happens after is up to you, but there is no way for you to get back to Country M," I said as I walked over to the only unupied chair in the room. The room itself was dim, with none of the monitors working. It looked like the only light sources were candles, but even I could see that a bunch of candles in a tin can was not the smartest thing to do.

 Chapter 386 Faith, Trust, and Pixie Dust

    Chapter 386 Faith, Trust, and Pixie Dust

    "And how the fuck do you think you are going to be able to do that?" demanded themanding officer of the Country M submarine.

    "With a little faith, trust, and pixie dust, of course," I said with a smile as I cock my head to the side. "But seriously. You leave that part to me. What do you say? Leave here with all your men alive and live in Country K for the rest of your lives, or die in this tin can? Really the choice is yours," I asked. I was out of patience and out of time.

    And you couldn''t buy either one at the neighborhood convenience store.

    I know.

    I looked.

    "Why can''t we get back to Country M," asked one of the men sitting in front of a nk screen. I wondered if he had to man the position even when it was down or what because staring at a dark screen could not be all that entertaining.

    "Due to an EMP, there are no trains, nes, or automobiles," I answered him, trying not to be sarcastic but managing to fail miserably. "And no yachts, as I have just been informed. So, unless you are going by dingy or swimming, you are stuck here. And by here, I mean County K¡­ unless, of course, you would prefer to be stuck here-here in the sub. Really, the choice is yours."

    Had Psychoe back when I wasn''t expecting it? I was really too tired for this to be Perky. Crazy though? Yeah, this was definitely Crazy. Huh, I thought that one vanished.

    ''I tried to. But then one of your personalities put something of mine in a ''safe ce'' without telling any of your like 25 other personalities where it was. I am staying here until I find it,'' came the clown voice. I really hated it, I mean, really. I expected it to be calling out ''Georgie'' any minute now.

    ''What did they put away?'' I asked, trying my best to follow the conversation with her.

    ''The boat,'' Crazy said with a nod of her head. She was wearing a red, ck, and white version of the Alice dress, and like Perky, her hair was done up in pigtails. However, she definitely needed help when it came to her makeup. It looked like a 2-year-old did it.

    ''What boat?'' I asked before realizing that I should be paying attention to the outside world and not the one in my head right now.

    ''Exactly!'' eximed Crazy as she threw her arms up in the air in disgust.

    ''Exactly what?'' That was my second mistake. And yes, I was probably going to be dumb enough to make a third one. So, before I could do anything, I turned to Liu Wei.

    "Having a few issues," I said with a strained smile. "I''m just going to step out and deal with them. Can you two figure out what is going to happen and then let me know? I am the one with the pixie dust, after all."

    Liu Wei looked at me, concerned, before giving me a nod. I knew we would be discussing itter, but right now, I needed to be out of this enclosed room, bridge, whatever the Hell it was called.

    I went out in the hallway and sat down on the floor, my back against the cold, metal wall.

    ''Okay, what is going on?'' I asked Crazy. I mean, I had no idea what she was talking about when it came to a boat. How could you put a boat away in a safe space and not know where it was?

    ''Violence says that the device is two floors down and the fourth door on the left," said Crazy with that creepy smile on her face. I cocked my head to the side and quickly slipped into the world of the throne room, as I liked to call it.

    "Violence, are you really having Crazy deliver messages now?" I asked as I walked towards the blue throne in the center of the room. It looked exactly like the ice throne that I always seemed to create.

    I turned around and sat down on the throne, marveling how it felt so familiar and yet unfamiliar at the same time.

    "I thought that Crazy was more in charge at the time," shrugged Violence as she came to stand in front of my throne. "But yeah, I have found where the device is."

    "And just how did you manage to do that?" I asked with a smile that was not a smile. They might be my different personalities, but that didn''t mean that they had my best interests at heart.

    Violence looked at me for a second before turning away. "What do you know about multiverses?" she asked.

    "That it made a shitty movie," I replied, shrugging my shoulders. I didn''t care about multiple universes or any other popr science theory. I cared about the here and now.

    "Fine. That was where Crazy found the device when she was in charge of the body," said Violence as Crazy frantically started nodding her head.

    "Nope," I denied t out. I was not ying this game. Even if I had multiple personalities and each one had its own world where it was the star, I didn''t care. This was my world. Period. End of Sentence. Not going there. I had more than enough on my te.

    "What do you mean?" asked Crazy as she started to twirl one of her pigtails.

    "I mean, no. I am not going to get killed looking for something that may or may not be there. I offered an ultimatum. They give me the device, and they live, or they don''t give me the device, and they die. Either way, I am swimming out of there with the device in my space. But I am not going to piss off people that can probably kill me with a pencil simply to get something that I will be taking anyways. Understood?"

    "No, not really," said Crazy, shaking her head. "And I really am looking for my boat. Have you seen it? It is white, or grey, or yellow. I forget now. But it is definitely made from paper!"

    I looked at Violence. "V will be more than happy to help you look for your boat!" I said in my brightest, perkiest voice.

 Chapter 387 I Choose Life

    Chapter 387 I Choose Life

    "So, what did I miss?" I asked as I returned to the conning tower. My three men, as well as themanding officer, turned to look at me.

    "They''ve decided to die here," said Liu Wei with a shrug, not overly concerned about the possibility of all those deaths. In fact, he looked almost happy about it. However, whether people lived or died, it was not my call to make.

    "How many men are on board right now?" I asked, looking at themanding officer. I didn''t think that he would be willing to let his men die, but what did I know?

    "134 souls," confirmed themanding officer.

    "And you are okay with everything dying? Don''t you think that it shoulde down to a vote or something? I mean, I would be pissed if I had a chance to live, but because you had an inted ego or were too prideful, you decided that I needed to die," I said as I started to bob my head to a song that only I could hear.

    Thank you, Crazy.

    "We cannot in good conscious hand over the ASAT device to you," replied themanding officer.

    "And you know that whether you live or die, I am still getting my hands on it, right? And if your deaths wouldn''t mean anything, would you still be willing to fall on your sword?" I pressed, making sure that themanding officer had all of the information before making an irreversible decision.

    "What do you mean?" he demanded, and I could see the men trying to hide in the background looking at each other. Huh, maybe there will be another mutiny on the Bounty. Only this one was 500 feet under the sea.

    "I mean. If you chose death, then that is fine. We will kill everyone here and be able to go down two levels and three rooms to the right," I said, testing the waters to see if Crazy was actually right about the location of the device. It wasn''t like I could trust Crazy 100% after all.

    "And you really think you can kill us all?" smirked themander as he took out his handgun. Was it smart to start shooting inside a tin can? Better take that away before he did something stupid. I flicked my wrist, and his gun disappeared.

    "Look, the world on top has changed. I have been told that I am very abrasive with the whole ''my way or the highway'' attitude, so I am going to try something else on you. Are you paying attention? Good. People have been divided into a few different camps. Some of them have been zombified, to put it nicely, while others have superpowers. I mean, there is a third group of Asymptomatic, but we don''t talk about them. We happen to be firmly in the second camp. So, yes, I think that we can very easily kill you," I said with a sigh.

    This whole exining thing was for the birds. I was going back to demanding. It was much more my style.

    "The funny thing with subs is that the air you all breathe is recycled. This means that if I introduce a virus or bacteria into the vents, it will be airborne within minutes,ing out on every floor for every person to breathe in. How long do you think your men willst?" asked Liu Yu Zeng as he called on his ck mists.

    Themanding officer took a fearful step back. "What the fuck?" he asked, looking to me for an exnation. However, I was pretty sure that I had already told him about that.

    "Superpowers, remember?" I replied before looking at the men over his shoulder. "I already said that, right?"

    One of the men nodded his head, and I smiled. I knew that I wasn''t losing my mind that badly. A girl could never be too sure.

    "If you were in his ce, what would you choose?" I asked, looking at the man that nodded at me.

    "Live," replied the man with a shrug. "The device is pretty much useless unless you are willing to blow yourself up at the same time."

    "No, I have it on good authority that if the world is going toe to a more permanent end, it will not be because someone pressed the wrong button," I assured him. Hell, I was going to throw it in my ''everything else drawer'' at the farm in my space. Chances were, I wouldn''t ever be able to find it in that ck hole of a drawer, no matter how many times I looked.

    "Then I choose life," repeated the sailor.

    "You have just restored my faith in the intelligence of the military. Thank you so much for that!" I said with a brilliant smile. It was the first smart thing I have ever heard of one of them doing. "Does anyone else in the room want to live?"

    The men looked around at each other and tentatively raised their hands until only themanding officer seemed to be choosing death.

    "Maybe you should put it to a vote," I suggested. "Or I can just kill you. I guess that would work." I turned to Liu Wei to see if that want to live can go to the hatch I came in. If you don''t know it, you would be possible.

    He nodded his head in agreement. "Okay, new option. Those that want to live can go to the hatch I came in. If you don''t know it, you can ask the SEAL," I said as I pointed to the guy who had done the majority of the talking. "If you would prefer death, that can be arranged."

    "And you can get us past whatever those things are in the water?" asked a second sailor as he pointed out the window to where Beta and a few zombies seemed to be suspended in the water.

    "Yeah," I promised him. "In fact, they are there to ensure that no other zombies try anything and to keep the sharks away."

    "Done," chuckled the man as he stood up. He walked over to themanding officer and gave him a proper military salute. "It has been a pleasure, Sir. But I choose life."

    The rest of the men in the conning tower quickly rose to their feet, and all offered themanding officer a salute. "It has been a pleasure, Sir. But I choose life." Theirbined voices created an echo in the room.

    The SEAL looked at themanding officer with a smirk on his face. "You aren''t mymanding officer and, as such, cannotmand me to live or die. I choose life."

 Chapter 388 Going Down With His Ship

    Chapter 388 Going Down With His Ship

    It was amazing. Every single person but themanding officer chose to live, and I can''t say that I was surprised. Now I just had to hope the boat we brought with us was big enough for all 133 people, plus us.

    I thought about it for a second and then decided that once we got rid of the Sea Dragonmander and his men, there would be more than enough room for everyone.

    "Here is the n," I said,pletely surrounded by all of the men and women from Country M. I supposed that I should have wondered/ asked what they were doing here, but at the same time, I don''t really think that it applied anymore. They were people that needed to live. "You guys are all going for a swim."

    They looked at me with a confused look on their faces, and I turned to look at Liu Wei for a general trantion of what I had said wrong. How else were they going to get out of here if they didn''t swim? Or had Country M developed teleportation that I didn''t know about?

    "We have oxygen tanks," said Liu Wei sending me a smirk beforeing to stand up beside me. "There are around 70 tanks which means that you will all be doubling up on them. We also have 70 wet suits if you need them. Get only what you can carry and get changed if you have your own wet suit. If you don''t have your own,e see me, and I will provide you with one. Are there any questions?"

    One man in the center of the pack raised his hand and took a step forward. "How are we going to be able to fight whatever those things are in the water?" he asked. I nodded my head in approval. Maybe Crazy had something going with the SEALs; they seemed to be very intelligent. If this guy was even a SEAL, that is.

    "You aren''t," replied Liu Wei. "They are friendlies. They will be there acting as a barrier between you and anything else that wants to eat you. If you decide to disregard my words, you will be eaten by them."

    "I don''t understand," said a womaning to stand beside the other man. She was short, almost my height, with long blonde hair that hung down to the small of her back and blue eyes. She was absolutely stunning.

    "The weird-looking shark/human/zombie things outside belong to me. As long as I don''t give the order, they will not attack you. However, they have been tasked to keep out the not-so-friendly zombies as well as any sharks that might be a bit too interested in us," I said, answering before Liu Wei could. I guess my possessiveness extended to talking to attractive women. Huh.

    "And once we get to the surface? We are a long way from drynd," she pressed, looking at me. I raised my eyebrow at her question.

    "I don''t understand," I parroted with a slight smirk. "I mean,mon sense would be that we had a boat waiting for us at the surface, but then again,mon sense isn''t somon. Right?"

    She let out a snort ofughter and raised her eyebrow back at me. Apparently, we were nowmunicating in eyebrownguage. I didn''t know that was even a thing, but I guess if guys had nods, we could have eyebrows.

    "You could start an argument in an empty house, now, couldn''t you?" she asked, her southern ent bing more pronounced.

    "Awe, bless your heart, and here was me thinking that the porch light''s on, but no one''s home," I shot back. I would fully admit to loving ''Sweet Home bama'' in my first life and desperately studied all the hrious Southern sayings.

    No one seemed to understand them in myst life, but maybe, in this life, I could have someone to exchange insults with.

    "I think you and I are about to have ae to Jesus meetin''," said the blonde as she took a step closer. I could see the smirk on her face as she said it, enjoying the exchange of insults as much as I was. But the man standing beside her clearly couldn''t.

    "Lonnie," he warned in a low voice. "This is not the time to get started."

    "He is as nervous as a cat in a room full of rockers," I chuckled and raised my brow. She rolled her eyes.

    "Mmm," she hummed in agreement. "But we will go get everything we need."

    I narrowed my eyes as I looked at her. Making a quick decision, I strolled towards her and took her arm in mine. "Why don''t you show me what you want brought?" I asked with a smile. It was no skin off my back to toss her stuff in my space for a few minutes.

    -----

    It took almost an hour before everyone was ready and back at the hatch. After tossing Lonnie''s stuff into my space, I returned to the conning tower and themanding officer, who stood all by himself.

    "Are you sure I can''t change your mind?" I asked him onest time. He gave me a small smile and shook his head. "No, the captain always goes down with his ship," he said softly as his hand brushed over the instruments in front of him.

    "The ship has already sunk, so technically, you already went down with it. And no one would know," I persisted. It always seemed to bug me when the loyal ones died first. I felt that there were enough pieces of shit in the world that killing a decent human left a bad taste in my mouth.

    But it wasn''t my call to make.

    "How would you like to die?" I asked. Letting him choose his end was thest bit of mercy that I could give him.

    "What do you mean?" he asked, cocking his head to the side and looking at me. "Death is death. It doesn''t matter how you die; the end result is always the same."

    "If one of us does it, I can promise that it will be painless," I said, leaning against the entrance of the room.

    "I have my own ns but thank you. The device is where you think it is. The code is X952057D2Z to unlock the case around it."

    "May your journey to the underworld be peaceful and your next life be everything you deserve," I said with a smile. Turning around, I didn''t flinch when the sound of a gunshot echoed through the room. I guess I shouldn''t have given him back his gun after all.

 Chapter 389 Made By A Man

    Chapter 389 Made By A Man

    "Two levels down, third door on the right," I said to Liu Yu Zeng and Chen Zi Han as I passed by them and went to the stairway leading down. I would admit that I was having conflicted feelings about themanding officer taking his own life. I both admired him and condemned him for his act, but I couldn''t say what I would do if I were in that situation.

    Either way, it was done, and now it was time to move on.

    I left Liu Wei to deal with the military members. They might not be from the same country, but military was military, and there was anguage that only they could speak. Besides, I didn''t need all of us to get the device, and I definitely didn''t want to be followed by one of the Country M members.

    The three of us walked in silence. Chen Zi Han was in front of me because, let''s face it, there was never a time when I walked into the unknown, and he wasn''t in front of me. Liu Yu Zeng was behind us, watching our backs. No matter how messed in the head I was or how my moods were swinging like a pendulum, I knew that these two men always had my front and back.

    I chuckled low as we reached the secondnding down. Turning to our right, I counted three doors.

    "Everything okay, Sweetness?" asked Liu Yu Zeng as Chen Zi Han tried the handle. When we found it locked, I closed my eyes for a second. Wang Chao would have definitely been useful right about now. I gave Chen Zi Han the same code that themanding officer had given me and breathed a sigh of relief when the door swung open.

    "You aren''t answering," pushed Liu Yu Zeng, and I realized that I was a bit more in my head than I initially thought.

    "Sorry, yeah, I''m okay," I said with a smile as I looked over my shoulder at him. "Missing Wang Chao, wondering why themanding officer would choose to take his own life, and wondering where we are going from here."

    "Huh, and here was me thinking that you were stressing about having to go back into the waters at dusk when the zombies and sharks would be out hunting," mused Liu Yu Zeng. I turned around and looked at him and blinked a few times.

    "You know, if you were just a tad more intelligent, you would qualify as a moron," I grumbled. That hadn''t even entered my mind when I was moping around, and yet, now, it was front and center. "Maybe we should wait until tomorrow."

    "Found it," called Chen Zi Han from inside the room. Shaking my head over Liu Yu Zeng''s stunned look, I turned back around and went toward where Chen Zi Han was standing. Coming up next to him, I saw a panel along the back wall of the room with a ss-covered box sitting in the middle of it.

    I think that I watched way too many movies because I could have sworn that this was very much the typical setup for the red button that would and could destroy the world.

    Then again, I guess it wasn''t that far off. The device, the one in my head that was going to be like a tv remote, was a small ck square the size of my palm with only a single red button in the center. There wasn''t even anything thatbeled it as the device to activate the ASATs. In fact, if it weren''t a giant red button locked under a ss box, I wouldn''t think that this thing was even that important.

    Oh well, must have been created by men. Women would have, at the very least,beled the thing. Here was me hoping that I didn''t find it randomly in my everything else drawer and wonder what it was for. I could easily see myself pressing the red button, wondering what it did. Maybe I should put it somewhere else orbel it.

    Meh, I would put it away for now and thenbel it when I had more time. Andbels.

    I flicked my wrist, and the thing that was guaranteed to end the world was put safely away into my space. "Remind me what that is," I grumbled to Chen Zi Han and Liu Yu Zeng. The two men just chuckled as we turned around and went back to the others.

    "You guys ready?" asked Liu Wei as we approached the massive group heading to the surface.

    "No," I said with a chuckle. "Can we try again tomorrow?" I pressed.

    "You seem fit to be tied," said Lonnie as she approached me and the guys. The man that was trying to hold her back the first time trailed behind her.

    "I am," I admitted, wrinkling my nose. "I hate being underwater," I continued with a shrug.

    "Ah, that would do it. Want us to go first?" she asked, cocking her head to the side.

    "No," I sighed and closed my eyes. At least I still had my wet suit on, and I wasn''t stuck trying to get that thing on in the presence of everyone. "There are more than a few¡­ issues I have to deal with."

    "Want to share with the ss?" she asked, and a second man came up and handed Lonnie a gun. It looked a bit weirdpared to what I was expecting, but it also looked familiar.

    "MK 16 SCAR-L," said Lonnie holding up the gun. "Useless for underwater conflicts, but it''s my baby. What can you do?"

    "Want me to put it away for you?" I asked, not sure why she was bringing it up.

    "No," she answered with a shake of her head. "It has been treated to resist salt water, plus it has special lubrication on it. We are used to our guns getting wet."

    "Then?" I asked.

    "What is waiting up top for us?" she asked, looking at me dead in the eyes.

    To tell the truth or not to tell the truth. That is the question.

 Chapter 390 We Hold Off

    Chapter 390 We Hold Off

    "A boat of one Commander and ten subtract three¡­ seven Sea Dragons," I said, my mind not really on what Lonnie was asking. After all, they didn''t really matter.

    "And you are just telling us that there is a hostile force waiting for us at the surface?" asked the man. I looked at him for a few seconds. "What hostile force?" I asked, wanting more rification. "As soon as we make it to the top, they are getting tossed overboard to feed the zombies," I continued with a shrug of my shoulders.

    Lonnie looked at me for a moment. "I have the feeling that there is a story behind that," she said, and a smile appeared on her face.

    "Oh yeah," I said, nodding my head. "In fact, we aren''t even military. We just got roped into this mission as potential chum. In fact, we didn''t even know that there was a sub here or that it had anything to do with Country M. Imagine our surprise," I continued as I opened the hatch, and the bodies of Fucktrumpet and Dipshit fell out into the hall. Guo De Lun was standing on the other end of the chamber, looking a little the worse for wear.

    I forgot that I hadn''t killed him yet. Was I keeping him around for something? Ah, yes, because he seemed nice. Too bad for him that everyone else on his team was going to die. Maybe I should just put him out of his misery.

    There was a loud bang, and my ears started to ring. Looking at Lonnie, who was beside me, I red at her. "A little warning next time," I grumbled as I started to rub my ears to get them to stop ringing.

    "Meh," she said with a shrug. "I figured one more tank would be beneficial for us."

    "You aren''t wrong," I admitted. "But we should probably move the bodies to some other ce. I don''t want to be ringing the dinner bell before I actually had to."

    "Understood," she replied and waved her hand. Three men came up and picked up the bodies into a fireman''s carry and disappeared down the hall. "Shall we get going? We are losing daylight."

    I raised an eyebrow at her statement. "Pretty sure that there is no daylight down here," I pointed out.

    "I don''t know how I feel about fighting a battle of wits with someone who ispletely unarmed," she grumbled as she looked at the man on her left. He smirked a bit but otherwise didn''t respond.

    "Then, by all means, let''s get going," I replied with a sulk. I didn''t have any goodebacks for that. Fuck.

    It took even more time for everyone to choose their buddy and get the air tanks set up between the two of them. Getting the thumbs up, I let Lonnie and her men into the chamber first. I wasn''t going to be bothered trying to get that hatch opened. But when water started to rush down from inside the chamber, it figured that they had a much better trick than Dipshit had.

    ''Coming out,'' I said to Beta. I didn''t know if there were some humans already out or if they decided to wait in the second chamber until I arrived. Either way, it would be smart to give Beta and my horde the heads up.

    ''Food?'' came the immediate response, and I crossed my fingers that Lonnie was smart enough to wait for me to go out first.

    ''No,'' I replied. ''Eat the sharks.''

    ''No sharks, no zombies. No things with teeth in your territory.'' His thoughts were a bit jumbled, but I understood that there were no threats around.

    ''Good job. You can have the ones in the boat,'' I said. ''But wait until we get there safe first. Then I''ll send them overboard. That is when they will be all yours.'' Thest thing I needed was for Beta to leave and go eat.

    ''Understood,'' came the reply. I quickly walked into the first chamber, nked by my men. The water was rushing down the hole in the ceiling, causing it to be rather difficult to climb thedder. However, it would take way too long to wait until the entire submarine was filled before we left.

    Struggling against the waterfall, I didn''t feel the arms grasping mine and pulling me up and to the side until I was already in ce. Looking around, I saw Lonnie right beside me. She sent me an okay gesture, and I replied by flipping her the bird.

    As soon as I saw my three men, I pointed to the hatch. They nodded their heads, and Chen Zi Han swam against the hard pounding of water to the outside. I followed after him, letting the boys push me from behind when the water pouring into the sub became too much.

    As soon as we were back in the open ocean, I quickly swam up a bit further to be out of the way of the sucking current and the people trying toe out after me. Looking around, I found a path created by Beta and the horde. They literally stood one across from the other, showing us where we needed to go while also making sure that nothing could slip by them.

    I swam as fast as I could to the surface, not wanting to spend more than a second longer underwater than I had to.

    Looking behind me, I saw the other following the path. Not knowing if everyone made it but not willing to stop either to double-check, I continued to press forward.

    ''Intruders!'' hissed Beta in my head.

    The zombie to my right was pushed forward into my path by another zombie, its teeth constantly chomping, trying to get to me. Without hesitation, I pulled out the me of the unknown zombie and consumed it, allowing the shot of energy to keep me going. However, even with that added jolt, I was bing tired much too fast.

    I was not physically used to battling the currents, the amount of swimming, just everything. Plus, with Wang Chao gone, I was getting weaker. Not like I would ever admit that out loud.

    From the corner of my eye, I saw Beta shooting past me, ripping off the head of a strange zombie that wasing straight for me.

    ''Go!'' shouted Beta as he turned his attention to another zombie. ''We hold off.''

 Chapter 391 For Fuckâ€™s Sake

    ?

    Pushing myself even harder, I took the souls of a few zombies swimming off in the distance. I didn''t know how much longer I needed to be swimming, and I will tell you that I wasn''t stopping to equalize the pressure on my body to prevent the bends.

    No. I wanted to get to the surface, and I wanted to be there now. When I found myself still swimming, I cursed that I hadn''t developed the powers needed to teleport. That would have been a really handy power to have right about now.

    Liu Wei and Chen Zi Han were swimming on either side of me, and I could only assume that Liu Yu Zeng was behind me, but not having eyes on him was causing me more than a little anxiety. ''I am here, Sweetness,'' said Liu Yu Zeng through our link, but I could feel how tired he was getting. In fact, pretty much everyone was exhausted.

    What could I do? We couldn''t turn back, and we didn''t have the ability to rest.

    What to do?

    A zombie cut in front of me and tried to grab my throat. I twisted away just in time, but it managed to grab onto my right shoulder and pulled hard. I could hear the sickening sound of my shoulder being dislocated before I was able to take its me.

    Unfortunately, the damage had been done. I couldn''t keep up this ce with one arm hung uselessly at my side. I paused for only a second, trying to get my thoughts in order. However, that second was enough to cause me to start sinking again.

    Right, I was weighed down by the weight belts!

    Struggling with my one good arm, I managed to unhook the belt from around my waist, and I started to rise to the top, my natural buoyancy kicking into gear. However, it still wasn''t enough. My men swam back to me, looking me over, and I could feel their concern through our link.

    And as nice as it was, it was pretty much useless right now.

    I needed a solution.

    The military members of Country M start passing me, asionally looking back but otherwise not bothering. So much for nobody left behind. I scoffed.

    ''Beta,'' I called out. ''How many more zombies out there?'' I asked. I couldn''t differentiate between my zombies and random hordes, so I didn''t know how many of the blue and purple mes I was seeing belonged to me and who needed to be killed.

    ''None. All gone,'' said Beta as he came up in front of me. His shrunken skull looked so much scarier than the ball-like zombie heads onnd, but as scary as he might be, at least he was on my side.

    ''Can you carry me on your back?'' I asked, my exhaustion and pain causing my head to throb.

    ''Hold on. I get horde for men,'' he said and let out what I could only assume to be an underwater roar. ''Hold onto back.''

    Beta waited until another three zombies appeared before turning around, giving me his back. Looking at my men, I nodded before gripping Beta around his neck with my still-working arm. Without warning, he shot off at full speed.

    ''Li Dai Lu!'' screamed Liu Yu Zeng through our link.

    ''It''s fine!'' I said back, almost enjoying the rush of hanging onto a zombie. ''They will get us to the top sooner.''

    As soon as I finished my sentence, I could feel their presence getting closer and closer.

    The three zombies were not as fast as Beta, but they were able to hold their own. Within seconds, we were back with the pack, another second, and we were passing them. Unfortunately, my left arm wasn''t as strong as my right one was, and I was constantly having to readjust my grip to make sure I didn''t fall off.

    Some people dreamed about swimming with dolphins and letting the dolphin pull them through the water. Well, they could eat their heart out. I was riding a fucking zombie.

    Beta started to slow down after what felt like only a matter of moments. ''Almost at surface,'' he said as he started to tread water. I was still clinging to him like a monkey but also trying to get my body back in working order. As fun as that was, now that the ride had stopped, it felt like my stomach was still left somewhere down at the bottom of the East Sea while my head was floating to the top.

    ''Thank you,'' I said, meaning it. I knew the men were right behind me, so I let go of Beta and slowly swam to the surface. I popped my head out of the water and was relieved to see that the boat was where we had left it.

    I slowly started to swim towards it, only using my legs to propel me forward. I couldn''t see anyone on board, but that didn''t mean much to me right now. I was just happy to see the boat.

    I gripped thedder with my left hand, using it and my legs to propel me forward.

    "Well, well, look at who managed to survive," themander smirked over the top of my head. I looked up to see him pointing a gun at me.

    For fuck''s sake, could I not catch a break today?

    "Where are the others?" he asked, not bothering to let me onto the boat.

    "Behind me," I gasped as I spat my oxygen hose out of my mouth to be able to answer. "We ran into some zombies."

    "And they let you go ahead? I have a hard time believing that," Commander Huang Nian Zu said, the smirk on his face making my blood turn cold. I was much too tired to deal with this right now.

    "It''s true. I have the device," I said, contemting my options. I couldn''t consume his soul without it making me sick. I couldn''t call fire or ice right now because one arm wasn''t working, and the second one was needed to keep my grip on thedder.

    "I don''t believe you," he sneered.

    I watched him pull the trigger like everything was in slow motion. I pushed away from thedder and back into the ocean in the hopes that the bullet would be slowed down enough not to do any damage.

    But like I said, I could not catch a break.

 Chapter 392 Need To Be Faster

    ?

    The hot bullet cut through my right upper chest, a hands width away from my head. ''Beta, kill,'' I growled out through my link before sinking back into the depths of the warm waters. I could feel creatures shooting past me on either side, but I couldn''t move.

    I was no longer wearing the oxygen hose, and I couldn''t move any part of my body well enough to be able to insert it. I briefly thought about jumping into my space, but since there was no one else there right now¡­

    What was I thinking about?

    Why is this water so frigging cold? I thought the East Sea was supposed to be warm.

    Hummm¡­. Warm. It would be nice to be warm right now¡­

    Why does it hurt to breathe?

    -----

    "Our Queen!" screamed Ares as Wang Chao fought to hold on to the handlebars of the bike. It felt like he had just been shot in the chest, but that was impossible.

    His breath started toe out in gasps as he tried to understand what was going on.

    "Ares?" he asked as his teeth started to chatter from the cold. He was about 20 minutes away from the ce where he agreed to meet Commander Huang Nian Zu and the others.

    "Queen has been shot," ground out Bin An Sha as he, too, clutched his chest. The bike under him swerved a few times before straightening up.

    ''Good. Let the Bitch die. Maybe the next one with be more worthy of me,'' sneered War from inside the dark recess of Wang Chao''s mind.

    "Faster," said Wang Chao, and Ares put on a burst of speed. "We need to get there faster."

    "Then hold on," replied the bike under Wang Chao. For a moment, it felt like he was sitting on a horse instead of a motorcycle, rocking along in time with the cantering of four legs. "Where do you want to go?" demanded Ares as he put on another burst.

    Now the scenery around them was nothing more than a dark blur, and Wang Chao could feel leather reigns in his hands instead of the handlebars he was more familiar with. Opening his eyes as wide as he could, he saw that instead of a bike, he was on top of a ck horse covered in golden armor. There were spikes down its mane, and Wang Chao could have sworn that he had seen red lightsing out of its eyes.

    "Who are you?" demanded the horse. However, the mouth that the horse was using to speak from was filled with sharp, pointed teeth, looking more like a lion''s mouth than a normal horse''s. "Who are you!" it demanded again.

    "I am War," growled Wang Chao, the wordsing from a ce deep inside of himself, even deeper than where the soul of War was hiding.

    ''You aren''t War,'' screamed the second soul as it tried to make its way to the surface. ''I am War. I am the only War that matters. You are not War!''

    "Who are you?!?" the horse screamed as it turned its head around to look at Wang Chao, its red eyes piercing into the very depths of the man himself.

    "I AM WAR!!!" shouted Wang Chao, and as soon as the words were out of his mouth, he could feel the second soul inside of him turning into a white mist and leaving his body. The hooves of the horse started to pound on the ground even faster as it dropped its head and sprinted.

    As the wind screamed past him, Wang Chao could feel something descending on him. ncing briefly at his right arm, he saw that he was covered in golden armor, the same color and pattern as the horse under him.

    "Do you understand who you are?" demanded the horse as it continued to eat up the distance between them and their queen as fast as it could.

    "I am War," replied Wang Chao, but even as he said it, it didn''t feel right. "I am the Queen''s War."

    As soon as he uttered those words, a chill passed over him, and he could feel the hairs on his arms stand at attention.

    "Atst, you understand," grunted the horse as it started to slow down. "I will bring you to her. Just make sure that you save her."

    "Understood," grunted Wang Chao as a helmet descended down onto his head and face.

    He blinked, and suddenly, he was sitting on top of a horse in the middle of a boat on the East Sea. There were screams as military men were being ripped apart by zombies right in front of him. The boat rocked back and forth as the men tried to get away, but there were more zombies waiting for them in the ocean. "Help us!" cried a man that looked like Commander Huang Nian Zu, but Wang Chao simply ignored him.

    His gaze quickly scanned inside the boat for his Queen, but when he couldn''t see her there, he turned his attention to the horizon, wondering where she was.

    ''In the water,'' came the voice of his horse inside of his head. Without thinking about the fact that he was dressed in solid golden armor or that he didn''t have any equipment to even be in the water, he stood up on his horse and dove into the water.

    Nothing mattered to him but getting to Li Dai Lu.

    Getting to the woman he loved, his Queen.

    Like a golden streak, he cut through the water, through the zombies and the sharks that were in his way, and past therge group of people. ''Left,'' came the voice again, this time sounding more like the Ares he knew.

    He pushed his right arm down, sending him to the left, and there, drifting down to the bottom of the ocean, was Li Dai Lu, her ck hair flowing around her like ink.

    Looking around, confused, he finally spotted Liu Wei, Liu Yu Zeng, and Chen Zi Han struggling to get to her, but they seemed to be going so much slower than he was.

    ''You control time, remember?'' chuckled Ares, but Wang Chao couldn''t see anything funny about the current situation.

 Chapter 393 So, What Did I Miss?

    ?

    Wang Chao reached out and grasped Li Dai Lu''s arm just as a shark shot toward her, barely missing her with its teeth. Pulling her closer into his arms, he swam to the surface,pletely unimpeded by his heavy gold armor.

    He spotted Liu Yu Zeng and the rest of her men swimming down, but he shook his head and pointed to the surface. Chen Zi Han shook his head in reply and continued to swim toward her. When he came up to her side, he took the oxygen hose from his own mouth and inserted it into hers.

    It took him a few seconds to realize that she was not breathing on her own, and Chen Zi Han desperately tried to think about how he could save her underwater. Removing the oxygen hose from her mouth, he ced a hand on her chest, trying to feel for the excess water in her lungs.

    At first, he couldn''t tell the difference between the water around them and the water in her that should not be there. But pushing aside his frustrations, he closed his eyes and tried to picture himself inside her body, like he did when he was trying to take the vitality out of the zombies. Once again, there was no change, but then his right arm slowly started to burn until it was in excruciating pain. Then he felt the bullet wound in his chest.

    Slowly but surely, he sunk into Li Dai Lu''s consciousness until he felt like the water was inside his own lungs. Using his power, he drained the water from her until he could only feel the burn of empty lungs. Returning back to his own body, he once again put the oxygen hose into her mouth. This time he could feel her ribs expanding as she took a breath.

    He looked at Wang Chao and nodded his head as the three of them broke through the surface. "Is she okay?" asked Wang Chao, looking down at the woman in his arms.

    "She is breathing," confirmed Chen Zi Han. "Which is more than I can say for themander and the other Sea Dragons."

    "I''ll get the detailster," agreed Wang Chao. "But let''s get her out of the water first."

    "Agreed." The two men swam towards the boat that looked like something out of a nightmare. The heads of more than a few zombies turned toward them, but once they realized whom they were holding, they ignored the two men in favor of the random limbs falling out of the boat.

    Liu Wei and Liu Yu Zeng were already on board, themander on his knees in front of them, missing chunks of flesh from his body. His right arm hung uselessly beside him.

    Liu Yu Zeng turned away from the disgracedmander and walked toward where Wang Chao was trying to get up into the boat with Li Dai Lu. Reaching down, he grabbed the still unconscious Li Dai Lu from the other man''s arms, letting Wang Chao and Chen Zi Han get up thedder unimpeded. However, when it came time to return her to Wang Chao, Liu Yu Zeng refused, pulling his woman''s body closer to his own.

    "Save us!" demanded themander as he saw Wang Chaoing closer. "And what the fuck are you wearing?"

    "You are about to die, and you are worried about my choice of outfit?" smirked Wang Chao as he crouched down in front of the other man. "Want to tell me how my wife got shot?"

    "She killed my men," replied themander, a brief look of satisfaction crossing his face as he took in the unconscious body in Liu Yu Zeng''s arms.

    "I see," nodded Wang Chao seriously. "But here is the thing. If you hadn''t done that, there was a smidgen of a chance that you would be able to live long enough to make it to shore. Unfortunately for you, you shot my wife. Please, let me repeat it because you don''t seem to be understanding the seriousness of your crimes. You. Shot. My. Wife. And for that, you die."

    Not giving themander time to process his words, Wang Chao wrapped his hand around the other man''s neck and stood up. Walking over to the side of the boat where the zombies were patiently waiting, Wang Chao threw the other man into the ocean with a loud ssh.

    "So, what did I miss?" he asked, looking around at the blood-stained deck. There was a single finger in one of the corners of the boat, rolling back and forth with the waves. Walking over to it, Wang Chao picked it up and tossed the offending digit overboard.

    "A lot, actually," said Liu Yu Zeng. "But can we hurry up and get Sweetness here looked at?" he pressed. Heid a gentle kiss on her forehead, reminding himself that she was at least still alive and that the bleeding had stopped. "How did this even happen? Isn''t she supposed to have like super fast healing?"

    "I think that she needs all four of us around for that to happen," said Liu Wei as he adjusted his sses. "And there was one of us missing if I remember correctly."

    "Yes," admitted Wang Chao. There was no point in denying it. "But I have brought back Bin An Sha, so he should be able to help with the healing until she can take over on her own."

    "No need for that," interjected Chen Zi Han. "Her wound is closing up as we speak."

    "Oh, thank God," said Liu Yu Zeng with a sigh of relief. "Let''s hurry up and get the members of Country M''s military on board and then get back to dry ground. If I never go swimming again, it will be too soon," he continued with a shudder.

    "Country M''s military?" asked Wang Chao in confusion.

    "Ya''ll called?" came a drawl from thedder. The four men turned around to see a wet blonde climbing up thedder. "Who''s the guy in the armor, and did ya''ll have a party without us?"

    "This is Lonnie," said Liu Wei by way of an introduction. "She makes Li Dai Lu happy."

 Chapter 394 Wash Your Hands

    ?

    "That''s it? I make her happy? Well, now, ther me in butter and call me a biscuit; I would like to think there is more to me than that," smirked Lonnie as she strolled over to where the men were standing. "Is she okay?"

    "Making her happy means that we will put up with you as long as she wants you around," replied Liu Wei, not really caring about the other woman''s feelings.

    "She''ll be fine," added Chen Zi Han, answering the second part of her question. "And once the rest of you guys get on board, we can leave."

    "Understood. I''ll tell them to hurry up," said Lonnie as she turned around and went to supervise the men and women from the Country M submarine. The boat was soon packed, but everyone who was supposed to be on it was on it, and the rest¡­ well, they were feeding the zombies right about now.

    -----

    "Country M''s military?" asked Wang Chao as he raised an eyebrow and looked at the other three men whom he didn''t think he would ever see again.

    "New armor?" replied Liu Wei, not bothering to answer the other man''s question.

    "Apparently, Ares and I got an upgrade," smiled Wang Chao with a shrug. However, he would not admit that he didn''t know how to get out of it. For now, he would pretend that this was all part of his grand n.

    "Nice upgrade," nodded Liu Yu Zeng, still holding Li Dai Lu. The five of them were huddled in a corner by the back of the boat. There was not enough room for anyone to move, so whoever was closest to the wheel got the directions back tond, and the rest just stayed where they were. Besides, was there really any ce to go?

    "Did you know that we almost died a couple of times?" pressed Liu Wei, not willing to let Wang Chao get away with the same bullshit as before. "The next time you agree to help the military in any capacity, I will kill you myself. Do you understand?"

    "Understood," nodded Wang Chao seriously. And he did. If any of the other guys had done the same thing, he would have lost his shit long ago.

    "Do you have yourself under control?" demanded Chen Zi Han from where he stood between Liu Wei and Liu Yu Zeng.

    "Completely," answered Wang Chao with a smile. "There is only me in here now."

    "So, you are officially War?" asked Liu Yu Zeng curiously.

    "I am, thus the upgrades."

    "Nice," replied the other man. There was no point in asking how he did it. Each one of them would have to take that step on their own. However, that didn''t mean that he was happy to be behind his brother and Wang Chao.

    "Now that you are back, what is our next move?" asked Liu Wei as he looked at Li Dai Lu. He reached out to take a lock of her wet hair out of her face and gently ced it behind her ear.

    "Whatever Li Dai Lu decides. I did stop into the ranch for about 20 minutes or so, and everything was exactly how she had it before. Our men didn''t even step foot into her house. We can go back there to regroup until we can figure out our next step," said Wang Chao.

    He had taken Bin An Sha to the ranch just to see what was going on there. He didn''t want his woman to be upset by walking into an unknown situation. However, seeing that things were the exact same as when they left months ago, he was pleased.

    "What about Bin An Sha?" asked Liu Wei. "How did he factor into all of this?"

    "I went to him to get some medication to suppress War until I could find a way to destroy him," shrugged Wang Chao nonchntly. However, the other men knew how much that confession would have cost him. Wang Chao was not the type to take medication if he didn''t absolutely need to.

    So, to know that he had left on his own to get a prescription to help him with the voice just went to show how hard War must have been impacting him.

    "At least he is destroyed now," replied Liu Wei as he gripped the other man''s shoulder. "And it is nice to have you back, brother."

    "It is nice to be back," admitted Wang Chao with a smile. He would have a long journey to make up for what he did, but at least now, he stood a chance.

    "So did you manage to get the meds?" asked Liu Yu Zeng cocking his head to the side.

    "No, apparently, they aren''t effective against that type of voice."

    "Really? How did you find that out?"

    "Because Bin An Sha has War in him as well."

    ---

    Li Dai Lu was still unconscious by the time the boat made it back to the docks at the Country K Navy base. Everyone slowly got off the boat as the realization that they were alive and safe started to sink in. Some of the men and women fell to their knees and started to cry.

    Whether it was in relief to be alive or because they would never be able to go home again, Liu Wei didn''t know.

    "What are your ns?" he asked Lonnie as she walked toward their group, nked by a few men.

    "Find a ce to live, I guess," replied Lonnie with a casual shrug of her shoulders. "Are you sure she is going to be okay? We owe her a lot. No point in having her meet the Devil before we can pay her back."

    "She''ll be fine," said Liu Wei. "And if you need a ce to live, you can stay here. I don''t think there is anyone inside. It should provide you with food and shelter. I suggest sending out teams to gather supplies. Or, if this ce isn''t to your liking, there are a lot of other ces in the country you can go to."

    "If I didn''t know better, I could swear that you were trying to wash your hand of us."

 Chapter 395 Ride Or Die

    ?

    "Then I guess you do possess some form of intelligence," shrugged Liu Wei, not at all concerned about Lonnie''s feelings or opinion. His Sweetheart was unconscious, and he had yet to be able to hold her and reassure himself that she was all right. People would just have to deal with his attitude.

    "Well¡­ Bless your heart," smiled Lonnie as she cocked her head to the side and looked at him. "Aren''t you just precious?"

    Liu Wei didn''t bother to respond to herments but instead, let out a very put-out sigh. "Are you done?"

    "Don''t you just have a burr up your ass, not being able to hold your woman? Why don''t you take her from you brother then?"

    "Because she is his woman, too," replied Liu Wei. "Now, are you staying here, or are you going to find another ce to live?"

    "We''ll stay here until wee up with a better n. But really, thank ya''ll. The idea of slowly dying in that tin can was¡ª" Lonnie shuddered as she thought about the fate that had awaited her. At least onnd, they had a lot more options. "Tell her that if she ever needs anything, toe and see us. We got her back."

    "Understood," nodded Liu Wei as he started to turn around.

    "Liu Wei?" called out Lonnie, forcing the man to turn around and look at her. "Tell her that she is my ride or die. She will understand."

    "If you don''t like this ce, head north towards City A. Li Dai Lu has a ranch on the outskirts of the city if you know where to look. You cane there too if you want," offered Liu Wei. He didn''t know what ''ride or die'' meant, but he knew that his Sweetheart was enjoying her time with the other woman.

    "Understand. And if we aren''t in either ce, we''ll leave a message for you," smiled Lonnie, and, with a wave of her hand, she turned around and walked back in the direction of her men. "All right! Everyone get your asses inside and see where you want to stay."

    "Fuck! Liu Wei!" she yelled, turning around once again and yelling across the distance. "How do we kill zombies?"

    "Burn them!" shouted Liu Yu Zeng back as he handed his precious bundle over to Liu Wei. "Cut off their heads and burn them. Li Dai Lu oncepared them to brooms from some mouse movie. They multiply like crazy if you can''t slow them down long enough to destroy their very cells."

    "Well, fuck me," groaned Lonnie. "That seems like it is going to be a pain in my ass."

    "Have fun!" yelled Liu Yu Zeng back as he and the rest of the men turned around and left the Navy base. The Country M''s military would either live or die based on their own merit. It didn''t make a difference to him.

    -----

    On the other side of the gate stood three motorcycles, one truck, and one creepily mutated horse with sharper teeth than a fucking zombie. "I take it that is the upgrade?" asked Liu Yu Zeng as he tilted his head toward the direction of the horse.

    The animal snapped his teeth toward Liu Yu Zeng, causing the man to call on his mist. "You really want to go?" he demanded as the mists moved in the center of his palm like a ball of withering snakes.

    The horse simply turned his head away and stuck his nose up in the air. His red eyes narrowed to the sky.

    "Yeah, that''s what I thought," sneered Liu Yu Zeng as he closed his fist, and the smoke disappeared back inside of him.

    "Are you really arguing with a horse right now?" asked Liu Wei as he climbed onto his motorcycle with Li Dai Lu in his arms.

    "No," replied Liu Yu Zeng with a shake of his head. "Because, clearly, I won."

    Wang Chao walked over to the enormous creature that towered over him and started to pet his muzzle. "Any idea how I can go back to normal?" he asked under his breath.

    ''Have you tried clicking your heels and wishing for it?'' demanded Ares inside of his head. ''It''s not like I''m all that used to be a horse again either, you know.''

    "Again?" said a very confused Wang Chao.

    ''What? Do you really think that you can be the Four Horsemen without horses?'' grumbled Ares, letting a cranky gust of air out of his nostrils. ''Well, I guess War wasn''t known for his intelligence.''

    "Gee, thanks. I''ll try to improve in the future," said Wang Chao, closing his eyes and wishing that things were back to normal. There was a slight breeze, and the soft fuzz of a horse''s muzzle transformed into the cold, hard metal bars of his bike.

    Looking down, Wang Chao saw that he was dressed back in his ck cargo pants and a tight t-shirt that he had been wearing before. Evidently, wishes really dide true.

    "Where the Hell did you go?" demanded a new voice causing the four men to turn towards the new threat. Liu Wei held Li Dai Lu closer to his chest and took out his gun in his left hand. Raising it up, he saw a man approaching on a bike that seemed simr to their own.

    "Is that any way to greet an old friend, Liu Wei?" asked Bin An Sha with a smile on his face. Coming to a stop in front of the four men, he stopped his bike and just looked at them. Although the smile was still firmly on his face, he was bing more than a little tense with the voice inside of his head screaming at him.

    ''Queen! Our Queen! Get our Queen and make her better,'' it screamed on repeat until Bin An Sha couldn''t take it anymore.

    "Ah, who''s the pretty woman? She looks hurt. Mind if I take a look at her?" he asked, seemingly clueless.

    "Nice try, Bin An Sha. You knew that she was shot as soon as I did. And you don''t even have the same connection to her as I do. Want to exin that?" demanded Wang Chao as Liu Yu Zeng and Chen Zi Han also raised their guns at the neer.

 Chapter 396 You Are A Lucky Man

    ?

    "You really want to discuss schematics when your woman is lying unconscious in someone else''s arms?" demanded Bin An Sha, not wanting to try to figure out why seeing a strange woman in someone else''s arms was like a knife to his heart.

    He was beingpletely serious. There was nothing more that he wanted to do right now than to look after her and make sure she was okay. ''She is our queen?" he asked the voice inside of his head. On the outside, he forced himself to remain rxed. If the others perceived him as a threat, he would never be allowed near her. He knew that.

    ''You don''t feel that draw to her?'' demanded the voice back.

    ''But how can she be our queen if there is already a War?'' pressed Bin An Sha as he looked at the three men, their guns trained on him. It went against everything inside of him to just let the threat remain, but he refused to move.

    The unknown woman was more important.

    ''You expect me to know?'' snorted the voice. ''All I know is what I feel. And she is our queen. Now, get off your ass and heal her.''

    "Is it okay if Ie closer?" asked Bin An Sha, raising his hands in the air with a smile. "I just want to make sure that she is fine. I mean, you shouldn''t have any issues with that, right? Liu Wei can keep holding her if that would make you feel better."

    Thergest man out of the four was the first to lower his gun. "Go," he barked. His tone caused Bin An Sha''s back to stiffen in annoyance and his lip to curl up into a sneer. No one spoke to him like that, and lived.

    Contemting the numerous ways that he could kill the other man, he slowly got off Murder and took measured steps toward the unconscious woman. He paused for a moment to look at Liu Wei. He understood that the other man was just as dangerous as he was, and he was cing himself in a vulnerable position by bending over to look after the woman.

    "What is her name?'' he asked softly, the murderous rage that he always felt inside of himself calming down as he got closer.

    "Li Dai Lu," replied Liu Wei, studying the other man. He slowly lowered his weapon but didn''t put it away. Bin An Sha was correct; Sweetheart needed to be looked after before anything else happened.

    "Li Dai Lu," repeated Bin An Sha as he softly stroked her cheek, checking her temperature. "As in to ''Lead the way''?"

    "Never thought to ask, honestly," replied Liu Wei with a shrug of his shoulders.

    "You should have," sneered Bin An Sha softly, not wanting to disturb the woman. Her heart rate was within eptable limits, and her skin was rtively dry. "Names have meaning. There is no such thing as a coincidence in this world."

    "Do you really believe that?" snorted the youngest one as he walked toward his brother and the stranger.

    "Is she not leading the way?" replied Bin An Sha as he took out a stethoscope from underneath his shirt.

    "To what?" asked the giant as he came up behind Bin An Sha, more curious than hostile.

    "Well, that''s the question, isn''t it? What is she leading us towards?" mused Bin An Sha as he listened to her lungs. She was breathing well on her own, and he couldn''t hear any water from her lungs.

    "Do any of us care? She could be leading us to our deaths, and I will still follow her a happy man," shrugged the youngest one, and Bin An Sha wondered if he had a few screws loose in his head.

    "''He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how,''" said Bin An Sha, quoting one of his favorite philosophers.

    "Nietzsche," came the soft reply from under him. Looking down, Bin An Sha gazed into the bluest eyes he had ever seen before.

    "That''s right," he said softly with a smile. For the first time in his life, his smile wasn''t forced. "You know of him."

    The woman, Li Dai Lu, hummed before her eyes flickered closed, and she fell back asleep.

    "I am going to have to take off her wetsuit and inspect the bullet wound," said Bin An Sha as he started to lean her forward so he could get to the zipper in the back.

    "Not happening," replied Liu Wei as he quickly pulled her away from the other man. "Her bullet wound is going to be fine. However, if she wants you to take a look at it, she will let you know herself."

    "You guys were apparently in the middle of the ocean if your wetsuits and gear are anything to go by. Can you be so sure that she didn''t get some type of infection?" Turning his attention to Wang Chao, he sneered. "I thought she was your wife, but you don''t seem to be all that concerned about her."

    "Be careful," advised Wang Chao with a tight smile. "You can ask things without insulting us in the process. What are you trying to say?"

    "That your friends seem to care more about your wife than you do. You are a lucky man to have one as beautiful as her; make sure your friends don''t try to steal her out from under you," mocked Bin An Sha. He would not be satisfied until he made sure that the bullet wound was taken care of.

    He just wished that he had scissors to be able to cur around the hole in her suit and not take everything off and expose her to everyone.

    "Ah yes¡­ the only socially eptable way of telling another man that you want to bang his wife," joked the youngest one looking at him with a sly smile. "But I agree, we are all very lucky to have a woman like her."

    "Let him look at the wound," came thergest man whom Bin An Sha had determined would be the hardest to kill. But to have her? He would kill every other man who thought he stood a chance.

 Chapter 397 The True Nature Of War

    ?

    Chen Zi Han couldn''t stand the idea that Li Dai Lu would suffer from an infection or worse. The man Wang Chao had called Bin An Sha made a good point. The water they were swimming in was not the cleanest, and there is no telling the amount of bacteria that might have entered her wound.

    She could heal fast, but that didn''t mean that bacteria couldn''t have gotten in before it healed.

    "I am concerned about secondary drowning. What can you tell me about that?" he asked the other man as he began to slowly unzip the back of Li Dai Lu''s wetsuit.

    "Secondary drowning affects children more than it would an adult," said the man, but Chen Zi Han saw his forehead scrunched in concentration. "And that is because an adult understands the symptoms of not being able to breathe and express it better than a child."

    "What does that have to do with anything?" asked Liu Wei, looking at Chen Zi Han in concern.

    "When we were still underwater, I noticed that Princess had stopped breathing," answered the other man, and now there were five identical looks of concern on the faces of the men. "I removed the water from her lungs and then put the oxygen hose back into her mouth, but I don''t want there to be any unseen issues. Especially when she is passed out like this, can can''tmunicate. I also don''t know how long she had stopped breathing for."

    "How did you manage to get the water out of her lungs while underwater?" Bin An Sha asked.

    "I literally pulled the water out of her lungs until there was none left," shrugged Chen Zi Han as if it was no big deal.

    Bin An Sha turned to look at the other men to see if they were having an easier time understanding what had happened than he did.

    "He is famine. He literally pulled the water out of her lungs. He just wants some reassurance that he pulled the right amount out. If not, he will need to pull out more or put some in, depending on your answer," exined Liu Yu Zeng.

    Chen Zi Han nodded at the exnation and then looked at the man who was examining Li Dai Lu. "Do you have any way to tell that?"

    "No, why would I?" demanded Bin An Sha as he started to get frustrated. No matter how much he wished that he could just wave his hand and fix everything wrong with the woman in front of him, he just couldn''t.

    "Does he know?" asked Liu Wei, turning to Wang Chao. The other man shook his head.

    "No, City A is locked down so tightly that the average person doesn''t even know that there is an apocalypse happening outside of the gates, let alone be under enough stress to call upon their powers," said Wang Chao, somewhat concerned with the state of City A.

    "And by the time the city walls crumble, they are going to lose their powers they didn''t know that they had and bepletely defenseless. Do you think that was the city''s master n?" mused Liu Wei with a chuckle. "Could you imagine what would have happened to us if we were still there when the gates closed?"

    "I would prefer not to," answered Wang Chao with a shudder.

    "How do I figure out if I have powers or not?" demanded Bin An Sha, not willing to be behind the others. They already had the advantage of knowing Li Dai Lu longer; he didn''t need them to have the extra benefit of superpowers that could help her.

    "You need to be under stress or follow Li Dai Lu''s lessons," replied Liu Yu Zeng smugly.

    "I am pretty sure that I am under stress right now," grumbled Bin An Sha, realizing that he wasn''t going to get the answers that he needed from the others. It would be best to spend his time caring for the woman than to engage in the childish conversations around him.

    Once the zipper was lowered, he carefully supported her right shoulder by her corbone and tried to unpeel the wetsuit from her skin. She let out a moan of pain, and Bin An Sha could feel the head of her humerus was no longer articted with the glenoid fossa of the scap.

    "Why did no one say that her right arm was dislocated?!?" he demanded as he turned his attention to Liu Wei, who was still holding her.

    "It''s dislocated?" asked Chen Zi Han, concerned. "I thought the pain was from the bullet wound."

    "I don''t know; I didn''t see what happened. It must have urred while we were fighting the zombies right before Beta brought her to the surface," answered Liu Wei as he tried to remember exactly what had happened in the darkness of the water.

    "Might be why Beta was trying to get her to the surface so quickly," pointed out Liu Yu Zeng. "But why hasn''t it healed?"

    "What do you mean, hasn''t healed? Do you know how long it takes to heal from a dislocated shoulder? The pain might stop almost immediately, but then it is another 12 to 16 weeks for the muscles and tissues to recover," snapped Bin An Sha, now more determined than ever to take her away.

    How could these four men possibly take care of the queen if they don''t even notice something as significant as a dislocated shoulder?!

    ''We can take care of our Queen,'' said the voice inside of his head. ''Look down deep within yourself. Find the green me. Call it to you.''

    ''What the fuck are you talking about, green me? I have other things to care about instead of finding green mes,'' sneered Bin An Sha as he gently juggled removing the wetsuit with stabilizing the joint while not putting undue pressure on the bullet wound.

    ''The green me will heal,'' replied the voice.

    ''Oh yeah? I thought you were War; how can War heal?''

    ''You don''t understand the true nature of war. Not many do, so your ignorance can be excused. But you are able to heal. Or do you not want your power?''

    "Hey, Wang Chao," called out Bin An Sha as he finally managed to get Li Dai Lu''s right arm out with some help from Liu Wei. "Is healing a superpower?"

 Chapter 398 I Dont Share Well

    ?

    "Is healing a superpower?" demanded Bin An Sha as he turned around to look at Wang Chao.

    "Yes," replied the other man, his face impassive.

    "Good," grunted Bin An Sha as he turned his attention back inside of himself and the voice in his head. ''Tell me what to do.''

    ''I already did,'' answered the voice. ''Reach down inside, grip the green me, and let itpletely engulf you.''

    ''If I do that, will it hurt Li Dai Lu?'' asked Bin An Sha, more than a little worried about the woman slumped in his arms right now. He looked at Liu Wei, who was holding the lower half of her body, and the other man just nodded at him.

    "You do what you need to do to help her," said Liu Wei. He tried to bring the upper portion of Li Dai Lu''s body back onto his chest to give Bin An Sha the ability to do what he needed to do, but the other man didn''t like the empty feeling of her not being on top of him.

    "I got her, don''t worry," growled Bin An Sha as he took her back into his arms. He would allow the other man to hold onto her waist and legs.

    "You are going to need to learn how to share," said the giant of a man from over Bin An Sha''s shoulder.

    "I don''t share well," he sneered, looking at the giant. He looked familiar, but he couldn''t remember where he had seen him before.

    "Learn, or you won''t like the consequences." Ignoring the other man''s statement, Bin An Sha concentrated on the green me inside of him.

    ''Don''t worry, this me is also one of the Queen''s, just a long lost one,'' said the voice inside of him. With that reassurance, Bin An Sha gripped the fire in both hands and brought it up to his chest in a hug.

    The pain was absolutely excruciating. It felt like there were millions of fire ants crawling all over his body, biting their way into his bloodstream.

    ''Hurts, doesn''t it?'' demanded a female voice from inside his head. Bin An Sha opened his eyes only to see a beautiful throne room with a long red carpet leading to two thrones. Thergest one looked to be made of ice, while the second one was made of swords.

    ''I honestly didn''t think I would see you in this life,'' chuckled the voice, and a beautiful woman in a blood-red dress appeared on the second throne. ''It''s been centuries. What name do you go by now?''

    ''I am Bin An Sha,'' he replied, gritting his teeth as the mes continued to tear through him.

    ''Refined Assassin?'' the woman stood up and started to walk towards him. With each step she took, his heart began to beat faster until it was practically hammering out of his chest when she came to a stop right in front of him. She let out a scoffing sound as she studied him. ''I remember you when you were nothing more than a mama''s boy.''

    ''I don''t know my mother,'' growled Bin An Sha, more than proud to wear the mantle of an orphan. Everything he had in this life, he took with his own two hands. And he would take the woman in front of him with that same determination.

    ''Make no mistake, I might look like her, but I am not Li Dai Lu,'' sneered the woman as she turned around with a swirl of red. ''You can call me Violence like the rest of them do.''

    ''Hello, Violence,'' said the voice from inside Bin An Sha, surprising the other two people.

    ''Ah, the crybaby can talk, how cute,'' replied Violence as she went to sit back down on the throne of swords.

    ''It has been a few centuries. A lot of things have changed,'' replied the voice as sweat started to appear on Bin An Sha''s face. He felt like he was beingpletely destroyed from the inside out, and yet here were two voices having a very pleasant conversation.

    ''Maybe we can do this another time, War,'' growled Bin An Sha as he went weak in the knees, dropping to the ground in front of the thrones.

    ''War? He has convinced you that he is War?'' the woman, Violence, burst outughing, her head flung back,pletely unable to contain her mirth. ''You were always jealous of War.''

    ''If that voice is not War inside of me, then who is it?'' growled Bin An Sha, not at all impressed. If it was War, then he could simply kill Wang Chao and take his ce. But if he wasn''t War¡­

    What ce was there for him?

    ''Yeah, you always wanted to know that, never happy with the ce that you had,'' sneered Violence.

    ''Then you know who I am?'' demanded Bin An Sha as his vision started to waver.

    ''Of course, I know who you are. But like the rest of you, that revtion wille when ites. Have fun! Oh, and stop crying to Mommy. It really isn''t an attractive trait in a grown man,'' said Violence as she waved her hand at the man.

    ''I told you, I don''t have a mother!'' yelled Bin An Sha as his vision turned green and the throne room vanished.

    -----

    I woke up slowly, the best way possible to wake up. Not bothering to open my eyes, I stretched my arms up over the top of my head and felt the pops in my spine. I moaned in happiness as I then wiggled myself even further under the pump covers and pulled them back over my head.

    "I can only assume that this means you don''t want coffee?" came a low, deep voice beside me. I turned around and saw Wang Chao sitting in the bed beside me, his back resting against the headboard.

    "I always want coffee," I replied, not mentioning the fact that he had left me. At least now he was back, and, with the way he was being, hopefully without the extra soul.

    "War is gone," he said reassuringly as he gently reached down and tried to smooth out my unruly bedhead. Ah, the man who read my mind every minute of every day was back. How nice.

 Chapter 399 I Needed Coffee

    ?

    "It is nice. I forgot how fun it was to be inside your head," chuckled Wang Chao as he continued to pet the top of my head from where it was sticking out from under the covers. "But you are the only one with coffee unless you really want to try whatever is in this hotel room. However, I don''t know how much I trust the water."

    "Are you trying to con your way into getting a cup of coffee from me yourself?" I demanded in mock outrage.

    "Well, can you me a man? I had to drink mud water. And as much as I am sure that there are a lot of benefits to it, it is not a cup of coffee," he smiled as he reached under the nkets and pulled me up onto his chest. He then rearranged the covers over top of us and wrapped his arms around me.

    "I am so sorry, little one," he said in a soft voice as he gently ced a kiss on the top of my head. "You have no idea how sorry I am for everything. The fact that I almost lost you before I could make it up is killing me."

    "You almost lost me?" I asked, confused. Did he almost die on the road? Is that what he is talking about?

    "You got shot, remember?" he asked, looking down at me concerned. "Do I need to call Bin An Sha? He said that he managed topletely heal you, but if you can''t remember anything, I can get him to check you again. Bin An Sha!" he shouted before I could even get a word in edge-wise.

    I tried to think about what he was talking about, but I¡­ ah, yeah, the fuckingmander shot me after a fucking zombie tried to rip my shoulder out.

    "I remember," I groaned as a new man came barreling into the room I was currently in.

    "What is going on? Is she still in pain? I can''t feel any paining from her. Where is she hurt? Did you hurt her?!" he yelled as he approached the bed.

    I blinked at him a few times, but I honestly had no idea who he was. "Um¡ª" I opened my mouth, but I was quickly cut off.

    "It''s okay, Precious; I will make sure that you are all better, okay? Now, tell me where it hurts?" demanded the hulking giant. I blinked at him a few times as I tried to process his words. My brain, still cloudy from sleep, was not working well.

    I needed coffee.

    Taking the first cup of coffee out of my space, I took a few sips before turning my attention back to Wang Chao and the chaotic stranger.

    "I swear to God, if you have hurt her, I will slit your throat," sneered the stranger as he took a stethoscope from under his shirt and put it into his ears.

    "You can try, but we both know you won''t seed," replied Wang Chao with a sneer of his own.

    Oh goody, they were friends. That made it a bit less awkward, seeing as, yes, I was naked under the covers.

    "I told you to leave her alone until she woke up naturally," yelled the stranger as he came to sit on the edge of the bed beside Wang Chao.

    I nodded my head. I liked him. He thought I needed more sleep and should not be disturbed. He is now on my good stranger list and not my bad stranger list. Themander is definitely on my bad stranger list.

    "What happened to themander?" I asked, looking up at Wang Chao as I took another sip of my coffee.

    "Is that coffee?" demanded the stranger as he tried to reach for my cup. "Mud water has so many more benefits than coffee does, especially with what you went through. Here, give me the cup, and I''ll give you some mud water. If you are good after a few days, you are more than wee to have your coffee back."

    Nope, he was firmly back on the bad stranger list. No one took away my coffee and lived to tell about it.

    Contemting how I could kill him and not have to move too much, I felt Wang Chao vibrating under me. Stupid mind reading.

    "This is Bin An Sha," said Wang Chao as an introduction. As if I cared about the name of the man who wanted my coffee. I narrowed my eyes at him and started chugging my drink before he could take it away from me. "He is a long-time acquaintance of mine and Liu Wei''s." Wang Chao continued as if that was a glowing rmendation for anyone right now, especially someone that wanted to take my coffee.

    Did I mention this stranger, this Bin An Sha, wanted to take my coffee? He probably wanted to drink it himself.

    "Yes, I am sure that he would love to drink your coffee," smiled Wang Chao as he looked over at the other man. "However, he is also a healer. Would it be okay if he just took a moment to look you over and made sure that everything was okay?"

    Quickly finishing off the rest of my coffee, not caring that it was burning its way down my esophagus, I nodded my head.

    "Fine, but only because you asked so nicely. And I do remember themander now; what happened to him?" I asked as I vanished my mug and rolled over onto my back, still leaning against Wang Chao.

    Making sure that the covers still covered the important parts, I looked over at Bin An Sha.

    "Beta ripped him apart, and then I threw him into the water," answered Wang Chao with a shrug of his shoulders.

    "Whichmander is this?" asked Bin An Sha as he came forward, holding his stethoscope up as if silently asking for permission. I nodded my head as I took the chance to study the man.

    He was not what I would call handsome. Not inparison to Wang Chao and the rest of my men, but he definitely had a certain beauty.

    Or I had a certain type.

 Chapter 400 Ganging Up On Me

    ?

    "I hate to break it to you, little one, but you definitely have a type," chuckled Wang Chao, and I started to curse again, remembering that now he was back to ''normal''; he was reading my mind a lot more.

    I stuck out my tongue and refused to say anything else.

    Bin An Sha looked up between me and Wang Chao before turning his attention back to me. "Would you care to exin?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. His angr face fought back a smile as some strands of ck hair fell forward, obscuring his light brown eyes. There was a scar that ran down the left side of his face, but it didn''t detract from his beauty, more like emphasized it.

    "Nope," I replied, dropping my gaze to his scar-filled hands. It was clear that he was more than just a doctor. Well, unless he was a shitty doctor that managed to cut himself instead of his patients, however, I just couldn''t see that.

    "Pity," he said, smirking at me. "I almost envy Wang Chao for knowing what is going on in your mind at all times."

    "You really should," chuckled Wang Chao causing me to roll my eyes.

    "I take it you are a doctor?" I asked, trying to change the subject away from the thoughts in my head. As a permanent resident, even I could admit that some of them were just in weird.

    "Doctor, surgeon, psychologist, healer. I am whatever you need me to be, Precious," he assured me as he put away his stethoscope. "Whatever you need me to be," he repeated, his light brown eyes staring into mine.

    Before I could even think of a reply, he ced one hand on my forehead and another on my right shoulder and closed his eyes. I could feel a warm green me circting around inside of me, briefly stopping at the crystal core holding mine and my men''s mes, before continuing on its path.

    I could feel myself rxing as the me continued on its journey. It felt warm, like a spring day. I took in a deep breath, and I could swear that I could smell flowers.

    Opening my eyes, I looked up at him, surprised at how close his face was to mine.

    "Is there any room in there for me?" he asked softly before he stood up and walked away.

    I looked at Wang Chao in confusion, not understanding what the other man was asking. He simply smiled at me and kissed my head. "Only you can answer that question," he replied with a smile on his face.

    "She ispletely healed; I see nothing wrong with her internally. However, she could do with some more sleep and less coffee," said Bin An Sha from where he stood near the door.

    "Nothing wrong with her? Have you checked her head?" smirked Liu Yu Zeng as he came barrelling into the room, past Bin An Sha, and dived onto the bed beside me. "Morning, Sweetness, we missed you," he said as he leaned over and gave me a gentle kiss on the lips.

    "Did you just say that there is something wrong with my head?" I demanded, giving my joker my best re.

    "No," replied the man as he shook his head at me. However, the effect was ruined when he turned to Bin An Sha andically started to nod his head. "You are definitely not the one that crashes if you have too much coffee," he continued.

    "Actually, it is fairly normal for a cup of coffee to put you to sleep more than it wakes you up," said Bin An Sha,ing back towards the bed. "Research has shown that people who regrly drink coffee and have increased number of adenosine receptors and therefore are more sensitive to the effects of adenosine within their system."

    "Huh?" asked Liu Yu Zeng, looking between me and Bin An Sha. "Did you understand any of that?"

    I shook my head no. I knew that he was talking about me because, let''s face it, I regrly drink coffee, but the rest flew right over the top of my head.

    "He is saying that the body naturally produces adenosine to make you feel tired and regte your sleep cycle. Caffeine can bind to those receptors, preventing someone from feeling their effects; however, once the caffeine wears off, she would feel twice as tired," said Liu Wei as he walked into the room and nodded at Bin An Sha

    "It could also be a result of a high sleep debt," continued Bin An Sha. "In this case, if you are not getting the appropriate amount of sleep every night, your body will crash, whether you are injecting caffeine or not."

    "Yeah, that one is definitely Princess," chuckled Chen Zi Han as he entered my room and closed the door behind him.

    "I don''t know how I feel about you ganging up on me like this," I grumbled, looking at the five men.

    "Oh, I can promise you, you will love us ganging up on you," whispered Liu Yu Zeng as he started to nip and kiss my neck.

    "Down, boy," I joked as I pushed his head away. I briefly looked at Bin An Sha. There was something pulling me to him; I could fully admit that. However, I literally just met him a matter of minutes ago. There was no way I was going to put on that much of a show.

    "Now, where are we? Where is Lonnie and the others? What are we going to do next? Where are we going?" I asked all my questions at once, just so I didn''t forget something important I wanted to ask.

    "We are in a hotel just outside of the Naval base. I thought that you would probably not want to spend any more time than absolutely necessary there. I don''t know who Lonnie is, but the Country M soldiers are upying the base until they figure out where they want to go in the future. You can pick what we are going to do next, and the ''where we are going'' is also included in that. Dealer''s choice," said Wang Chao answering all of my questions at once.

 Chapter 401 It Is What I Should Do

    ?

    "That''s City A. They aren''t going to let us in. It is better to go to one of the other safety zones," said Peng Yong Rui as he gently pulled on his daughter''s arm.

    "You''re so silly, Daddy. Why wouldn''t they let us in?" asked Wu Bai Hee with a kind smile as she obscurely brushed the man''s hand off of her arm. She hated it when he put his dirty hands on her, but she knew that she had to act the part of the dutiful daughter.

    She needed to set herself up as someone powerful. That was the only way to have Liu Wei and the other three at her beck and call. However, in order to do that, she needed a base of operations, and City A would be perfect for that.

    She looked at the multiple checkpoints and the number of people begging to get inside the safe zone. No, this was the perfect ce to set herself up. She just had to get through the six barriers and bring the rest of the rabble with her. She sneered over the fact that she couldn''t just leave them to their own devices. No, they were her foundation, a way to spread her name and great deeds through the masses.

    They needed toe.

    "Hello," she said, walking up to the first guard.

    "Fuck off. Wait your turn in line like everyone else," said the guard, not bothering to look at her.

    "Oh, I am so sorry. I just thought that you might be thirsty, standing here all day like you do," purred Wu Bai Hee as she held up an empty water container. "However, I can understand how an important man like yourself has not time for water. I''ll just go back." She continued, letting her words seep into the man''s skin.

    It was not as effective doing it this way. After all, there is a reason why they say that eyes are the windows to the soul. However, just saying the words and letting them fall where they may work in about 70% of the situations.

    "One sec," called the guard, and Wu Bai Hee spun around, her hair and skirt swirling around her like an angel.

    "Yes? Oh, are you Xia Yung Zheng?" asked Wu Bai Hee, quickly reading his name tag. "I am Wu Bai Hee; I was your sister''s roommate at university!" she continued, letting her words swirl around the man, nting suggestions into his mind. Now, if only he would look into her eyes, this would go so much easier.

    "Wu Bai Hee?" repeated the man confused. "Oh¡­ right¡­ my sister''s roommate at university¡­" he continued sleepily. There was a pause right before he started to shake his head vigorously. "But I don''t have a sister," he said, looking at Wu Bai Hee.

    "Of course you do," she smiled, staring at the man in his eyes. "Don''t you remember Xia Fen Fang? My roommate, your sister?"

    "Xia Fen Fang? My sister?" he asked, confused.

    "That''s right. I am her best friend. You have known me forever," continued Wu Bai Hee. "Here, have some water."

    She watched with a smile on her face as the man brought the empty bottle to his lips and started to gulp down the non-existent water. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and returned the water bottle to her.

    "Thanks, I really needed something to drink," he said with a smile, his eyes never leaving hers. "Since you are such a good friend of my sister, I''ll let you in."

    "Thank you so much for that," said Wu Bai Hee, pretending to breathe a sigh of relief. "You are such a lifesaver!"

    The guard blushed and scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "Is your father with you?"

    "Yes, Daddy found me safe and sound after I left the university," nodded Wu Bai Hee, quickly manipting the memories inside of Xia Yong Zheng to include his sister dying brutally in front of his eyes and asking him to look after Wu Bai Hee in the future.

    "That is such a relief, especially after what happened to Fen Fang," said the guard as he motioned to one of hisrades. "I was so scared that I would never be able to fulfill her death wish to look after you."

    "Well, now you don''t have to worry. As long as Daddy and some of the others cane inside, you can look after me for the rest of your life," she smiled, locking thest bit of maniption into his mind.

    "I would love that," replied Xia Young Zheng with a smile on his face. "This is my sister''s good friend, Wu Bai Hee. Can you bring her and her family into the city? If anyone asks, just tell them that they will all be listed under me."

    "You have a sister? Why did you never mention a sister?" asked the second guard, confused.

    "He hates talking about her after she died," cut in Wu Bai Hee as she looked at the new guard. A bead of sweat was starting to appear on her delicate face as she pushed her powers almost to their breaking point.

    These two guards were not easy to manipte; their minds and training were too rigid to allow for such a tactic. However, she was stronger than any other spirit user that she hade across, so if anyone could worm their way into City A, it would be her.

    "You''re right," nodded the second guard as he made eye contact with her. "He was always so protective of her. It was absolutely devastating to him not to be able to save her."

    Wu Bai Hee simply hummed, a tired smile on her face. She would need to rest soon, or else she would burn out. And that was something she was not willing to chance.

    "I''ll go get your family and bring them in. How many are there?" asked the second guard with a smile on his face.

    "About 25?" said Wu Bai Hee hesitantly. She tilted her head to the side and looked up at the man from beneath hershes. She might not want to continue using her power, but that didn''t mean she waspletely powerless.

    "No worries, I''ll go get them. You say here and talk to Xia Young Zheng," replied the guard, his smile never dropping for a second.

    "Thank you. Really, thank you," said Wu Bai Hee, looking up at the first guard, her voice weak and helpless.

    "It is what I should do," reassured the guard as he wrapped an arm around her, holding her steady against him. "It is what I should do."

 Chapter 402 What Happened To Wanting A Yacht?

    ?

    I shooed all the guys out of my room, not willing to deal with all of them right now.

    Getting out of bed, I disappeared into my space for a long, hot shower. I think I washed my hair four times to get out all of the saltwater crap that was in it and then started to scrub my skin until it was raw. I was never getting into the ocean ever again. I didn''t care if it would save the entire human race; my two feet were remaining firmly on the dry ground.

    "What happened to you wanting a yacht?" asked Violence as she strolled into my room and went to go sit on my bed. Her red dress fanned out around her in an effortless beauty. I would fully admit to being jealous.

    "I wanted a yacht?" I asked, confused. My memory was a bit sketchy when it came to the water and submarine, but I don''t remember wanting a yacht.

    "Well, Crazy, Psycho, and Perky wanted a yacht, and they might have put a bug in Liu Wei''s ear," shrugged Violence as she ran her hand over my whiteforter.

    "Might not be so bad now that I think about it," I replied with a shrug as I walked over to my closet and thought about what I wanted to wear.

    "Jeans and a red sweater," shouted Violence, and I chuckled my reply. Finding afortable pair of skinny jeans, I paired it with a maroon sweater and brown knee-high boots. Taking the towel off of my head, I fingerbed my hair and let it fall where it wanted.

    "Want to tell me why you are here?" I asked as I went to sit down in one of the oversized white chairs in my room. Pulling on the pink fluffy nket, I looked at my alter ego.

    "I assume that you have met Bin An Sha," sighed Violence as she picked at her skirt and smoothed it out a few times. I had never seen her like that.

    "I have," I replied cautiously, not knowing where this was going. "Is there something wrong with him? Should I have him stay away from me and the guys? Because I would have to admit, from the few minutes I spent with him, he seemed to have fit in really well."

    "Are you nning on adding him to your reverse harem?" asked Violence, a smirk on her face. Iughed lightly. "Isn''t that what you are here to determine? Where did he fit in?" I asked in return. I was beginning to understand Violence more and more, and as much as she was perfectly fine bathing in the blood of her enemies, she also had a soft spot for my men.

    "If you bring him in, your life will be a lot moreplicated," said Violence as she leaned back andid down on my bed, her legs dangling over the side.

    "You mean it can get moreplicated? Because I was pretty sure that hooking up with the Four Horsemen of the apocalypse was about asplicated as things could get," I replied with a smirk, calling up a cup of hot chocte and wrapping my hands around it.

    "Oh, Sweetheart, it can get a Hell of a lot moreplicated. Bin An Shaes with major Mommy issues," said Violence as she sat up and called up a cup of hot chocte for herself.

    "Mommy issues?" I asked, confused.

    "Yeah, his mother hates you for stealing her baby boy more than anyone else in any of the known worlds," chuckled Violence as she took a sip of the choctey goodness.

    "Funny, I don''t remember stealing anyone," I replied, rolling my eyes. The guy literally ran into my hotel room on his own.

    "Yeah, he was always kind of that creepy stalker that followed you around everywhere. However, his mother didn''t see it that way and thought that you kidnapped him and turned him against her. Yeah, she has a hard-on for you ever since," chuckled Violence. "But either way, you will need to be prepared for what is toe."

    "And I don''t suppose you are going to tell me who his mother is?" I said with a slight smirk. I had the feeling if she said her name out loud, I would be able to figure out who I was. And apparently, that is a huge no-no.

    "Nice try. But if you want my suggestion?" asked Violence, taking another sip from her cup. I tried not tough when I saw what was written on it. I would have to use that one next time.

    "I am pretty sure that you are going to tell me your suggestion whether I want to hear it or not," I said with a shrug, not really caring either way. Now that Wang Chao didn''t seem to care so much about the military or even where we were going next, I was going to go literally wherever my heart desired.

    The problem was, I had no idea where that was.

    "Go to City H and let the guys find you a yacht. Then go back to Elysian Fields and nt your crops for the year. You will be much happier once you get all that done, and the rest of us will be happier with you happy. Then, take a few months'' vacation. Come home, train your men, and go rescue that healer," suggested Violence as she looked over me from the rim of her cup.

    "Then, when everything is said and done. Find your home on Earth and let me get some much needed sleep," she continued, and for the first time, I could see the dark circles under her eyes.

    "Are you okay?" I asked, concerned as I put my mug on the table beside me and got up to walk over to her. "If this is too much, you can rx and sleep. I can take care of it from here."

    "And if you shatter again?" she asked, her eyebrow raised in a skeptical look.

    "Then I am too stupid to be put back together, and you can be the main personality in our next life," I chuckled. I understood where it was that she wasing from, but you could only hold someone''s hand for so long. I was stronger than I was in my past lives; I had my men by my side, I would be fine.

 Chapter 403 My Last Chance

    ?

    "That''s the problem, Sweetheart, this is ourst life. If we don''t seed this time¡­ well¡­ then there is nothing," she said sadly. I took the mug from her hands and vanished it into the kitchen to be cleaned. Taking her hands in mine, I looked into the eyes that were a mirror image of my own.

    "That is fine," I answered with a smile. "You are not the only one that is tired. If this is myst life, then I am going to do whatever the fuck I want to do, and you and the others can just hold on for the ride."

    She let out a sad chuckle and nodded her head. "Do you want me to write down your directions?" she asked, wiping a single tear from her eye.

    "Get a yacht, nt a garden, go on vacation, save the girl, find my home. I think I got it," I replied with a cheeky grin. We both knew that even though I could answer her right now, I was going to forget the list in like five minutes.

    "Fine. Go have fun," sheughed right before she disappeared, leaving me holding nothing.

    "Drama Queen!" I shouted into the air, knowing that she could hear me. I would pay attention to what she had said, but at the same time, one of the few pleasures of life was not knowing where it was heading next.

    I grabbed myself a slice of carrot cake and vanished back into the hotel room.

    ------

    "Apparently, I was promised a yacht," I said as a way of a greeting as I walked out into the hallway where my men and Bin An Sha were waiting for me. I took another bite of carrot cake, enjoying its moist deliciousness and cream cheese frosting, when the te was rudely taken from me.

    "No, Precious," said Bin An Sha as he handed the te to Liu Wei and took my hand in his. "Carrot cake is not a substitute for a good meal. You have just woken up, which means that your blood sugar is going to be on the high end. I have checked, and you are not at risk for diabetes right now, but we will need to monitor for that. Eating that much sugar in the morning will not help your body produce the levels of insulin needed to control the natural rise in blood sugar."

    I looked at Liu Wei, who was standing there just behind Bin An Sha, tears forming in my eyes.

    "My carrot cake," I sniffed, letting a single tear fall down my cheek as I looked at the man towering over me.

    "Fuck it," growled Bin An Sha as he took the te from Liu Wei and gave it back to me. "I will figure out something. If you want cake, please, go ahead and eat. But maybe we should find some vegetables for your next meal? Bnce in everything, right?" he continued, and I almost felt bad for him.

    Then again, he stole my cake, so he had iting.

    "I am the one in charge of meals. Let me know what she should be eating and portions, and I will make sure that it happens," said Chen Zi Han,ing forward to stand beside Bin An Sha, and the two men started talking about the appropriate diet for me.

    This time, the tear that was falling down my cheeks were not fake. No, now I was legitimately upset. I was going to have to put an end to this budding rtionship and fast.

    "You don''t touch my sweets or my coffee," I said as I looked pointedly at the two giants standing in front of me. Bin An Sha might have been a smidgen shorter, but he was just as muscr as Chen Zi Han. "I can negotiate on the rest. Oh, and red meat has to stay. I like my steaks."

    Liu Wei chuckled and picked me up, carrying me down the hall and away from the two discussing my diet. "They''ll calm down in a little bit," he said as he opened the door to the stairway and started to go down. "Chen Zi Han is still a bit freaked out that we almost lost you."

    "Yeah," I said softly, remembering what Violence said about this being myst life. "Sorry about that."

    "Definitely not your fault," Liu Wei said as he ced a kiss on my forehead. "But you know how Chen Zi Han gets when ites to you."

    "Does that mean I can''t get a yacht?" I asked, looking up at the man, trying to lighten the mood.

    "Liu Yu Zeng and I have already discussed it. There should be a few working yachts in City H if you want to go there. If not, Wang Chao has gone to the ranch, and everything is just as you left it, so we can go there instead. It ispletely up to you."

    "Let''s head to City H," I said, making the decision. We were right about the halfway point between the two cities, so I might as well go to the one that I had never been to before.

    "Understood," he answered with a chuckle as he opened the door to the lobby, not once jostling my position. "I can take you around the ce where I was born," he added with a smile on his face.

    There was a human standing at the reception desk, and I furrowed my brow. "How was your night, sir?" he asked as the rest of the men came through the stairwell. "I take it you are checking out?" he continued.

    I would fully admit that the level of normalcy waspletely freaking me out right now.

    "What''s going on?" I whispered to Liu Wei as Wang Chao went to... check us out? He handed over a card and then turned around and walked toward me.

    "City N is looking to rebuild," said Wang Chao, "And they are pushing to bring back a certain level of normalcy to everyday life."

    "But no one has any money," I said, more than a little confused. Nothing like this had happened in myst life. In fact, that one was probably straight out of a zombie movie. Now, I am staying in actual hotel rooms like I would before the end of the world.

    Was it like that before? I had no idea what the first three years were like in my second life. Did this happen then, too? Or did I fuck something up?

    I really hope I didn''t fuck something up.

 Chapter 404 A New List

    ?

    I was quiet as we left the hotel. Liu Wei gently put me into Cerberus before getting on his own motorcycle, and we all took off.

    However, my mind was no longer on yachts or even human demands for normalcy.

    No, my mind was spinning in apletely different direction. Violence had said that I needed to find my home¡­ but I didn''t want my home to be in a world like how it was before the EMP hit. No, that didn''t appeal to me at all. Humans had proven that they could fuck things up if given half a chance to do it, and I was out of giving chances.

    I leaned back in my seat and took out a cup of coffee, the same cup that Violence had before. It said, ''It''s only murder if they find a body. Otherwise, it is just a missing person. Nowe over here. I have something to show you.''

    That was my mood right now.

    The humans were winning the fight against the zombies, and I don''t think I liked that at all. No, humans needed a reality check that they couldn''t control everything. They tried to y God, and they needed a p upside the head to show why that was such a bad idea. And if I had to be the one to give them that p, then so be it.

    I would make sure that the world I had woken up in two years from now was the same world, even if I had to create it. First and foremost. The zombie tide that was supposed to take over the southern half of the country never happened. Well, it did happen; it just didn''t seed as it should have.

    My fault, I will fully admit.

    Well, now it was time to clean up my mess.

    But how?

    Well, I needed a crap ton of zombies to form a tide. Then, I could release the tide while the guys and I were on the yacht.

    The yacht would serve two purposes. The first was to keep Wang Chao away from any military personnel who might go crying to him for help, and second, it would give things a way of working themselves out without us tipping the scales.

    That would work.

    However, there was Lonnie and her men at the Navy base¡­ should they live or die?

    I took out a pint of chocte chip mint ice cream and got morefortable inside Cerberus while I thought about the finer details.

    Whether she lived or died, that would depend on her fate. I saved her and the rest of Country M''s forces once, but I wouldn''t keep saving them. No matter how much I liked her.

    I took a bite of my ice cream and started back at the top of my list. Pulling out paper and colored markers from my space, I used the armrest on the center console to start writing down my ideas.

    Every list needed a title; how about¡­ ''How to create a zombie apocalypse''?

    Yeah, that was perfect.

    Okay, step one: call them all.

    I had the ability to find and controlrge numbers of zombies. If I sent out the call now and had them meet us in City H, then that would allow for enough time to gather arge number of them. I could then take the Alphas and spread them out, sending out my directions to all the stray zombies not yet part of a horde.

    No time like the present to set the n into motion.

    I opened the window and let out an enormous roar of challenge, letting it echo around us. Within minutes,rge numbers of zombies had taken up my challenge, and I could feel them following us. They were not in a hurry but instead followed behind us at a set pace, not overtaking the vehicles.

    I brought my head back into the truck with a smile of satisfaction.

    ''Funny, I don''t remember world domination on the list of things I told you to do,'' said Violence, and I watched as she appeared in the passenger seat beside me.

    "Well, I figured if this was going to be myst kick at the can, then I might as well have fun," I replied with a shrug before moving on to the second step of my list.

    Once I got all the zombies I could into the same ce, I would then have to takeplete control of them to make sure that they did as they were told to do.

    "There is a faster way of doing all that, you know that, right?" asked Violence as she took the ice cream container from me and started to eat from it. She pointed at me with the fork. "You only need to deal with the Alphas; don''t waste your time on the lesser zombies."

    "That was part of the n," I assured her. "I just have to get all of them to City H first."

    "Yeah, but this way seems a bit slow. We should pick up the pace a bit. Cerby," Violence called out.

    "Yes, Violence?" my truck responded.

    "Can you find where thergest concentration of zombies is around here?" she asked, taking another bite of my ice cream. That bitch.

    "I can," replied Cerberus hesitantly. "There is arge horde about three miles east of us."

    "Perfect," said Violence with a giant smile on her face. "That will work perfectly. Head there."

    "What do I tell the others?" asked Cerberus, and I could feel his uneasiness throughout the cab of the truck.

    "Nothing," I replied, reassuring him that I was fully supporting Violence in this manner. "If theye, theye. Or they can meet us in City H; the choice is theirs."

    ----

    "You might want to hurry up and follow me," growled a low voice in Chen Zi Han''s helmet. He looked around and watched as Cerberus quickly turned right, getting off of the highway at an exit that one of them sawing.

    "On our way," replied Liu Wei as he quickly turned Reaper around, causing a cloud of smoke toe up from his tires.

    Whatever their Queen had nned, her truck was notfortable with it. They had better hurry up and get to her side.

 Chapter 405 First Step To Becoming The Queen

    ?

    We drove down the street for almost 30 minutes until Cerberus came to a stop. "I can''t go any further," said Cerberus hesitantly.

    Looking up, I saw that the street waspletely blocked by a horde of zombies. "Great! Thank you so much," I said with a smile on my face as I turned to Violence. "This is your n, what''s the next step?"

    "Now, you go out and challenge the Alpha. He will be stronger than any you have dealt with before, but if you want him to be your Beta, you will have to win," said Violence with a shrug of her shoulders. The bitch had finished off my mint ice cream and now was working her way through a tray of brownies.

    "Wish me luck," I chuckled, ignoring the fact that she was eating all the food I was hiding from Bin An Sha.

    "You don''t need luck; you just need to get some exercise," she replied back, holding up a brownie into the air. I looked at it and held out my hard to her. She raised an eyebrow before taking a giant bite from it.

    "Bitch," I grumbled, swiping a square off of the tray on herp.

    "Wrong personality," she replied with a smile. "But you might want to hurry up. Cerby ratted you out to your boys."

    "Damn it, Cerberus!" I growled under my breath as I opened the door and stepped out. Taking a bite of the little piece of heaven, I walked towards the zombies.

    The Alpha was massivepared to me, looking more like a Reaver than an actual zombie. I could see why he was the ''King'' of his horde.

    He started at me, his body swaying back and forth. Now that I had seen them in their natural environment, I couldn''t help but feel less intimidated by the zombies onnd. Oh well, it wasn''t me that needed to be intimidated.

    Hearing the sound of motorcycles approaching, I quickly stuffed the brownie into my mouth and licked my fingers, refusing to turn around to look at my guys.

    "That would be because her cheeks are puffed out like a chipmunk''s. I am sure that it is adorably cute," chuckled Wang Chao, and I looked over my shoulder at the five men. I wouldn''t have to look like this if the guy he brought back with him hadn''t threatened my sweets.

    What is a girl to live on if not cakes, squares, cookies, tarts, pies, and ice cream? They are practically their own essential food group!

    "We won''t stop you. You do what you need to, and we will be here as backup," smiled Wang Chao, his hands in the pockets of his pants and his muscles straining against his shirt. I knew that it wasn''t easy for him to say that, so I blew him a kiss in thanks.

    Licking thest bit of chocte from my fingers, I turned my attention back to the zombie ''King''. "I want your horde," I said in as straightforward of a manner as I could.

    "No submit," sneered the zombie as he stared down at me.

    "If you don''t submit, you will die, and I will take them anyway," I answered with a shrug of my shoulders. "It will be easier for me to kill you than it will for me to make you submit. Are you sure you want to go that route?"

    The zombie tipped back his head and let out a deafening roar that seemed to shake the very ground beneath us. Even the smaller hordes that had been following me for the past little while froze as a result of his challenge.

    I tipped my head back in return and let out a roar of my own. When it was done, I straightened my head and twisted it from side to side, loosening up the muscles. I wanted to fight him, I realized. Not simply to make him submit, but the idea of actually fighting was causing my blood to boil.

    Not giving either one of us a chance to think things through, I ran straight for the zombie and leaped into the air. With a smirk, he gripped me by the throat, thinking that this was going to be the end of me. Unfortunately for him, that was the exact reaction that I wanted.

    I had no way of being able to reach higher than his chest if he wasn''t willing to help me. Calling one of the K Bar knives that I had fallen in love with, I shed his elbow, causing him to bring me in closer to his face.

    With a backhanded stroke, I sliced his neck, nting a tiny spark of my purple me into him. Since breathing was starting to be a problem, I gripped his hand that he was using to grip my neck and called on my ice.

    Blue crystals flew out from my hand, epassing his hand and arm all the way up to my cut on his elbow. He didn''t cry out, but I knew for certain that he had lost the use of his right hand.

    Bringing the handle of the knife up, I mmed it down on the crystals, causing his arm and hand to shatter. I fell back to the earth, now that there was nothing to hold me up, and I bent my knees to absorb the weight of my fall.

    "Fun," said the zombie as he shook the stump that had shattered.

    "Isn''t it, though?" I replied with a smile. I think I was enjoying this as much as he was. We both waited the moment it took for his arm and hand to regrow and then smiled at each other.

    This time, it was his turn to rush towards me, his big beef right fist up in the air, trying to pound me into the pavement. Unfortunately for him, I was small and maneuverable, which meant that I was easily able to spin around to his unprotected back. I sliced the back of his knee, causing him to stumble forward.

    Using the K Bar, I dug it into his back and called out a second twin, knife. From there, it was as simple as alternating each knife like a pickaxe as I climbed up his back to sit myself quitefortably on his shoulders, right behind his neck.

 Chapter 406 A King On His Knees

    ?

    Finding his bnce, he quickly tried to grab me, using his momentum to swing me back and forth and from side to side like a bucking bull.

    Every time his hands would approach me, I would bat them away with the knives, causing him to start screaming out in frustration.

    I sent two tiny sparks of my purple mes into his ears, letting them burrow into his brain as deep as possible. I don''t know if I wanted another Beta like the water one. I had a feeling that with our connection, I would be able to feel what he felt.

    My goal for this ''king'' was literally cannon fodder. I wanted to send him out with all of the troops to raze thend of humans, and if he got killed, well, I would try to find a secondary ''king'' to take his ce. But, seeing as I was expecting him to die, I didn''t want any sort of link to him.

    No, my n was to imnt my mes into him so that if he had a thought that might be contradictory to what I wanted, I could apply a bust of pain, hopefully bring him to heel.

    And if that didn''t work, I would link with him but use him as a general in the rear lines instead of in the front. Either way, I needed my mes inside of him, might as well have fun putting them in.

    Now that I had one me in his throat and one in each ear, I now wanted to put one in where his heart was.

    The next time he flung his body to the right, I loosened my grip on his head and went with it. The momentum allowed me to slide down to his chest, my legs and ankles still locked tight around his neck.

    He looked down at me and sneered. Bringing his hands forward, he gripped my shoulders and pulled me away from his neck. My legs couldn''t keep their grip around their neck, and I was peeled off of the monster zombie.

    Literally dangling in front of his chest, I quickly stabbed forward, cutting his chest and imnting a fourth spark of purple me. He roared his outrage and flung me as far away from him as he could.

    iling in the air, I remembered what Violence had mentioned about this being myst life, and I cringed a bit. Luckily for me, though, I had four big, strong men around me, and one of them plucked me out of the air without a second thought.

    Looking up, I saw myself in Chen Zi Han''s arms. "Thanks!" I said with a chuckle as I gave him a quick kiss. He put me back on the ground with a grunt, and I sprinted back to the zombie in front of me, who was currently kneeling on a single knee.

    "Is this you submitting?" I asked, cocking my head to the side to look at him. He let out a low growl and tried toe to his feet, but the mes inside of his body were making it impossible for him to do that. I turned down the me a bit and let him stand up.

    "If you submit, I will let you have all the humans you could possibly want," I said with a smile on my face as I went to stand back in front of my opponent.

    "Humans? Dumb meat?" he asked, tilting his head to the side and studying me.

    "Dumb meat?" I replied with a question of my own. I had never heard of that expression before from any of the zombies.

    "Dumb meat," he said, nodding his head toward my men. I couldn''t hold back myughter.

    "Not them, but yes, all the dumb meat you can eat," I said reassuringly. I mean, if the humans were dumb enough to get eaten, then they deserved their fate.

    "Submit," growled the king.

    "Funny, I don''t see you submitting," I shot back. After all, submission required more than a simple word.

    The giant of a zombie dropped to both knees; his head hung low. The ground shook a second time as all the zombies behind him followed his example and fell to their knees. He looked up at me for a second before exposing his neck to me. Once again, all the zombies behind him followed suit.

    I walked up to him until I was millimeters from him and ced my hand on his exposed neck. Calling on my pink me, I branded him in a living me. Every time his skin tried to re-heal itself, my me would then reburn my handprint into it.

    "You are mine," I said, looking at the monster of a zombie. Even kneeling, his head was at my level. But size didn''t matter; dominance did.

    "I yours," he agreed, his voice letting out a hissing sound as he formed the words. I could feel a link forming between us, but not like the one I had with Beta. Beta turned a dark purple once the link was established. The ''king'' maintained his blue coloring, but my pink me still linked us in a small way.

    "Head north. Gather all the zombies you can and keep going north. Kill the humans and destroy their safe zones. Let them know that there is no safe ce left in this world. Show them who is king," I said with a smirk.

    I once read a quote that had stayed with me throughout all of my lives. It went, "Some people need a hard lesson to learn, others are the hard lesson." I would be the lesson to teach humans where they stood in the hierarchy. I would bring them to the very precipice of their cultivation and watch them either seed or fail terribly.

    But there won''t be any handouts, no free passes. The humans would live or die based on their own convictions and hard work. They won''t have time to think up new ways of fucking over the world; they will be too busy living in it.

    Oh, this was going to be great fun.

 Chapter 407 Good Men

    ?

    The zombie king once again bowed his head beforeing to his feet. As soon as he was full height, he let out a roar of dominance. A flock of crows rose up through the trees, their startled cry the only sound around.

    Letting out a huff of pleasure, he looked around the street, taking in the zombies on their knees behind him as well as the new zombies that had unknowingly followed me to the battle. He let out a second roar, a challenge roar, to the zombies that were on their knees behind my men and Bin An Sha.

    Once again, only silence met his challenge. Satisfied that he was the second most dominant being around, he looked at me. "Dumb meat?"

    "All yours, big boy," I said with a smile. "But leave mine alone, understood?" I pressed. The king looked at the five men in front of him and snorted.

    "More dumb meat," he grunted before letting out a bark. All of the zombies rose as if they were one and waited for his next order. I didn''t pretend to be able to speak zombie, but I knewmands when I heard them.

    There was another sharp bark, and the king started forward, past my men and Bin An Sha and past the new zombies. As if everything was choreographed, the newer zombies waited until therger horde had passed before filing in at the end as if they were always part of the bigger horde.

    "Fascinating," said Bin An Sha as he watched the zombies gliding into the distance. "Is it always like that? I will admit, I had something different in mind when you were talking about zombies," he continued as he turned to Wang Chao. "That was like a ballet or an opera. Everything is just so precise. Not at all like the mindless creatures that I thought they were. It seemed almost easy to defeat that big one."

    I blinked at him a few times, wondering where his mind was at to think that any part of that was easy. I mean, it was fun, don''t get me wrong, but it was not easy. I looked at him like he had gone crazy before shaking my head and walking to Cerberus.

    "I was promised a yacht!" I reminded the men. "Let''s go get it."

    "Are you going to tell us what is going on in that delicious head of yours?" asked Liu Yu Zeng as he jogged to catch up to me.

    "Ask Wang Chao," I replied with a smirk as I climbed into the cab and closed the door behind me. "You know, whether or not you want to escape this madhouse, it is toote for you now. I hope you know that," I said with a smile, leaning through the window and giving the man a brief kiss.

    "I would chase you to the end of the world and back again," he reassured me.

    "Even after I destroy humanity?" I asked, cocking my head to the side.

    "Awe, why are you leaving all the fun parts for yourself? We are the ones that are supposed to bring Hell on Earth. You need to let us do our jobs, too, you know," said Liu Yu Zeng with his signature smirk. Giving me a wink and a kiss, he turned around and got on Lin. "Last one to City H has to sleep by himself!" he shouted right before taking off.

    The other men sprinted to their bikes and took off after him. I burst outughing as Cerberus took off like a bat out of Hell. "They are good men this time," said Violence, still seated in the passenger seat. Her tone was thoughtful as she watched the bikes weave in and out of the stalled cars, debris, and each other. "Still nothing more than big kids, but they are good men."

    I turned to look at her with a smile. "I don''t remember any other versions of them, but yeah, they are good men," I said, chuckling as Liu Yu Zeng popped a wheelie, bringing the front tire up and driving only on the back one. It was almost like watching a bunch of kids ying around with their friends.

    "You all need this," said Violence, and I realized that she was studying me as I was watching the guys.

    "What do you mean?" I wondered out loud as the bike, which I could only assume belonged to Bin An Sha, started to flick between the other guys, joining in on the fun.

    "I always remember them as being too serious. They were so caught up in their roles as the Four Horsemen that they didn''t know anything else. Even Bin An Sha was so busy trying to figure out where he fit into the dynamics he forced himself into that there was no time for just¡­ being. There was noughter, no fun. Nothing."

    "I think I like them better this way," I said. I mean, the seriousness had its time and ce, and my men have all proved that they can take care of their business. But at the same time, they needed a way to blow off energy and just¡­ be.

    Violence let out a humming sound and nodded her head. "I agree. I think we might stand a chance this time."

    "Even if we don''t stand a chance, at least we got to live, love, and take over the world. I mean, that has to count for something, right?" I replied, turning to look at her.

    "Look at you, taking over the world. I hate to break it to you, but Country K is not the world, no matter what you might think."

    "It might as well be," I answered with a shrug as I took out a cup of coffee for the both of us. "I mean, who''s to say that the rest of the world even exists?"

    "Oh, it exists, but you are right. Start small, then work your way up," said Violence as she spun her mug around to read what was written on it. "I want to be a nice person, but everyone is just so stupid." She once again hummed as she took a sip of the coffee. "I think I am going to have to keep this one."

    "By all means, I am partial to this one more," Iughed as I showed her my mug. ''I''m sorry I pped you, but it seemed like you''d never stop talking, and I panicked.'' Yeah, that one fits me to a ''T'' right now.

 Chapter 408 City H

    ?

    I wasn''t sure when it happened, but I managed to lose sight of my men. Giving up on trying to catch up, I asked Cerberus to take the scenic route, knowing that I would catch up to them at some point in time.

    My first impression of City H was that it was densely popted. And that wasn''t the greatest thing at this particr stage. Feeling my stress levels rise with each high-rise building we passed, I was not sure how this counted as the scenic route.

    "I can take you to the hill," replied Cerberus after a moment of silence. "There are some beautiful ces where you can go hiking."

    "Yeah, let''s go with that route," I said as I saw curtains moving in some of the upper windows of the buildings on both sides of us. It was that creepy feeling of being spied upon but not knowing if they were the good guys or the bad guys.

    Then again, I think that it was safe to say that right now, everyone was going in the bad guy category until proven otherwise.

    It took a while, but we eventually managed to get through all of the skyscrapers, and all of a sudden, the world just seemed to open up. There were beautiful mountains rising up in front of us with amazing ocean views just off to my right.

    I looked at the sparkling blue water, its peaceful surface seeming to draw me in and invite me to experience its tepid waters. Then I realized that I almost died in the ocean just yesterday, so it might be smartest to stay as far away from the lure of the ocean as I could.

    I was not in the mood for another swim.

    "But you are in the mood for a yacht?" asked Violence, my constantpanion for this particr road trip.

    So far, she has managed to eat my mint chocte ice cream, a tray of brownies, and numerous cookies, and was now making her way through my carrot cake collection.

    "Isn''t a yacht that one thing that screams wealth? Like ''you haven''t made it until you have at least one or two yachts''?" I said with a shrug. I very much had a love/hate rtionship with the water and the ocean specifically. I loved the idea of being away from everyone, lost in the vastness of the ocean, letting the sound of gentle waves hitting the hull of the ship lull me to sleep every night.

    But I was also scared shitless about the idea of being away from everyone, lost in the vastness of the ocean, and having nightmares about what is under the surface.

    Like I said, it was a love/hate rtionship. And after just being in it¡­ I was inching towards hatred.

    But maybe a beautiful yacht might change my mind. After all, people pay millions of dors for those things, so there had to be a reason for that, right?

    My mind was immersed in the idea of having a boat and leaving humanity to their own devices when Cerberus slowed down to a stop. "We''re here," he said, and I looked out of the front window to see the entrance of a hiking trail. Trees lined both sides of the wooden boardwalk, and I could see the light sparkling between the branches.

    "It''s perfect," I said with a smile. Turning to look at Violence, I smirked at her. "Are youing?"

    "Hiking? In this dress? No way, no how. I''ll just disappear for a while. Call me if you need me," she replied, and with a wave of her hand, she disappeared from the cab of my truck.

    "I assume that you are also going to disappear?" I asked Cerberus, closing the door behind me.

    "I am," he chuckled, and in less time than it took to blink, he was gone too, leaving me alone in the middle of the forest.

    I stepped on the boardwalk and started down the path, enjoying the peace and quiet of nature.

    I think I would love a small house in the mountains, surrounded by trees. But I would want it further north so I could enjoy the changing colors of fall. It was always my favorite part of living in Canada, the changing from summer to fall. The crisp air, the golds and reds of the leaves, and pumpkin spiced everything.

    I wondered if I would be going against some standing order of the universe if I made myself some pumpkin scones in the spring, but at the same time, I didn''t really care. I was too busy prepping for the end of the worldst September and October that I wasn''t able to enjoy any of that stuff, so I would make all my fall treats right now.

    I came to an outcrop where I could see the city that I just drove through, the buildings standing taller than any mountain. Just for shits and giggles, I changed my vision, wanting to see how many people were still human or had been turned into zombies and were trapped in their homes as a result.

    As far as I could see, there was nothing but the blue and purple mes of zombies. Turning to look at thergest concentration of zombies, I found maybe 50 pink mes in the very center of all the other mes. Normally, it would not have bothered me to see a bunch of humans surrounded by zombies, but in the middle of the pink mes stood one ck me, one red me, one white and one silver me, and a new green me that I could only assume was Bin An Sha.

    Yes. I turned my attention away from my boys for a moment, and they were in the middle of a zombie-filled city with only 50 humans acting as a barrier between them and a fucking tide. But for some reason, it felt like d¨¦j¨¤ vu. However, I know for a fact that I have never left the guys alone long enough for something like this to have happened before, so where did that feelinge from?

    I tried to count the zombies but lost count after the first 200. "City H has always been packed, that and the fact that it is a known tourist destination for people around the world, and you are going to have a high poption of zombies with little to no humans left," said Violence, popping out beside me.

    "Thank you, Captain Obvious," I said with a roll of my eyes.

    "So, what are you going to do?"

 Chapter 409 Watch Your Men Play

    ?

    "Are you sure this is a good idea?" asked Chen Zi Han as the five of them sped down the empty streets of their home.

    "Come on, what is the worst that can happen?" returned Liu Yu Zeng with a smirk. "Or are you just mad that you might be thest one to the house and will need to sleep by yourself tonight?"

    "All I mean is that Li Dai Lu is nowhere to be seen. What happens if we lost her?" continued Chen Zi Han. He had a bad feeling in his gut but no idea of the source. The best thing he coulde up with was that his princess had been out of his eyesight since they had first met back in November.

    "I am with Chen Zi Han," said Wang Chao as he slowed down to join the pack. "There is something not right here."

    "Like you are one to talk," scoffed Liu Yu Zeng. "How many times have you led us into disaster because the military had asked you for help?"

    "Enough times not to let you do something stupid instead," replied Wang Chao, the usation of the other man rolling off his back. It wasn''t like he was wrong. He had some making up to do, but he would need to stay alive for that to happen.

    "Hold on!" screamed Liu Wei as Reaper came to a dead stop. The other four bikes quickly followed suit, lining up in front of what looked like a spiked belt lying across the road. It was almostpletely camouged amongst all of the broken-down cars and garbage, to the point where none of them had seen iting.

    "Hand over your bikes and supplies if you want to live," growled a male voice, and all of a sudden, a bunch of men poured out from all sides of the street, effectively blocking the five men in.

    "I am thinking that this was the bad feeling I was getting," grumbled Chen Zi Han as he straightened up on his bike and stretched out his back.

    "Probably," answered Wang Chao, turning to Liu Yu Zeng with a smirk of his own, he continued. "But it has been a while since we managed to have some fun."

    "Very true," said Liu Wei with a smile of his own. He took off his helmet and looked at the men in front of them. "I''m sorry, you were saying?"

    "Give us the bikes and your supplies, or die," repeated the leader. He looked between the five men, studying them all.

    "How about we keep our supplies, and you die?" suggested Liu Yu Zeng as he, too, took off his helmet.

    "Sir?" said the bandit leader confused. He lowered his gun.

    "I''m sorry, am I supposed to know who you are?" sneered Liu Yu Zeng, not recognizing the man in front of him. There was no way he was a member of the Red Dragon syndicate, but then again, this was City H; everyone knew who he was, even if they didn''t know him.

    "No, of course not. I am a member of the ck Mountain syndicate," said the man, making a gesture. Two men rushed out and dragged the spiked belt out of the way. "I am sorry about that. There are very few humans here; we need to get our supplies however we can before the zombiese."

    "I can only assume that there are a lot of zombies in the city?" asked Liu Wei as he adjusted his sses.

    "Yes," replied the other man, "In fact, I think our group is the only group of humans left here."

    "How many of you are there?" asked Chen Zi Han, looking around, taking in the gaunt, haggard appearance of the men. It was clear that they had not eaten in quite a while.

    "There are about 100 of us left. The woman, children, sick, and elderly are back at the ck Mountain mansion while we went out for supplies. We heard youing and decided to see if you had any," exined the man, and the rest of the people around them slowly lowered their guns.

    "And you have no food?" surmised Bin An Sha as he, too, took in the appearance of the other humans. This was the first time he had ever seen a situation like this. He quickly realized that his experiences in City A were nothingpared to the rest of the country.

    "Some people tried to go out fishing, but when no one came back, we assumed that something had happened to them on the water and didn''t dare try to fish after that," said one of the men behind Wang Chao and the guys.

    "I see," said Liu Wei. He had a pretty good idea of what happened to the fishermen, but he wasn''t going to confirm anything one way or another.

    ''Can any of you guys hear me?'' came a tentative voice inside of Liu Wei''s mind. Looking around, he could see Wang Chao, Liu Yu Zeng, and Chen Zi Han straighten up and look around.

    ''We can hear you, Sweetheart,'' confirmed Liu Wei, looking around.

    ''I don''t know what you have gotten yourself into, but you do know you arepletely surrounded by zombies, right?'' continued Li Dai Lu, and the four men that were linked to her stiffened up even more.

    ''No, we didn''t," said Wang Chao. ''Thank you for the heads up, little one,''

    ''Do you want me to see if I can control them? I am just a little far away right now.''

    ''You just stay safe,'' assured Chen Zi Han. ''We can handle these ones.''

    ''Are you sure? There are almost a thousand of them, if not more,'' she hedged. ''How about we do a 50/50? You guys kill as many as you can, and then I can keep the rest to send to the maind?''

    ''Sure, that will do,'' replied Wang Chao with a smile. ''You stay there and watch your men y.''

    There was a brief silence before Li Dai Lu came back onto the link. ''If you are up for it¡­ Maybe we can y moreter.''

    As soon as she finished speaking, the link was cut off, causing all four men to chuckle.

    "Care to let the rest of the ss know what is going on?" asked Bin An Sha with a huff of frustration.

    "Oh, nothing much. Just surrounded by a bunch of zombies," replied Liu Yu Zeng,pletely unconcerned.

    However, his feelings were not shared by everyone.

 Chapter 410 A Lifetime Of Work, Useless

    ?

    "Quickly! Everybody hide!" yelled the leader of the bandits, and the 50-some-odd men that had surrounded Liu Wei and the rest of the men disappeared without a trace.

    "Sir! You guys follow me. You will have to leave your bikes here, but you cane back for themter," he continued, turning to Liu Yu Zeng.

    "What are you doing?" asked Bin An Sha,pletely confused. This was like nothing he had seen when Li Dai Lu confronted the zombies, and that was a single girl. Surely 50 men should be able to take on a whole host of zombies. Right?

    "Hiding!" repeated the bandit leader. "Hurry up, we don''t have that much time!"

    "We''re good here," said Wang Chao, taking off his helmet and stretching out his neck. It felt like it had been a while since he was in actualbat with the zombies. He needed to work hard and be more powerful so that he could protect Li Dai Lu. Now was as good of a time as any to start.

    "I told her she could have 500 zombies for her own uses. Keep that in mind," reminded Wang Chao as the bandit leader looked at the five men before shaking his head.

    "You are all insane," he sneered before disappearing into the wreckage of City H.

    "I am not sure if I should stay with you guys or have gone with him," grumbled Bin An Sha as he pulled two long des out of his sleeves.

    "Toote now," said Liu Yu Zeng with a shrug. He called his ck mist out and let it swallow both his arms. "If you are fighting, try to take their heads off and then call one of us. See if you have any powers that might work against them. However, they regenerate faster than you can blink and can regrow body parts. Stay in the center if you can. We will make sure that you live through this," he continued, turning his back to the man.

    "Wee to the zombie apocalypse. Now you can see how the other half lives that don''t have a woman that can control them with a flick of her fingers," smirked Wang Chao, spreading out his consciousness. "And Li Dai Lu was a bit off. We are looking at 2,000 zombies."

    "Even better, I know she wants a bunch of them for her n. That gives us a thousand to exercise with and a thousand for her," grunted Chen Zi Han in approval.

    "He was right; you are all insane," eximed Bin An Sha as he looked at the other four men.

    "Not insane so much as getting used to it," shrugged Liu Wei. He was having a difficult time learning how to use his ''gift'', and this was a perfect opportunity to try and improve. He understood that he just had to snuff out the mes, but he wasn''t able to see them as easily as the other men could.

    ''Shuck the human trappings and ept who you are,'' suggested Reaper inside of his mind. Tuning out the conversation between the other men, Liu Wei turned his attention to his motorcycle.

    ''Somehow, that doesn''t seem to be as easy to do as you are suggesting,'' he replied. He had never known anything else but being human, so how the Hell was he going to be able to ''shuck the human trappings''? It didn''t make any sense.

    ''Still so trapped inside your head,'' tisked Reaper, his disdain for the humaning through loud and clear along their link. ''How do you think War managed to do it?''

    ''I have no idea,'' snapped Liu Wei. He was not a dumb person, but he honestly had no idea how Wang Chao managed to level up so quickly.

    ''He was willing to push everything aside to get to the Queen faster, even his own humanity,'' exined Reaper, only managing to make everything muddier.

    There was a moment of silence as the world seemed to have stopped spinning. Li Dai Lu had said that they were surrounded by zombies, and Wang Chao had said that there were around 2,000, but it seemed that the five of them were all alone on the deserted street.

    ''Do you know who you are?'' asked Reaper cautiously, not wanting to set his human off but also wanting to give him a swift kick in the ass.

    ''I know who I am,'' replied Liu Wei, not at all interested in continuing this conversation.

    ''Then who are you?'' pushed Reaper.

    ''I am Liu Yu Xuan, head of the Liu family and the head of the Red Dragon syndicate. I am the prince of City H and one of the most influential men in both City H and City A. I am the personal assistant of Wang Chao, a major in Country K''s Ground Force and a captain in Country K''s Navy. I am one of the most decorated members of Country K''s military force and the one they call on for quiet terminations. I am Wang Chao''s knife when he needs it and his diplomat when he doesn''t. I am one of Li Dai Lu''s men,'' said Liu Wei, telling Reaper exactly who he was.

    ''And none of that matters. Well, except for being one of the Queen''s men, but other than that, none of the other names and titles matter. Maybe that is why you can''t simply shuck your humanity; you are too wrapped up in all the titles,'' mused Reaper.

    ''Excuse me?'' demanded Liu Wei as his eyes continued to scan the area in front of him. Still no sign of the zombies, but the hair on the back of his neck was standing upright, letting him know he was being watched.

    ''I asked if you knew who you were, and you gave me a long list of crap. But that is not who you are,'' came the response, and Liu Wei couldn''t help but want to argue with his bike''s conclusion. He had worked hard all of his life to earn those designations, and he was damn proud of them all.

    Well, maybe not the title of Prince of City H, but the others he had put in a lot of blood, sweat, and tears to be able to proudly proim. And yet, Reaper was saying that they were all useless?! How could his entire life be useless?

 Chapter 411 You Are Death

    ?

    ''I didn''t say that your entire life was useless,'' huffed Reaper, and Liu Wei knew that the bike was rolling his eyes at him. ''Just that your priorities are¡­ fucked up,'' continued the bike.

    ''Then please, enlighten me. Who am I?'' sneered Liu Wei, not actually expecting an answer. He spotted a slight movement to his left, and he signaled wordlessly to the other men that the zombies were approaching.

    ''You are Death,'' stated Reaper. ''You are Death, nothing more, nothing less. And that is everything.''

    ''I am Death?'' repeated Liu Wei in confusion. But he would admit that as soon as he said those words, he felt something inside of him shift.

    ''Simple, isn''t it?'' answered Reaper happily. ''No need to think about titles, or ranks, or positions, or any of that. You are Death. And at the end of the day, death is the simplest thing in the world.''

    ''Death is simple?'' wondered Liu Wei, as he started to get worried about what type of gas his bike was using and if it wasced with anything.

    ''What is simpler than dying?'' snorted Reaper, amused by his own joke. ''But seriously. The world, as you see it, is only a small veiled dimension over top of a much bigger reality. Push the veil to the side, and everything should be clearer.''

    ''I am starting to hate you,'' growled Liu Wei as the first zombie put on a rush of speed, trying to take out Liu Yu Zeng, only to be swallowed by a ck mist. It was not fair that his brother had a much easier and simpler gift than he did.

    ''You think disease is simple or easy? Your brother is just fucked in the head and doesn''t know how to use his gift properly. You could probably learn something from him,'' snorted Reaper as the ck mist returned to Liu Yu Zeng as the men waited for the next attack.

    -------

    "Scout," said Wang Chao to Bin An Sha as a way of exining what was going on.

    "What?" asked the confused man as he twirled his knives around in his hands.

    "They always send a few scouts out to see what the situation is like. Then, based on their information, they decide what course to take next. I am sure that the second scout is reporting back to the horde Alpha now," continued Liu Yu Zeng

    "You make them sound like military scouts going ahead of the troops," said Bin An Sha. There was no way that the zombies could be that organized, right?

    "Pretty much," grunted Chen Zi Han as he cracked his neck from side to side. "Does anyone want to put in an order for dinner tonight?"

    "I don''t know. City H is so frigging hot, even though it is only the spring," grumbled Liu Yu Zeng, knowing that it was only going to get hotter. He hated the heat, even though he should have gotten used to it after living here all of his life.

    "Well, steaks are always a favorite," said Wang Chao. "Maybe do that potato sd she likes with steak and a sd?"

    "Yeah, that should work. There should even be a working barbeque at the house that I can make the steaks on," mused Chen Zi Han, his brain already putting together a menu for dinner. "What about dessert?"

    "Better leave that up to her," interjected Liu Yu Zeng. The other three men grunted in agreement while Bin An Sha looked between them, wondering what was going on in their brains.

    "Are you serious?" he demanded as a second zombie rushed up to them out of the corner of his eye. However, before he could so much as blink, the zombie seemed to shrivel up on itself, looking more like a mummy than a zombie. It fell to the ground and disappeared into a cloud of dirt.

    "I am always serious about making sure Princess is fed," growled Chen Zi Han, looking at the man. "Now, if you are going to offer constructive criticism about what she should be eating, then by all means, let me know. If not, shut up. You are useless right now anyway," he continued with a snort.

    Chen Zi Han''s words sent a sharp stab into his chest, hitting a little bit closer to home than it should have. Maybe he should have killed Wang Chao along the way and just have taken his ce. That would have made life so much easier.

    Then again, that option was still on the table. All he needed to do was get any of the other men alone and simply take their ce.

    -----

    Once again, ignoring all other conversations, Liu Wei concentrated on Reaper''s words. ording to the bike, the world that he knew was nothing more than a smaller aspect of a much bigger world. If he thought of his gift as being used to take the souls from one realm to another, then that would make sense; after all, that was the widely epted concept of Death and the Grim Reaper.

    But he didn''t want to live in a realm where his Sweetheart was not.

    ''You are an idiot,'' groaned Reaper. ''No one has said that you have to live in another realm. You just have to push aside the veil that is separating them.''

    Still thinking that his bike was as useful as tits on a bull, he tried to picture a veil in front of him and then him pushing it aside.

    Nothing happened.

    ''I don''t know if it helps or not,'' came a soft, soothing voice through his link. ''But instead of forcing the issue, I let my eyes go out of focus. As a kid, I loved looking at the pictures where it looked like one thing, but when you unfocused your eyes, it became a 3D shape of somethingpletely different.''

    ''Like a stereogram puzzle?'' asked Liu Wei, confused. He really couldn''t think of thest time he had looked at a picture like that.

    ''Sure, if that is what they are called. Then, after my eyes go blurry and all I can see is darkness, I keep blinking until the mes be clear. Like I said, I don''t know if it will help.''

    ''At this point, it is much better than ''shuck the human trappings'',''ughed Liu Wei.

 Chapter 412 Getting My Hands Bloody

    ?

    Liu Wei could feel Li Dai Lu chuckling along their link until she cut it off, allowing him to concentrate on the situation in front of him.

    Taking her advice, knowing that she saw the mes before any of them did, he took off his sses and put them in the inside pocket of his leather jacket. As soon as he took off the sses, the world went blurry for a few seconds.

    Normally, this would cause something inside of Liu Wei''s stomach to churn, making him quickly pull out his sses again. But this time, he fought the need. After a few seconds, everything turned a varying shade of grey, and countless mes appeared.

    Was that all he had to do to be able to see the mes? Take off his sses?

    He blinked a few times, causing the mes to be more and more clear until he felt like he was looking at them with his normal vision.

    ''Shuck the human trappings,'' grunted Reaper in approval before going blessedly silent.

    Liu Wei turned around, taking in all the different colors of mes beforeing to a stop, facing the same direction that he was before. ''Liu Yu Zeng is white, Wang Chao is red, Chen Zi Han is ck, and Bin An Sha, I am assuming, is green. Humans are pink, while zombies are either blue or purple,'' came the sweetest voice he had ever heard inside his head.

    ''What color am I?'' asked Liu Wei, much more rxed now that he had figured out the biggest hurdle to using his power.

    ''Silver,'' came the chuckle. ''And as a reward for all your hard work, you can kill as many of them. I would say try to consume some of the mes to see how they make you feel, but I don''t want something to happen to you if that backfires.''

    ''I''ll be good. I know that consuming them gives me more energy,'' answered Liu Wei. ''Now, go have fun, and don''t worry about us.''

    ''How can I not worry about you? You might as well ask me to stop breathing,'' she replied before the link was severed.

    Feeling much more confident, Liu Wei stood up straight and looked out at the blue and purple mes in front of him. He would only take the me if it came close to them; otherwise, he would leave it to join Li Dai Lu''s troops and whatever she had nned for the future.

    -----

    Bin An Sha stared at the four men who were protecting him inside a circle, not used to, or enjoying the feeling of being protected.

    ''Still so useless,'' sneered the voice inside of his head. ''You haven''t even apologized to the Queen yet.''

    ''Unless you are all of a sudden going to tell me how to develop another power, then please, shut the fuck up,'' sneered Bin An Sha, studying the buildings surrounding them. The men who originally held them at gunpoint had disappeared too quickly for them not to have gone into some of the buildings.

    Not trusting them not to attack them when they were otherwise upied, he maintained his vignce.

    ''That''s right, always jumping at shadows instead of facing the actual problem in front of you.''

    ''And just what is in front of me?'' demanded Bin An Sha, not at all amused about the voice. Apparently, Wang Chao was able to kill it; he would have to try and figure out how to do that too. Even to get a few hours of peace and quiet.

    ''You are surrounded by the very men the Queen loved more than you, and yet, you are still keeping them alive. Just kill them,'' whispered the voice, and Bin An Sha was forced to close his eyes as the seductive words sunk into the very depths of his heart.

    Not once in his life had he ever questioned his existence. He fought and wed to be the best at whatever he was trying for. He was the best assassin, the best doctor, the best surgeon, and not once did he question if he was useful or not.

    At least not until Wang Chao walked back into his life.

    Should he turn around and go back to City A, pretending like this was nothing more than a bad dream? But if he did that, would he ever be able to look himself in the mirror, knowing that when things got hard, he turned around and ran?

    A strong hand mped down on his shoulder, and he turned around to look at the giant Chen Zi Han.

    "Whatever thoughts are going through your head right now, push them down. The voices don''t actually have our best interest at heart, no matter what they say," said the giant, and the other three men simply grunted their agreement.

    "You don''t have to be good at killing zombies like we are. You have a gift that none of us canpare to; you can heal our woman with a simple touch," continued Chen Zi Han. Of course, he didn''t mention that as long as the four of them were together, she could heal on her own. Bin An Sha''s gift came at the perfect time, and he would not discount the other man''s usefulness when it came to looking after his Princess.

    Besides, at the end of the day, everything depended on Li Dai Lu and how she felt about the neer.

    "I am a bit more used to getting my hands bloody," replied the other man, doing his best not to sneer at Chen Zi Han. It was easy to talk when you knew where you stood.

    "If that is the case, then go cut their heads off. I will follow behind and make sure that their mes are extinguished so they can nevere back again," shrugged Chen Zi Han, not concerned at all. Even if Bin An Sha didn''t understand where he wasing from, he did. He knew what it was like to be unsure of your position in the group, but Li Dai Lu helped him understand just how important he was. He was just trying to pass that on.

    "mes?" asked Bin An Sha, cocking his head to the side as he saw a line of zombiesing toward him, their bodies swaying back and forth like waves in the ocean.

 Chapter 413 The Best Medicine

    ?

    "We call them mes because that is what they look like, but they are really the zombie''s soul," said Liu Wei from where he stood back to back to Bin An Sha.

    "Crush the me, and you crush the zombie," shrugged Liu Yu Zeng as if it wasn''t a big deal.

    "And you guys can see this supposed me?" asked Bin An Sha skeptically.

    "Who wants to go first?" asked Wang Chao as the front line of the zombies continued to approach them.

    "How about we all take out 25, then meet up to discuss our next step," suggested Chen Zi Han, turning to look at Bin An Sha. "That should give you enough time to be able to kill one. Is that okay with you?"

    "I think I am starting to hate you guys," answered Bin An Sha through gritted teeth.

    "Only starting? Awe, you do love us," smirked Liu Yu Zeng, looking over his shoulder at the other man before turning his attention back to the zombies trying to attack him. Instead of the typical mists that came out of his hands, his power rose from his feet, spreading across the ground, killing everything in its wake.

    He didn''t so much call his powers as direct them toward the 25 zombies that he had earmarked for himself. Watching them rot away the zombies until there was not more than a pile of brittle bones that were swept away by the gentle breeze, Liu Yu Zeng could see why so many people were terrified of this type of power.

    ''Please,'' scoffed the voice inside his head. ''You are loving having the power of life or death over something that many people cannot kill.''

    ''What can I say?'' smirked Liu Yu Zeng as he called back his power. ''I am a God amongst men.''

    ''Ha! You? A God? In your dreams,''ughed the voice. ''But I think I am going to like you.''

    ''Whether you do or not, your time living rent free inside of me is long gone,'' shot Liu Yu Zeng, bing more serious. ''I cannot let a second soul stay inside my body. I saw what War did to Wang Chao, and I am not nice enough to put up with that shit.''

    ''Awe, you want to kill me? Please don''t. I''ll be your friend,'' joked Pestilence, not at all concerned. He had fucked up way too many times to deserve a second chance with the Queen. The best that he could hope for was that this version of himself was smarter than he was. ''Do you know where I fucked up?''

    ''You fucked up in a lot of different ways,''ughed Liu Yu Zeng sarcastically. ''Do you want them chronologically or alphabetically?''

    ''Give me just one,'' replied Pestilence, not willing to give up on hammering the point home.

    ''You put War before your Queen. You left her, expecting to just wait for you toe back, no matter how long that took. You didn''t take her wants and needs into consideration, and worst of all, you did it for the heady pleasure of watching people fall to your powers,'' said Liu Yu Zeng as he constantly scanned the horizon for more threats.

    ''Did you know that she was married?'' asked Pestilence, trying to find some way to excuse his actions. ''She even kidnapped him. She had us but was so in love with someone else that she had to kidnap him.''

    ''Ha! What a load of shit,''ughed Liu Yu Zeng. ''Have you seen that woman? She doesn''t have to kidnap anyone. We pretty much follow her around like puppy dogs, hoping that she would take mercy on us and bring us into the fold. There is no kidnapping. And if you believed that, you really didn''t deserve her.''

    ''We were hers before he was!'' shouted Pestilence, not willing to drop the matter. Knowing that she had someone that she loved so much that she was willing to kidnap him while he and his brothers did everything for her smile? It was enough to send a dagger into his heart whenever he thought about it.

    ''And if that were the case, then we would be hers long after,'' said Liu Yu Zeng, unimpressed over this whole conversation. Pestilence might not hate Li Dai Lu as much as War did, but this attitude will not be tolerated in his body. ''You don''t understand; those who are loved by Li Dai Lu is a very small and exclusive club. She loved you four so much that it literally shattered her into a million pieces that she is still trying to pick up.''

    ''Hardly,'' sneered Pestilence. His Queen was not the only one to shatter, not after he came into their lives. ''But what do you know? You don''t even know who she is.''

    ''I know that she is Li Dai Lu, my Sweetness, my Queen. Whoever else she is doesn''t matter,'' shrugged Liu Yu Zeng. Whoever she was would never prevent her from being who she was at this moment.

    ''You say that. Just wait. Then we will see if you are so high and mighty,'' sneered Pestilence.

    ''You forget one very important thing,'' answered Liu Yu Zeng, quietly calling his mists inside of himself to hunt down and kill the other soul living inside of him.

    ''And what is that?'' demanded Pestilence, utterly unaware of the darkness approaching.

    ''She licked me; that makes me hers,'' smiled Liu Yu Zeng as the shadowy outline of the other soul waspletely engulfed in his mists.

    ''You think to kill me with my own power? How stupid can you be?''ughed Pestilence right before he burst out coughing. ''What?!''

    ''I am more than just you,'' replied Liu Yu Zeng, bringing his attention away from his internal conflict and back to the real world. ''I am also poison. And all the best medicine for diseases contains a small amount of poison.''

    ''No!'' screamed Pestilence before he was abruptly cut off.

    It was blessedly silent momentarily, and Liu Yu Zeng watched Bin An Sha valiantly fight the zombie before him.

    ''I thought he was never going to shut up,'' said Lin, causing Liu Yu Zeng to smirk.

    ''You and me both,'' Liu Yu Zeng agreed. ''The asshole was full of himself, ming Li Dai Lu for his own choices.''

    ''Just don''t make the same mistake, or I will take you out in a field somewhere and run you over again and again until you die,'' threatened Lin before the link was abruptly cut off.

    Liu Yu Zeng could only chuckle and shake his head. He seemed to be growing on the bike.

 Chapter 414 Snake In The Grass

    ?

    Bin An Sha looked at the four men who seemed to be standing around himzily, waiting for the zombies toe. He understood psychologically that once you became used to doing something, it no longer seemed like the dauntless task it was when you first started, but this was being a bit ridiculous.

    "You are just going to wait?" asked Bin An Sha softly as he approached Wang Chao. He had a sudden urge to slide his knife through the other man''s ribs a few times but forced himself to remain still. At the end of the day, he couldn''t be that obvious.

    "Meh, they''lle to us, or they''ll run away. But one of the first lessons that Li Dai Lu taught us was not to go looking for a fight," shrugged Wang Chao as if it didn''t really matter. However, he could feel the bloodlusting off the man. Who it was directed to, though, was anyone''s guess.

    "Why not?" asked Bin An Sha, his head cocked to the side, curious.

    "Because unless you arepletely confident that you are going to win, it is a great way to die. It''s okay; you just go fight however you want. We''ll stay here and make sure your heart is still beating at the end of the day," said Liu Wei, cing his hand on the other man''s shoulder.

    Bin An Sha looked around, trying to figure out what the catch was. Not finding an obvious one, he nodded his head. Turning around to look at the zombies, he tried to find a good target.

    They all looked the same, all of them were emaciated, they all moved in the same manner, and their heads were the same size. In fact, there was no way to even identify who they were before they transformed except for the scraps of clothes handing off their bodies.

    Realizing that he was not going to be able to pick off targets one by one, he rushed into the front line, depending on his speed and uracy to make the kills.

    To say things didn''t go as nned was a gross understatement.

    He rushed up to the seemingly male zombie in front of him as fast as he could, bringing the knife in his right hand up to make the first sh across the target''s neck. However, the target moved at thest possible second, allowing Bin An Sha''s knife to sail by the neck harmlessly while exposing his right ribs.

    The zombie''s hit impacted his ribs with a brutal force, causing the air to rush from his lungs as at least one rib snapped from the pressure.

    Stumbling backward, he quickly re-sheathed his left knife and clutched his right side. The zombie approached with measured steps, the creepy smile on its face reminding Bin An Sha of a fun house he once saw filled with clowns.

    Almost as if time slowed down, Bin An Sha watched as the zombie reached out to grab his neck, his ck ws extended toward his fragile skin. The sun seemed to glitter off the surface like light glittered off the surface of a diamond or quarts.

    He struggled to take in a breath, knowing that with his broken rib, he was a sitting duck, not able to move nearly as agilely as he could before. ''Heal yourself, you fucktard,'' growled the voice inside of his head, startling him out of his own morbid thoughts.

    Calling on the green me, he forced it into his side and took in arge gulp of air just in time to duck under the w ande up with a knife strike of his own. His knife sunk in between the fifth and sixth ribs, piercing the creature''s lungs as he aimed it upward toward the heart.

    Rxing for a second, thinking that he had a kill shot, he was unprepared for the scream of the zombie and the backhand that sent him flying into the air, his knife still in his hand.

    "How is it working out for you?" asked Liu Yu Zeng as he came to crouch down beside the wounded man. "I saw that you could heal yourself. That is going to be a great benefit against creatures that can also heal themselves. It will be like a fight that never ends. Oh, wait, you will get tired much faster than the zombie, so I guess the fight will still end somewhat quickly."

    Bin An Sha looked up at the man who was smiling down at him, a sneer on his face. "Li Dai Lu made this look easy," he said, justifying his behavior.

    "Yeah, she is pretty phenomenal like that," answered Liu Yu Zeng as he nodded his head in agreement. "However, this is her second time in a zombie apocalypse, so it stands to reason why she is so good. All of us mere mortals can only hope to live up to her standards."

    The zombie rushed to approach the two men. The one on the ground had the most delicious smelling from him, while the other one simply looked over his shoulder, bored. It wasn''t until thest possible second that the zombie noticed the ck smokeing from the second man. By then, it was toote.

    "If I can offer you a suggestion?" smiled Liu Yu Zeng as he stood up. There was a light gust of wind, and once again, it took away the ashes left by the zombie. "They can smell your fear. Makes you tastier. Try to suppress it if you want to live longer. However, if you are trying to die, there are a lot easier ways to go about doing that. Like standing between me and my woman."

    With those parting words, Liu Yu Zeng left Bin An Sha to his own devices. Whether he lived or died depended on how smart he was and how long Li Dai Lu wanted to keep him around. Personally, Liu Yu Zeng had lived in the underworld long enough to know not to keep a snake at your back. You never knew when you would wake up dead.

 Chapter 415 That Was Easy

    ?

    I stood on top of the hills surrounded by trees and watched as the number of blue and purple mes started to decrease rapidly.

    "Aren''t you going to go help your men?" asked Violence as she held out the bowl of buttered popcorn to me. I had yet to see her stop snacking since she came to this realm to ''hang out''¡ªher words, not mine.

    "I am helping my men," I replied with a slight smile on my face. I was helping my men in two ways. The first was by letting them stretch their muscles and world out how to kill the zombies, and the second one was that I had frozen 1,500 zombies so they could take their time.

    "Are they fighting you?" questioned Violence, cocking her head to the side and looking at me. "Because you can just kill them all if they are fighting you."

    "I literally have them frozen," I scoffed. I wanted to still be able to use the majority of the zombies for the next stage in my zombie apocalypse, but I also wouldn''t hesitate to reap all of their souls if it meant keeping my men safe. I was trying to figure out a way to keep them from the conflict and freeze them in ce.

    I went with the most straight forward approach, and, lo and behold, it turned out that encasing their mes in ice made it so that their physical bodies weren''t able to do anything.

    Who would have thunk it?

    "That''s it, that''s how you are going to help your men?" demanded Violence as another group of 25 mes blinked out of existence.

    "Weren''t you one of the ones that bitched I was taking it too easy on them? Now you are saying that I am being too mean? Could you please make up your mind? You are giving me whish," I grumbled, never taking my eyes away from the fight. All it would take was for me to blink a second too long for shit to hit the fan.

    However, I was definitely feeling encouraged by how many zombies the boys could take out at one time. It definitely showed how strong they were getting.

    "I have a random question for you," I said, briefly turning to look at Violence before turning back to my men.

    "Shoot," she replied with a shrug as she tossed a few pieces of popcorn into her mouth.

    "How are the guys supposed to bring about the end of the world?" I asked, curious. I mean, I understood in a very general sense that War created war, which left countless people dead. And then disease and famine came and took out another significant number of people, but that still didn''t really exin why everyone thought they would bring Hell on Earth. It sounded like any other Friday night in the Middle Ages.

    Violence paused for a moment and looked at me seriously. "You know, I have absolutely no idea," she answered slowly, cocking her head to the side as she thought about my question. "Humans have been going to war against other humans since the dawn of time. It was one of the main reasons why cities were created in the first ce because there was strength in numbers."

    "Right!?" I said, throwing up my hands. Turning my attention back to the fight, I was pleased to see that my men were still winning and didn''t need my help at the moment. "So then, what are they actually supposed to do?"

    "Let me go look that up and get back to you," said Violence, quickly blinking back to her own realm. I looked at the empty ce where Violence once stood, rolling my eyes. It didn''t matter what the research said. It didn''t matter what was prophesied or what humans thought would or should happen.

    What mattered was what me and my men wanted to do. If they wanted to go out and razz the world to the ground, I would be there standing beside them. If they wanted to help humanity, then I would support them in that too¡­ well, after I culled the ones too stupid to continue living.

    No, I would bring about the zombie apocalypse, destroy humanity and civilization as the humans knew it, and once I was satisfied that the humans had learned their lesson, I might help them rebuild.

    But make no mistake, the world needed a reset, and I was just the one to press the button.

    Button.

    Crap!!

    I forgot tobel the doomsday device before putting it in my space. I quickly blinked into my kitchen and started to frantically look through everyst one of my everything-else drawers. Finding five identical remotes, I ced them all side by side on the counter and looked at them.

    "Fuck me," I groaned, realizing that I literally had five different remotes that all looked the exact same, and I didn''t have a clue what any of them were for. Could the doomsday device have had babies in my drawer? Was that the reason why I had so many? Because I had no clue why I would have so many ck boxes with red buttons on them.

    Since I couldn''t remember exactly what the device looked like, I thought it would be best if I just put them all in their own separate ss jars with big, bold writing warning me from pressing the button.

    If the device was somehow procreating, hopefully, the jars would stop that from happening. Or at least cut down on the number of offspring produced. And, if I actually had four other red button remotes, then hopefully, I wouldn''t need them any time soon.

    Gently picking up the first device, I ced it in its jar and screwed on the lid. Taking a permanent marker, I wrote on the top, ''Possible doomsday device, do not press'', and put the jar on top of my kitchen counters.

    I would never look up there in a million years, and not just because I have to climb up on the counters to get that high.

    Ipleted the process with another two devices before looking at the fourth one. Picking it up in my hand, I noticed that there were some words written on the red button. "That was easy?" I read out loud. Was that my ''that was easy'' button, or did someone have a sick sense of humor and decided to out ''that was easy'' on the lone button that could end the world?

 Chapter 416 Go Save Him

    ?

    I stared at the button, debating to press it and see if it was the one that would cause a nuclear strike or tell me that that was easy. After a long internal debate, longer than it should have been, honestly, I decided not to take the chance and put it in its own jar and put it up on the top of my kitchen cupboards to make friends with the dust bunnies.

    Hopefully, one of those bunnies wouldn''t be pressing any buttons either. Then again, they were a bunch of assholes, so you could never be sure.

    Feeling better about the devices, I shed back into the real world and started down the long path back to the parking lot and Cerberus.

    ''You guys still doing okay?'' I asked, following the link between me and my four men.

    ''Right as rain, Princess," said Chen Zi Han, and I could feel just how happy he was along our connection.

    ''Some of us are better than others,'' chirped in Liu Yu Zeng, and I could practically see him smirking through our link.

    ''One of you isn''t doing well? Which one? Do you want me to freeze more zombies? I thought you were doing okay?!" I asked frantically, not giving them a chance to answer my first question before following up with a hundred others. I picked up my pace, almost running down the uneven boardwalk.

    ''We are all fine,'' said Wang Chao, his deep baritone voice causing my panic to recede. It was amazing what that man''s voice could do to me. ''Bin An Sha is just experiencing some¡­ growing pains,'' he continued, and I could feel theughter from the other men down our link.

    ''Don''t scare me like that!'' I breathed out, slowing down my pace. I was klutzy enough to trip over a branch and break my leg or something.

    ''Sorry,'' answered Liu Wei. ''Do you want us to go save him?''

    ''Why would I care?'' I asked, not sure why everyone was bringing him up all of a sudden. Even Violence was running hot and cold on the issue of Bin An Sha. ''Wang Chao was the one to bring him into our group. He is still firmly on the fence as far as I am concerned. He is trying to take away my coffee and sweets. He is lucky I haven''t killed him yet for that offense.''

    I could feel Chen Zi Han wanting to say something before thinking better about it. "You take care of me better than anyone has in my life. I don''t need to live forever; I just need to live with you guys,'' I told him with a smile on my face. And it was true. A life without sweets was not a life worth living as far as I was concerned.

    ''Understood. Was there anything you wanted for dinner tonight? We were thinking about steak with a potato sd, maybe a vegetable on the side or something,'' said Chen Zi Han, changing the subject away from Bin An Sha.

    That was one of those things I was going to have to sit down and think about. Part of me called to him like it did with the rest of the guys, but another part wanted nothing to do with him at all. I just wasn''t sure which side would win.

    ''Steak and potatoes sound fantastic,'' I said with a smile as I spotted Cerberus at the bottom of the trail.

    What I was not as impressed with was the motorcycles that were surrounding them. And not a single one belonged to my men. ''Apparently, I have something to take care of here. 1,500 of the zombies are frozen; they won''t give you any issues. If you need to practice more, just let me know.''

    I thought about things for a second before I walked through the trees, allowing the 20 or so bikers to spot me. ''Liu Yu Zeng, is there anyone in this city that you want to keep alive?'' I asked, not sure if these people were Liu Yu Zeng''s or nothing more than cannon fodder.

    ''There is,'' he assured me. ''You.''

    ''Understood. Be safe;e home,'' I said before cutting off the connection between the five of us. It always seemed like no matter what I did, there were always stupid people getting in my way.

    ''Love you,'' came Wang Chao''s voice inside my head, letting me know that he was still within the recesses of my mind.

    ''I am starting to love you too,'' I replied with a big smirk on my face. ''Have fun, but make sure that nothing happens to any of you.''

    ''Including Bin An Sha?'' asked Wang Chao, clearly testing the waters.

    ''If he lives or dies depends on his own fate. But it would make my life a lot easier if I didn''t have to decide the answer to that question.''

    ''Understood,'' said Wang Chao. Well, I was d one of us did.

    "Good afternoon, gentlemen," I said as I came into speaking distance. "You seem to be lost."

    ------

    Wang Chao looked at the zombies in front of him and the disheveled Bin An Sha, trying to decide the next step.

    "Are you done?" he asked.

    "Hardly," snorted Bin An Sha, wiping the blood from his split lip. "Just getting started," he continued, looking at the ten zombies he had managed to create himself. Internally, he was panicking more than a little, but he refused to show it to the other men.

    "Fine. I''ll let you y. Liu Yu Zeng, Chen Zi Han, do you two still want to practice?" Wang Chao continued, looking at the two men who called City H their home.

    "Not if Sweetness needs us," said Liu Yu Zeng, quickly understanding what Wang Chao was nning. "We will head up to the hiking trails and hopefully find her quickly," he continued as Lin and Kronos appeared behind the guys.

    "You might want to go fast," said Wang Chao, looking up at the cliffs he knew Li Dai Lu was watching them from. "Honestly, I don''t know who I am more worried about, what she is going to do to them or what they might try to do to her."

 Chapter 417 Canâ€™t Fix Stupid

    ?

    "We''re gone," grunted Chen Zi Han, not bothering with his helmet and instead jumping onto his bike and taking off.

    "Kill them all," ordered Wang Chao as he looked at Liu Yu Zeng. The joker of the group only smiled in return.

    "I might y with my food a bit first, but yeah, if anything happens to her, I''ll make it hurt," said the younger man in a yful manner as if he wasn''t talking about people. Then again, there was a definite hierarchy in his head when it came to people.

    Sweetness was firmly nted at the top, followed by his three brothers. After that, it was everyone for themselves.

    Wang Chao grunted before turning his attention to Liu Wei. "How are you feeling?" he asked concerned. Liu Wei had had his sses off this entire time. Usually, it would be enough to give him massive headaches until he was sick to his stomach.

    "Honestly? Fantastic," replied the other man. He couldn''t make out any of the colors around Wang Chao, only the general characteristics in a very ck, white, and grey setting. However, he could easily see the bright red me standing in front of him.

    "If you are sure," nodded Wang Chao, not questioning his best friend.

    "Let''s just say that it is a whole new world out there without my sses,"ughed Liu Wei. There was a big smile on his face, normally reserved for when he had a massacre nned.

    "The little one has frozen 1,500 zombies; the rest are ours," shrugged Wang Chao as he went to the newest addition to their group. He was struggling against the zombie in front of him, but he still persisted.

    "You''ve gone back to calling her ''little one''," observed Liu Wei. Going to stand by Wang Chao, he also watched the healer of their group struggling.

    "I was worried that she might take it the wrong way or think that I actually thought she was a little girl," started Wang Chao. "But then I realized how many boyfriends and husbands called their significant other ''baby,'' and no one thought twice about that. So, why can they say ''baby'' without it setting anyone off, but I can''t call mine ''little girl'' or ''little one''?"

    Liu Wei smiled at Wang Chao and ced a hand on the other man''s shoulder. "Just admit it," he smiled and watched as Bin An Sha was once again sent flying. "You''ve stopped hesitating."

    "If she can put up with the rest of you and your quirks, then there is no reason why I can''t be myself," grunted Wang Chao, more than willing to put an end to the heart-to-heart.

    "No point in changing for others when the one person you should care about hasn''t said shit," snorted Liu Wei. He turned to look at the zombie hunched over a fallen Bin An Sha, its ws raised in the air to take a chunk out of the human.

    He breathed out, and the zombie fell over, dead.

    "I had that!" shouted Bin An Sha as he raced to face the next zombie in front of him. "I didn''t need your help!"

    "Do you think this is how Li Dai Lu felt when we kept rushing into danger?" asked Liu Wei, cing his elbow on Wang Chao''s shoulder and leaning on the other man.

    "Probably. Remember the hotel incident?" snorted Wang Chao. Seeing a bunch of zombies rushing up to them from the corner of his eyes, he turned his head to look at them. "Kill each other," he said simply and watched as the zombies started to tear each other apart.

    "Ugh, how could I forget the hotel incident," groaned Liu Wei. He would fully admit that it was a stupid decision on his part to race into the hotel because he thought that the zombies were going to be as easy to kill as they were on television.

    The small striker group of zombies multiplied until they were a good-sized horde, and the two men watched as the numbers continued to grow. "That mighte in handy if Li Dai Lu wants to grow her troops," mused Liu Wei before he breathed in, taking all of the hundred or so souls inside of him all at once.

    "It really is amazing what the scientists were able to create," grunted Wang Chao. "An unstoppable army that can expand their numbers infinitely, using everyday people who had never hurt another being in their lives.

    "But why did they really need to go that far?" returned Liu Wei. "There were men and women in every country that were willing to die so the average person wouldn''t need to pick up a gun and kill. Were we really not enough for them? They needed to be so powerful that they were willing to risk the end of the world just to¡­ what? Lord it over the other countries."

    Wang Chao snorted at his friend''s rant, and both of them cringed as Bin An Sha was kicked through the ss of a nearby building. "You aren''t wrong," admitted Wang Chao. "It''s not like we are currently in the Warring States period where the only way you could live was to kill someone else. I think it is just mankind''s innate inability to just live peacefully with each other. There always needs to be a conflict and a bad guy to destroy. Otherwise, people might actually be happy and content with their lives."

    "Whatever it is, Li Dai Lu is going to put a stop to it. And quickly," continued Wang Chao as he watched Bin An Sha stagger out of the building, a giant piece of ss sticking out of his leg.

    The two men just stood there as the assassin ripped the shard out of his leg and quickly healed it before rushing back into the fight. "Then again, you can''t fix stupid," sighed Liu Wei.

    "Nope, you really can''t," agreed Wang Chao as, once again, Bin An Sha was sent flying.

    "Do you think we should help him?" asked Liu Wei, not sounding overly enthusiastic about saving the other man or concerned about him getting hurt further.

    "Why ruin his fun?" replied Wang Chao with a smile. He wasn''t dumb enough not to know what the assassin seemed to have going around in his head. Li Dai Lu was definitely a prize. Just not one he was willing to share with too many others.

 Chapter 418 Never Think Less Of You

    ?

    Wu Bai Hee quickly smoothed out her clothes before knocking on the office doors in front of her. She wished she had nicer clothes, or even any clothes that she hadn''t worn every day for months. Fucking bitch burning down her home like that, destroying her wardrobe.

    She could feel her face twisting into a vicious sneer just thinking about that¡­ thing¡­ that followed her man around like that. It was no wonder the Goddess didn''t want her to live; she really didn''t deserve to be polluting the same air as the rest of them.

    "Come in," came a low,manding voice on the other side of the wooden doors. Rearranging her face until her trademark innocent look reappeared, Wu Bai Hee slowly turned the handle and pushed open the heavy door.

    "Hello, Sir. You called for me?" she said hesitantly as she slipped into the room, softly closing the door behind her. Taking measured steps, she looked down at the floor and folded her hands in front of her.

    "Wu Bai Hee, right?" came the voice, and goosebumps rose across her hands. That voice made her want to melt into a puddle at his feet. Did he have maniption, too? She briefly looked up and into the young man''s eyes before dropping her head back down in ''fear.''

    "Yes, Sir," she said, trying to hold back the smirk on her face. The man in front of her had no barriers of any kind inside his mind. Even the soldiers out front put up a better mental battle than this man would.

    "Please, call me Zhao Jun Jie," smiled the man as he stood up and gestured for the timid girl to take a seat in front of him.

    "Thank you, Sir," she said, and he had to suppress a shudder as her voice seemed to twirl around him before sinking into his very bones. He had never seen a more beautiful woman in his life. She was also soft, kind, and oh-so feminine in all the best ways.

    Stories had made it to him about her helping the normals around the city. Volunteering her hours looking after children and helping cook at some of the restaurants. She was a modern-day Saint, not breathing a word about the outside but, instead, stressing how much he did for everyone in the city.

    His advisor had mentioned that getting someone like that on his side would prove to be beneficial in his future path. Initially, that idea didn''t settle well with Zhao Jun Jie. After all, Wang Chao didn''t need a woman beside him to amass his power, why should he?

    But seeing her standing in front of him like a porcin doll, he forgot about every reason why he hesitated before. She would be perfect. All he had to do was convince her to stay by his side.

    "I''m sorry," he said, looking her in the eyes with a kind, charming smile. "But your beauty blew me away. It is the first time I have even been speechless."

    Zhao Jun Jie watched a blush paint her pale skin as she briefly dropped her eyes before looking back up at him. "Thank you," she said softly. "I am so sorry about my appearance. I donated all of my clothes to those who needed them more, and before I knew it, all I had was this."

    "So kind, just like an angel that descended from heaven in our hour of need," smiled Zhao Jun Jie flirtatiously.

    "Hardly," she replied with yet another blush. "If anyone is our savior, it is you. I mean, look at everything you have done for the people of City A. None of this would have been possible without you. I know. I traveled all over the ce before finding this sanctuary."

    "We are so lucky to find you," interrupted Zhao Jun Jie, not wanting to think of what could have happened to a woman like Wu Bai Hee outside the protection of the gates. "I was wondering if you wanted toe to my ce tonight for dinner. We can talk about some of the things I was hoping to get your help with and get to know you better. If it would make you feel morefortable, you can invite your father with you."

    She chuckled and dropped her eyes back down to the ground. "No, I''m afraid that you are so intimidating that Daddy wouldn''t know what to do. I think it would be best if it were just the two of us¡­ if that isn''t being too presumptuous?"

    "No, I think that is a perfect idea," smiled Zhao Jun Lie. "But you find me intimidating?" he pressed, pretending like he wasn''tpletely ttered over the idea. It was always Wang Chao who was the intimidating one in their group, and he was always overlooked in favor of the younger man.

    "Who in their right mind wouldn''t find you intimidating?" demanded Wu Bai Hee softly. "I mean, look at you. So tall and handsome. Not to mention you are the most powerful person in this City," she hedged, watching him puff up with every word out of her mouth.

    "Well, you will never need to worry about that," he assured her, and Wu Bai Hee simply blinked at him. She weaved a little thread into his mind and wrapped it around a portion of his brain so that he would always be thinking about her.

    She wanted absolute power but didn''t want to deal with any of the fallout. The best way to aplish that was to use him as a shield as she manipted him in the background.

    "Oh, I forgot to ask. Do you have a special power? I know that some of the people we let through from the outside seemed to have developed a power of some kind," asked Zhou Jun Jie as he looked across his desk at the beautiful woman.

    "No," she answered with a sigh. A lone tear fell down her cheek, and she frantically tried to wipe it away. "Life would have been so much easier if I had a power, but¡­ it was not to be. You won''t think less of me, knowing that I don''t have a superpower of some kind?"

    "How could I possibly do something like that? In fact, it speaks to what an amazing woman you are for being able to survive all that without powers," answered Zhou Jun Jie with a shake of his head. "I will never think less of you."

 Chapter 419 Bulletproof

    ?

    I stared at the bikers in front of me, putting a checkmark in the ''pro'' column of getting a yacht. At least if I was in the middle of the ocean, I wouldn''t have toe across annoying people. Hopefully.

    "I think you are lost," I said, directing my gaze to the one that I thought could be the leader. It was hard to guess since they were all dressed the same and around the same size. Ugh. At least with the other biker gang, the president wore a giant patch on his vest to let me know he was the one in charge.

    "Seeing as this is our city, I think you are the lost one. Or didn''t you know about the lockdown?"

    The word lockdown sent a shudder up and down my spine as I thought back to my first life. "I hadn''t heard a single peep," I replied, not at all worried about what they could possibly do to me. Their pink mes burned brightly, but they were still no match for me.

    "Now you have. Unfortunately for you, it is toote," said the leader as he pulled off his helmet and let his long ck hair fall down to the small of his back.

    Huh, he was a she.

    It would have been much easier to have dealt with a man.

    "Please, tell me. What is going to happen next?" I asked, walking up to Cerberus and going to sit on the hood, trying to getfortable. I had a feeling that the pissing contest was going tost for a while. I tried to think if I had a cup for this asion and snorted when I thought about a good one.

    Calling up my cup of coffee, I turned it so the woman could read it. The mug itself was ck with big, bold white writing saying, "Have a nice day." It wasn''t until I tipped it up to take a drink that you could see a hand at the bottom of the mug with the middle finger raised high.

    Yeah, perfect.

    "I want your supplies," said the woman, still sitting on her bike, her helmet resting on her thigh.

    "That''s nice. I want peace and quiet. Do you think I have been able to find thattely? So many dumbasses keep bothering me. I mean, do I have a sign or something on my forehead saying ''easy mark''?" I replied, taking another sip. I looked down at the coffee, wondering why it tasted different. No one had better exchange my sugar for the ''healthy'' stuff when I wasn''t looking because I can promise you. I would hunt them down and kill them.

    There was silence while I tried to figure out why my coffee was different. "I want your supplies," said the woman again, and I let out a frustrated sigh.

    "Even if I gave you all of my supplies, it would be pointless because I would just be taking them back after I killed you. Now, if you want to be smart and live longer, take you and yours, turn around, and leave me the fuck alone."

    There was no way the milk could have gone bad¡­ not in my space. And no one knew where I kept my supply of sugar, so no one would have been able to change that out. Did my coffee go bad?

    Don''t fucking tell me I made a cup of mud water and not my usual coffee.

    I took in a deep breath and poured the coffee out of my mug and into the ground between myself and the other woman. I don''t think I will ever get over the taste of mud water in my mouth. There was not enough sugar on Earth to make that taste pleasant.

    I quickly popped back into my space and made myself a proper cup of coffee, opening up a new container just in case, and added the appropriate amount of milk and sugar. Taking a sip, I was satisfied that I got an actual cup of coffee and blinked back to City H.

    When I returned my attention to the woman in front of me, I could see her ring at me from her bike. "What?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "Sorry, I wasn''t paying attention. Coffee emergency. I am sure you understand."

    "I am Ma Xiu with the Red Dragon syndicate," said the woman as she unzipped her jacket just enough so I could see a red dragon tattooed onto her corbone. Funny, I don''t remember a tattoo like that on any of my men. Well, Chen Zi Han had a dragon on his back, but it didn''t look anything like that.

    "It seems like everyone in the world is now part of the Red Dragon syndicate," I grumbled. "Is that seriously the only syndicate anyone knows?"

    "Are you disrespecting us right now?" she demanded, taking out her 9mm. The men behind her, as if one, pulled theirs out as well.

    "Please be more specific. I seem to be developing a headache, and your question can be taken in several different ways," I said, rubbing my temples as I felt the headache form.

    Someone fired a shot, missing me by centimeters and hitting Cerberus instead.

    I turned to look at the man, or woman, holding the smoking gun as I slowly slipped off the hood of the car. "You good, Cerby?" I asked him, my gaze locked on the person still on their bike with their helmet on.

    "I am fine," replied Cerberus inside my mind. "Don''t worry about me."

    I hummed in acknowledgment, not bothering to answer him. He was one of mine, and for that reason alone, getting shot was not eptable in the least.

    "I don''t care who you im to be," I said slowly, walking past the leader and into the pack. With a flick of my wrist, the guns clenched tightly in their hands disappeared inside my space. "In fact, you belonging to the Red Dragon syndicate might be the only thing keeping the rest of you alive. However, you? You are dead."

    I raised my right hand, now holding a gun of my own, and pressed it up against the helmet. I didn''t know if their helmets were bulletproof or not, but I really didn''t care. Before anyone could so much as say a word, I pulled the trigger and watched as the body fell off its bike.

    Guess they weren''t bulletproof.

 Chapter 420 Less Mouths To Feed

    ?

    Chen Zi Han looked at Liu Yu Zeng as the sound of a gunshot echoed through the mountains. ''Faster Kronos,'' he said, and the bike under him put on a burst of speed. ''I need you to find her, and I need to get to her now.''

    ''There is one way to ensure that,'' said Kronos as he sped around the twists and turns of the road.

    ''How?'' demanded Chen Zi Han, willing to do anything.

    ''Put on the mantel,'' replied Kronos as he shot up the front end of a broken-down car blocking his way. He went flying over the other side, not bothering to slow down to make thending easier. The impact jarred Chen Zi Han, but the man didn''t care at all.

    ''What mantel?'' demanded Chen Zi Han. He had already epted the fact that he was Famine; what more was there to do?

    ''You haven''t killed me yet,'' replied the voice of the second soul inside of his body. ''It is not until you kill me that you can take my ce as one of the Four Horsemen.''

    ''Done,'' growled Chen Zi Han, reaching deep into the darkness of his mind and pulling out a shadow, kicking and screaming. ''If you are the only thing stopping me from getting to her, then there is no need to keep you around a moment longer.''

    Chen Zi Han breathed deeply, pulling the essence of the shadow into himself. Within seconds, the shadow was gone.

    ''Can you hurry up now?'' he demanded as a second shot rang out. He could feel his heart pounding in his body at the idea he might be toote.

    ''I don''t know,'' sneered Kronos. ''Who are you?''

    ''I am fucking Famine, and if you don''t get me to my woman right this minute, I will kill you along with anyone else standing in my way. Are we clear?'' snarled Chen Zi Han, letting the rage inside of him take over for the worry.

    The smooth cadence of wheels on asphalt quickly changed to hooves pounding. Chen Zi Han could feel the strength and muscles of flesh and bone under him. Blinking, he saw that he was no longer driving a motorcycle but rather riding an enormous ck horse with ck armor. White smoke seemed to being from its mouth as it pushed itself to go faster.

    ''Who are you?'' demanded the horse.

    ''I am Famine,'' cried Chen Zi Han as he felt heavy armor descend on his body before settling infortably as if it had always been a part of him.

    ''Where are we going?'' asked Kronos, his sharp teeth practically biting through the bit in his mouth.

    ''To our Queen,'' answered the man, feeling like he was going through a long-standing ceremony.

    ''Done,'' answered the horse, and all of a sudden, Chen Zi Han found himself beside Cerberus, still on his armor-ted horse.

    "Nice trick," said Li Dai Lu as she turned around to look at him. He snorted and quickly jumped down off the horse. His armor didn''t make a sound as he walked through the bikers to get to his Queen.

    Pulling her into his arms, he returned to Kronos and ced her up on the horse''s back. Grunting that she was finally in the safest position possible, he turned his attention back to the situation.

    "Does someone want to exin what the fuck is going on?" he demanded as his armor seemed to melt away. "Why did I hear two gunshots?"

    "In my defense, they did shoot first," called out Li Dai Lu from where she sat on top of the horse. She looked like she belonged up there, and Chen Zi Han grunted in approval.

    "Who shot second?" he asked, knowing the answer already.

    "Me. They hit Cerberus; I couldn''t let that go unanswered," she huffed. He would need to get the detailster because he was pretty sure that they weren''t aiming for Cerberus in the first ce, but right now, he needed to keep a cool head, and the thought of her being shot would not help that.

    "Chen Zi Han?" came a woman''s voice behind him, and Chen Zi Han could see Li Dai Lu freezing. That was simply uneptable.

    Turning around, he saw a woman getting off the closest bike and starting to walk toward him and Li Dai Lu. "I am guessing that she wasn''t lying when she imed to be part of the Red Dragon syndicate," grumbled his Princess, causing him tough.

    "Whether she was part of it or not, there is no longer a syndicate. Liu Yu Zeng and Chen Zi Han died at that ranch, remember?" he smiled at his woman before looking at the other one. "Do I know you?" he demanded, not bothering to look at the woman at all.

    Instead, his attention was on the bikers behind her, most of whom were now taking off their helmets. "My name is Ma Xiu. I am one of the administrators for City H."

    "And?" asked Chen Zi Han, not really caring.

    "What do you mean?" responded Ma Xiu, confused. She was one of the highest-ranking women within the organization. That had to mean something, right?

    "What do you want?" growled Chen Zi Han. He was pissed that one of the people in front of him had shot at his Princess, and although he was dead, the others were still alive. Guilt by association. They all needed to die.

    "We need her supplies. She seems to have a lot. And even if she doesn''t have that many, we need her truck to be able to go out and collect our own," exined Ma Xiu. They were desperate for more supplies at thepound, and the increase in zombies was making it harder and harder for them to go out looking for them.

    "Want to know a way of making sure that you have enough supplies?" asked Chen Zi Han, looking at the woman in front of him for the first time.

    "How?" asked Ma Xiu, cocking her head to the side.

    "By having less mouths to feed," he answered right before he fired off two shots.

    The bodies fell to the ground just as the sound of a bike reached everyone''s ears.

    "Looks like I missed some of the fun,"ined Liu Yu Zeng as he slid around to a stop, sending dirt shooting toward the other bikers.

 Chapter 421 I Think He Is A Zombie

    ?

    "Not all the fun," I said, trying to reassure Liu Yu Zeng. I was going to assume that I was not in trouble for killing the Red Dragon member if Chen Zi Han shot two more, but I was also not dumb enough to ask, just in case. "There are still more left to kill. But I think they belong to you," I continued, drawing his attention to Ma Xiu.

    "But Liu Yu Zeng and Chen Zi Han died, remember? We don''t have anyone that belongs to us," pointed out Liu Yu Zeng, unknowingly repeating what Chen Zi Han had said moments ago.

    "How could you have died?" asked Ma Xiu, more than a little confused. "You are clearly standing in front of me," she continued, and I looked up at the sky, hoping that I wouldn''t burst outughing or say something sarcastic.

    "Yeah, he came back to life almost as soon as we buried him," I said, unable to hold myself back. Meh, I needed some entertainment every so often, and I was sure that she would be able to give it to me right up until I killed her. "I think he is a zombie," I continued, fake whispering to her from where I sat on top of Chen Zi Han''s horse.

    I definitely need the story on that one.

    Ma Xiu''s eyes went wide as she studied Liu Yu Zeng, and I could see the gears in her head spinning to determine if he was actually a zombie or not.

    "Who are you?" asked Liu Yu Zeng as he went to go stand beside Chen Zi Han.

    "Says she is Ma Xiu, Admin," answered the other man. The two of them shared a look, and I saw both of them rolling their eyes before they turned their attention back to the matter at hand.

    "How many Dragons still stand?" continued Liu Yu Zeng, looking at the woman in front of him. I would have cheerfully ripped the hearts right out of her eyes and gifted them to him, but I was wanted to see what the guys were going to do next.

    "Not that many," sighed Ma Xiu, reveling over the fact that she was receiving the undivided attention of at least one of my men. "There are almost 150 of us back at thepound, plus I have allowed any surviving family members to stay there as well. I was telling Chen Zi Han that we were starting to run low on supplies. When I saw this truck, I thought it would be perfect to go out and what we needed."

    "You thought to take this truck?" asked Liu Yu Zeng, looking between her and myself. "Is she stupid? Are you stupid?" he continued, looking between myself and her. "You have to be stupid."

    "But, Sir," the poor girl stuttered, "I know that it can drive. We followed it up here, after all."

    "I heard four gunshots," said Liu Yu Zeng,pletely changing the topic.

    "First one from their side, second one and answer from Li Dai Lu, third and forth from me," said Chen Zi Han quickly and concisely.

    "In our defense, she was being insulting towards the Red Dragon syndicate, saying that it seemed like everyone was iming to be part of it," rushed in Ma Xiu, more than happy to try and throw me under the bus.

    The smirk on her face when she looked at me caused me to raise an eyebrow. Stupid people were not that cute.

    "And?" asked Chen Zi Han. "She just came from a ce where two people imed to be Liu Yu Zeng and Chen Zi Han. Of course she is going to assume that you were lying through your teeth."

    "But, Sir¡ª" she started, looking back and forth between the two men as if one of them would be willing to take her side. New sh, neither one did.

    "At the end of the day, does any of it really matter?" I interjected; my limited attention span all used up. "Are we killing them or keeping them alive?"

    Without a word, my men raised their guns, taking out sixteen members of their old syndicate. Ma Xiu, the only remaining member still breathing, dropped to her knees in front of my men, her face pale as tears rolled down her cheeks.

    "How could you¡­ I thought we were supposed to be a family," she said, looking up between Liu Yu Zeng and Chen Zi Han before turning to look at me. "You!" she growled,ing to her feet. Staggering towards me, she started to wildly point her finger at me. "This is all your fault. You must have whispered some lie or other to get them to turn on their brothers!"

    I looked down at her andughed. "Brothers?" I sneered, "When have you guys ever done anything for my men?"

    "What do you mean?" she asked, stunned at my question.

    "Family shares everything, the good times and the bad. What hardship did you even shoulder for either one of them so they wouldn''t have to?" I pressed.

    "That''s not the way the syndicate works," she replied, a look of disgust on her face.

    "Of course not," I agreed with a nod of my head. "When the syndicate is all-powerful based on the work of those two men, you revel in it, announcing to the world that you belong to that ''family'' and that others should fear you as they fear Liu Yu Zeng. But I am willing to bet that if there wasn''t a freepound for any members to live in, you would have long renounced your ties to the syndicate and fled for the hills. Or take it over for yourself."

    Taking a breath, I grumbled to myself. There was no way that she would understand what I was trying to say. Technically, I wasn''t sure what I was trying to say.

    Pulling out my gun, I shot her in the head. My headache was increasing, and I just wanted to curl up and take a nap. Whatever was in my first cup of coffee wasn''t agreeing with me.

    Liu Yu Zeng looked at me; the trademark smirk on his face seemed to be quickly disappearing the longer I stared at it. "Guys?" I asked hesitantly. The two men turned to face me, but for some reason, they seemed to be spinning around in a circle.

    "Guys?" I said again, this time a slight note of panic in my voice. "I don''t feel too well," I finished right before the world went ck, and I turned weightless.

 Chapter 422 Poison To Cure Poison

    ?

    Chen Zi Han dove forward, grabbing his woman in his arms before she managed to hit the ground. "Liu Yu Zeng!" he screamed, not knowing what was going on. He looked down at the precious bundle in his arms, only to see sweat pouring from her head as her body started to shake.

    "Put her in Cerberus; we need to get her to Bin An Sha!" shouted the other man as he jumped on his motorcycle.

    "He won''t be fast enough," said Kronos, stamping his foot in impatience. "Get on me with her and tell me where you want to go," he continued. Chen Zi Han handed Li Dai Lu over to the other man as he swung himself up into the saddle.

    "Give her to me," he called, leaning down with open arms to take her back. As soon as she was passed off, Liu Yu Zeng jumped on his bike and took off like a bat out of Hell. "To Bin An Sha," he told Kronos, and the horse took off into a sprint.

    In less time than it took to blink, Chen Zi Han was in the middle of the zombie tide, surrounded by Wang Chao, Liu Wei, and a very beat-up Bin An Sha. "What the fuck!" demanded the man as he jumped down off the horse with Li Dai Lu in his arms. "Why the fuck is he like that!?? Get rid of the fucking zombies! Something has happened to Princess, and we need him to save her!"

    "What?" demanded Liu Wei seconds before waving his hand, killing all of the remaining zombies, including the ones originally frozen by Li Dai Lu.

    Wang Chao quickly took her out of Chen Zi Han''s arms and brought her to Bin An Sha. "Heal her," he growled, a feral look in his eye as the other man just looked at him.

    "I can''t," he said, panting. "I am all tapped out."

    "Are you fucking kidding me right now?" demanded Wang Chao. Bin An Sha should consider himself lucky that his hands were full, or else he would have had his throat ripped out. "How could you not leave anything left? What if another zombie appeared? You never go to failure because failure means death."

    Disgusted by the man kneeling on the ground, Wang Chao turned away from him and carried his woman to Liu Wei. "Don''t let her die," he growled, his words barely sounding like somethinging from a human body.

    "You don''t need to tell me that, War," snarled Liu Wei. He looked down at Li Dai Lu and saw her me frantically flickering as whatever was causing her to be sick rushed through her system. "She will not die."

    "She drank something weird," said Violence, appearing beside Li Dai Lu. "It''s not agreeing with us. Headache, body feels like it is on fire, pain," she continued pushing through the pain to let the guys know what was going on. They were her only hope.

    "If she dies, there is no fourth life," she warned right before she disappeared, her body too weak to keep her in this realm anymore.

    "Fuck! What are we going to do?" demanded Chen Zi Han, his wide eyes turning to the man still panting on the ground. "You were a doctor before you were a healer. Figure out what is wrong with her. Between the four of us, we should be able to cure anything."

    "Really?" asked Bin An Sha as he dragged himself toward Li Dai Lu. "Fine,y her down t on the ground," he continued, causing the other three men to look at him like he was crazy.

    "Fuck no," sneered Wang Chao. "One of us will be holding on to her at all times. The ground is too dirty for her."

    "Are you serious?" asked Bin An Sha. "There is no way I can do a proper exam if one of you is holding her."

    "Then don''t do a proper exam," said Liu Yu Zeng as he jumped off his bike and stood beside his brother. "Do we know what is going on?" he asked. "And why isn''t the fifth wheel fixing her?"

    "He had nothing left to give," replied Wang Chao with a snort.

    "Then he can just up and die," shrugged Liu Yu Zeng as if it wasn''t that big of a deal. And to him, it really wasn''t. A well-ced bullet solved a lot of problems.

    "Violence said that they drank something weird," said Liu Wei, trying to rack his brain about what else the personality had said.

    "Could it be poison?" asked Wang Chao. "But how could she be poisoned? Everything in her space was put there by herself."

    "Figure out the minor detailster. For right now, we are going to work with the assumption that she is poisoned," said Liu Yu Zeng, a somewhat psychotic smile on his face. There was no way he was losing his woman if it was just a matter of a little poison.

    Taking a deep breath, he ced one hand on her forehead and another one on her stomach. Closing his eyes, Liu Yu Zeng sent in the smallest hint of his mist into her, hoping that it could find whatever poison was killing her.

    He could practically see his mist rushing through her veins and muscles, swallowing up whatever darkness it could find inside of her. And there was a lot of darkness.

    "Protect her heart." Hearing a voice in the distance, Liu Yu Zeng struggled to understand what it was trying to say.

    "Her heart!" it came again, this time practically shouting in his ear. He gathered up his mist and tried to find his way to her heart and other organs. Unfortunately, he was almostpletely clueless when it came to finding the internal organs inside a body.

    He understood it from an outside perspective; it was actually really handy when you were torturing people for information. However, this waspletely different. All he could see was pulsing red lines and moving circles.

    "Don''t worry," came a second voice, one that he was quite familiar with. "Keep following the flow of blood, killing whatever you can in the meantime. The ''river'' will take you straight to the heart and other organs."

    "You''re the big brother," Liu Yu Zeng could hear himself saying.

    "Pay attention. Blood returns to the heart 72 times every minute. If you blink, you might miss it," continued Liu Wei, wanting to p his younger brother. However, if anyone could save someone that was poisoned, it was someone that was poison.

    "I am here," replied his brother, almost sleepily. However, the other men understood that that was simply because part of him was inside the body of the one person who meant the most to them all.

 Chapter 423 Protecting The Heart

    ?

    Liu Yu Zeng started at the ckness that surrounded the beating heart of his love. He honestly couldn''t understand how she was still alive with all the poison inside of her, but he was thankful she was.

    However, with this amount of poison, he needed to work fast before it caused more damage. He was well aware that he was not able to actually heal Sweetness. He would have to wait until Bin An Sha got his ass in gear for that to happen. The best he could do was simply neutralize the toxins and hope that that would be enough.

    "Pull it into you," came a suggestion from far away. Liu Yu Zeng wrinkled his brows, trying to figure out what the voice was trying to say.

    "What?" he asked slowly as he tried to get his mist in between the healthy muscle and the poison trying to kill it.

    "Pull whatever it is that is hurting her into yourself," said Chen Zi Han, and Liu Yu Zeng grunted. It was easy for Famine to say, pull it into himself; that was exactly how his power worked. He took the vitality of others into himself. But Liu Yu Zeng''s powers were the opposite. He sent it out, not brought it in.

    "Fucking stop overthinking things and pull it into you. I am going to push some vitality into her at the same time," growled Chen Zi Han. He needed her to live. There was no point to this life if she wasn''t in it.

    Not sure how he went about doing as Chen Zi Han suggested, Liu Yu Zeng pictured himself grabbing fistfuls of the darkness and bringing his hands back toward his chest. Every time a hole opened up in the darkness, a light shot past it and toward the heart.

    "Work faster," growled Famine as he waited for another opportunity to put his own vitality into Li Dai Lu''s heart.

    "I''m trying, you asshole," growled Liu Yu Zeng as he continued to pull handfuls of poison into him at a time, only for the poison still left inside her body to spread even more. He felt like he was trying to push back the tide with a broom.

    ''I guess that is what you get when a human tries to y Pestilence,'' said Lin inside Liu Yu Zeng''s head. ''And I had so much hope when you managed to destroy the old Pestilence.''

    ''If you have another idea, I am all ears,'' growled Liu Yu Zeng, refusing to give up for even a second.

    ''Stop thinking like a human. You aren''t one anymore,'' suggested Lin with more than a hit of sarcasm.

    ''Stop beating around the bush and speak clearer. I am losing this fight,'' shouted Liu Yu Zeng as he redoubled his efforts, grabbing armfuls of the poison instead of only handfuls.

    ''My point exactly. You think this is a fight. Poison, disease, toxins, whatever you want to call them, are not something you simply have control over. They are you. That darkness you see inside of her? That is you. And if a part of you is acting like a spoiled child throwing a temper tantrum, what should you do?'' sneered Lin.

    ''Do I look like I fucking know?'' screamed Liu Yu Zeng as he saw a small ck spot on the red muscle of her heart.

    ''Youmand it toe to you,'' shouted Lin right back. ''Stop treating this like it is something to fight or that it is something not of you. If it doesn''t listen,mand it. If it still doesn''t want to listen, then destroy it.''

    ''What the fuck do you think I am trying to do! I am trying to destroy it.''

    ''You are acting like a child,'' yelled Lin, more than a little done with his rider''s level of intelligence. ''Stand up straight."

    Inside of Li Dai Lu''s body, Liu Yu Zeng stood up straight and took in a breath.

    ''Good. Now, picture the darkness rushing into you. It can''t hurt you. That darkness is what you are made of,'' continued Lin, and Liu Yu Zeng could see two white eyes glowing in the distance. ''Stop looking at me, concentrate!'' berated Lin as he noticed Liu Yu Zeng''s attention wandering to him.

    Liu Yu Zeng closed his eyes and took in another deep breath. He held his arm out in front of him and then quickly closed his fist and pulled his arm back into his body.

    Like undoing a bath drain, the ck smoke flew into Liu Yu Zeng, almost causing him to be knocked off his feet. However, the smoke didn''t stop. It continued to flow into him at a fast pace.

    ''Now do you understand?'' asked Lin, a hint of satisfaction on his face as he watched all of the darkness inside of the Queen''s body flowing into Disease. ''Poison and disease aren''t your enemies or something outside of yourself that you control; you are poison and disease. Don''t forget that distinction again."

    With those parting words, Lin disappeared, and Liu Yu Zeng was left inside Li Dai Lu''s body alone. He once again followed her telets around through all of her organs and systems to make sure that he had removed everyst bit of darkness from her body.

    Once he was satisfied that she was no longer poisoned, he forced himself to return to his body and the outside world.

    "You''re back. How is she?" demanded Wang Chao from where he stood beside Liu Yu Zeng.

    "I got everything out. But it was bad. I don''t know how she survived long enough for us to save her," panted Liu Yu Zeng as he looked at the woman in his brother''s arms.

    "I added some vitality into her," said Chen Zi Han, and Liu Yu Zeng could see just how pale and gray the other man had be. "But what is the use of keeping a healer around if he is not going to, in fact, heal her?"

    "Hey! It''s not my fault that I am tapped out at the moment," growled Bin An Sha. "How was I supposed to know that something like this would even happen? Besides, I needed my powers to heal myself."

    "Next time, be smart and leave the zombie killing to someone else then," sneered Liu Yu Zeng.

 Chapter 424 I Have A Lot Of Virtues

    ?

    (NSFW: Group sex)

    I felt like I had gone through the wringer as I felt my body swaying back and forth. Prying one eye open, I saw that I was in Liu Wei''s arms as he sped down the road on Reaper. Satisfied that everything was probably fine, I closed my eye and went back to sleep, snuggling deeper into Liu Wei''s arms.

    The second time I woke up, I was surrounded byplete darkness. Realizing that the soft, t surface I was currently lying on was probably a bed, and I could hear the distinct breaths of at least three of my men, I flipped over until I was on my stomach and fell back asleep.

    By the third time I woke up, I was feeling a lot more human. While the muscles in my body still hurt like there was no tomorrow, at least I got rid of the headache. I rolled over and sat up, looking around me to try and figure out where the Hell I could be.

    I was in a gorgeous bedroom with giant windows that overlooked the blue waters of the ocean. The bed itself was huge, with white covers enting the metal frame. However, the thing that I was happiest with was the fact that I waspletely surrounded by my four me.

    Smiling, I turned to look at Wang Chao, who was right beside me. He lifted up the cover, not bothering to open his eyes, and I dove into his chest. Letting out a yful groan, he pulled the covers back around me, surrounding me in his arms.

    "How are you feeling?" he growled, his voice harsh from sleep.

    "Sore," I admitted. "But a lot better. Especially with you here. I missed you," I sighed. It felt like it had been forever since I hadst seen him, even though he had been back for a few days now.

    "I missed you, too," he said, capturing my lips in his. Moaning, I rolled further under him, forcing him on top of me. There was no better feeling than being pinned down by one of the men you loved.

    He chuckled, easily reading my thoughts. "As much as I want to keep going, I also want to make sure that you are okay," he said, raising up onto his forearms, caging my head in his hands. "You gave us a scare. I thought we already had the discussion about taking years off of our lives."

    "What happened?" I asked, confused. Thest thing I remember was getting a headache and falling off of a weird-looking horse.

    "That''s what we want to know, Sweetheart," said Liu Wei, sneaking in between me and Wang Chao to give me a kiss on the lips. "Violence said that you drank something that tasted weird?"

    It took me a minute to think about what he could be talking about, and then it hit me: the coffee that wasn''t coffee. "I think I drank that mud water crap from Bin An Sha," I groaned, snuggling even deeper under Wang Chao. "That stuff must be poison."

    "It certainly was to you, Sweetness," said Liu Yu Zeng, popping up on the other side of his brother.

    "But I drank it, and I was fine," muttered Wang Chao, confused.

    "Do we know what is in mud water?" asked Chen Zi Han, sitting up in the spot Wang Chao vacated when he rolled on top of me.

    "No idea," I said, shaking my head.

    "I''ll look into it," promised Chen Zi Han. "But until then, we will be testing all your drinks for poison."

    "You just want my coffee," I shot back, ring at him. "I''m onto you."

    "No, you aren''t," smirked Chen Zi Han, "But you are under someone¡­ now, aren''t you?"

    I blinked at him a few times before looking back at Wang Chao.

    "The man''s not wrong," chuckled Wang Chao darkly. "And you only have yourself to me." He dropped his head and started nibbling down my neck, knowing exactly what that did to me. "Of course I do," he growled into my ear as his tongue circled the diamond stud in my lobe. "What''s the point of being psychic if I don''t use it to my utmost advantage."

    I opened my mouth to protest, but Liu Wei gently pulled my face toward him, giving Wang Chao even more room to work with. "We can stop whenever you want," he said as he looked deep into my eyes. "You are the one that calls the shots."

    Yeah, that was the problem. I had no idea what shots I wanted to call. Hell, I didn''t even want to be enough in my head to know what was going on. All I wanted to do was feel, well¡­ and get fucked.

    Yeah, I really wanted to get fucked.

    "And we live to serve," said Wang Chao, quickly rolling off of me and getting out of bed. I sat up, leaning back on my elbows, and looked at the man in confusion. Him getting out of the bed was pretty much thest thing that I wanted to happen. What the fuck?

    Hisughter reached us all the way over on the bed as he went to the door. Was he fucking leaving? What the Hell was happening? I think I was pretty clear on my expectations right now.

    Fucking. That was my expectation.

    A lot of fucking.

    "Patience is a virtue," said Wang Chao as I heard the lock on the door falling into ce. Ah, right. We weren''t alone. Good call.

    "I have a lot of virtues," I assured him. "And that one is not even in the top 100."

    The rest of the guys on the bed werezing around, watching what Wang Chao was going to do next.

    "Then maybe we should hold back until you learn it," he pressed, returning back to the foot of the bed and looking down at me.

    "You hold back, and I will string you up by your balls and do something really mean to you," I replied, not sure what I was going to do, but I wanted him to know I was serious.

    "I don''t know about you, but I wouldn''t want that," said Liu Wei as rolled me over on top of him.

 Chapter 425 Overdressed

    ?

    (NSFW: Group sex)

    "No, you really wouldn''t," I answered Liu Wei, shaking my head.

    "Then I think it is only right to give my woman exactly what she wants," agreed Liu Wei as he rolled me over onto my back before he, too, got out of bed and went to go stand beside Wang Chao.

    "I don''t think I like this," I grumbled, turning to look at the remaining two men on the bed. "Are you going to leave next?" I demanded.

    "Fuck that. They might be stupid, but that doesn''t mean that we are," said Liu Yu Zeng.

    "Besides, I remember making a few promises about the next time you found yourself in between us," added Chen Zi Han as he pulled me onto his chest. I was still lying on my back, which gave his wandering hands-free reign. "However, you are frustratingly overdressed for this asion. Sit up so Liu Yu Zeng can rectify that situation."

    I blinked at the smirking man in front of me. "You heard the man. Sit up, Sweetness," purred Liu Yu Zeng as he softly pulled me into a sitting position, which resulted in me straddling Chen Zi Han. I shifted my weight, trying to get morefortable, but, as a result of my movements, something started to grow hard between my legs.

    I turned to look at Chen Zi Han over my shoulder and raised an eyebrow just as Liu Yu Zeng took off my shirt, exposing my ck sports bra to the guys.

    "What can I say? It happens every time you are around. Or I think about you. Or I hear you. Or I smell you. Or I touch you. So yeah, it''s pretty much a permanent condition," shrugged Chen Zi Han.

    "He''s not the only one," grumbled Liu Yu Zeng as he took my hand and put it on his hard length. "It definitely makes riding Lin awkward."

    "You poor, poor men," I chuckled with a shake of my head. "You have my condolences."

    "We don''t need your condolences," said Liu Wei, "We have a great idea for a temporary fix," he continued, his eyes scorching my skin as his gaze traveled over me. "And the girls don''t look toofortable. Why don''t we set them free?"

    I nodded my head. Trying to get a sports bra off when you were a D was ridiculously hard.

    "My pleasure," answered Liu Yu Zeng, slowly running his fingers just under the bottom stic band. With every pass he made, his fingers managed to get further underneath the band until the very tips of his fingers brushed the underside of my breasts.

    I sucked in a breath and pressed my hips down in an unconscious manner. However, I had forgotten about Chen Zi Han under me, so when I pressed down, I could feel his cock straining under me. I let out a whimper and tilted my hips forward so that the next time I pressed down, he lined up perfectly with my slit.

    "You two are being mean," said Liu Wei as he took off his shirt, showing off his impable muscles. I couldn''t take my eyes off of him as he crawled over to me on the bed. Coming up right beside me, he turned to look at his brother. "If you pull that bra off quickly, it will hurt her breasts. You pull up, and I will be here to catch them before they drop back down."

    Liu Yu Zeng grunted and pulled up the bra until just like Liu Wei predicted, my breasts fell out the bottom¡­ right into his ready hands. I sucked in a breath as his thumb started to lightly brush over my nipples.

    The sensation of my nipples being yed with, coupled with Chen Zi Han''s straining cock between my legs, became too much, and I could feel a gush of moistureing out of me.

    "You are such a good girl, aren''t you?" whispered Liu Yu Zeng as his tongue traced the outer edge of my ear. "You have no idea how much he loves that; you creaming all over him like that." I whimpered again,pletely helpless, as Chen Zi Han gripped my hips in his big hands and pulled me down even harder on top of him until he was positioned perfectly under my clit.

    "Still too many clothes on," said Wang Chao out of nowhere. The three men and I groaned. None of us wanted to move, but the man had a point. We couldn''t go much further until my pants and underwear were off.

    Without warning, Liu Wei pushed me back, and I fell onto Chen Zi Han''s chest. He quickly wrapped his arms around me and lifted his hips, pushing mine up at the same time. Liu Yu Zeng quickly pulled off my jeans, and before I could think, Liu Wei had my underwear in his hand.

    He tossed the material to Wang Chao without looking and dove between my legs. "I have been dreaming of this," he hissed right before his tongue invaded me. My legs threatened to close by, but Liu Yu Zeng quickly grabbed my right knee, preventing his view from being obstructed.

    "I can smell her from here," he groaned, his fingers trailing the inside of my thigh. "She smells like heaven."

    "Tastes like it, too," smirked Liu Wei, pulling his head back to look at his brother. I looked down at him and saw his lips and chin sparkling with my juices.

    "You know, sharing is caring," whined Liu Yu Zeng.

    "Fuck that," growled Liu Wei, going back to what he was doing with his tongue. I moaned when it ttened, licking me from the bottom to the top. Liu Wei sucked my clit into his mouth, causing me to unconsciously ride his face.

    "Fuck," I whispered, my brain exploding into a million pieces. The things that man could do with his tongue¡­

    "Liu Yu Zeng, your turn," came Wang Chao''s deep voice, and more liquid poured out of me just by the sound alone. I turned my head, looking for him. I saw him sitting in a chair in the corner of the room, right beside the window. He had my ck panties in his hand and, catching my eyes, brought it up to his face and took a deep breath in.

 Chapter 426 That Is Going To Happen Again

    ?

    (NSFW: Group Sex, Swords Touching. Consider yourself warned. No MM. Please remember that even if it isn''t your cup of tea, it doesn''t mean that it''s not others.)

    Without a word, Liu Wei rolled to the side and took my left breast into his mouth. I arched, pushing my breast even further into his mouth while, at the same time, driving my ass into Chen Zi Han''s cock. The three of us moaned, and then Liu Yu Zeng went to work.

    Still so sensitivee justing, I moaned as his tongue started low and worked its way up, making sure not to leave a drop of juice behind. Unfortunately, his attention to detail caused me to get even wetter, which made him have to go clean me up again.

    Liu Yu Zeng rocked back and stood at the foot of the bed, looking down at me.

    I wondered what he saw: me lying on top of his best friend, his brother tailing kisses up and down my neck, asionally taking my nipple into his mouth.

    "He sees perfect," growled Wang Chao from his seat across the room. "Like he said, he''s not stupid. Now, stop thinking so hard and just enjoy yourself," he continued, and I watched Liu Yu Zeng quickly pull off his shirt. My eyes traced the tattoos on his arms and chest, but once his hands went to the button of his pants, I was no longer thinking of anything.

    I closed my eyes as I felt Chen Zi Han''s hand trance my ribs and continue their path down until they reached my core. I heard the sound of a zipper before the bed dipped. Opening my eyes, I found myself looking up at Liu Yu Zeng.

    The love in his eyes absolutely floored me, but it really shouldn''t have. He was made for me, and I was made for him.

    "I love you," he said, his eyes never leaving mine.

    "I love you, too," I said. I could feel him at my entrance, stretching me. My head dropped back onto Chen Zi Han''s chest as Liu Yu Zeng continued to push himself deeper and deeper inside of me.

    "Good?" he asked, panting. I nodded my head, not trusting my voice. He grunted in reply and slowly pulled himself out before pushing back in. I couldn''t hold back the moan that threatened to escape as he started to pick up his pace.

    It was perfect, it was magic, and as soon as Chen Zi Han''s fingers brushed my clit, I was once again flying. I heard Liu Yu Zeng letting out a low grunt before I could feel a rush of moisture between my legs, dripping down my backside.

    "Fuck," groaned Liu Yu Zeng, his head dropping onto my corbone. I ran my fingers through his hair inplete agreement.

    He raised his head to give me a gentle kiss to my lips before rolling over and copsing onto the bed beside me. "Heaven," he breathed.

    "Do you trust me?" whispered Chen Zi Han into my ear.

    "Without question," I replied, and it was true.

    I felt him reach between my legs and unzipped his pants, letting his cock spring free. "There is no way in fucking Hell that I am moving to take off my pants," he exined as he shifted me just enough that he could enter me from behind.

    It was a weird feeling; I was being stretched in a way that I hadn''t been before, but that didn''t mean that I didn''t enjoy it.

    "You okay?" he asked again as he slowly started to move his hips under me. My entire body felt like an exposed nerve, and I could only gulp and nod my head.

    "Liu Wei," said Wang Chao, and I looked up to see a very naked Liu Wei over top of me. I stared nkly, not knowing what the n was. Chen Zi Han was¡­ was already inside of me¡­

    "Just say the word," said Liu Wei, leaving sweet kisses all over my face and chest.

    "Liu Wei," growled Wang Chao.

    Liu Wei smirked down at me as he gripped his cocked. Lining himself up beside Chen Zi Han, he pushed down hard, causing my muscles that I never thought could be stretched anymore to be stretched more. He continued the steady pressure until he bottomed outside of me.

    I clenched my muscles feeling both cocks inside of me. The feeling was¡­ indescribable. I never even knew that this was a thing¡­ but oh my fucking god¡­ I needed this to be an almost everyday thing. I once again clenched down, causing both Chen Zi Han and Liu Wei to moan in reply.

    Liu Wei slowly pulled out until only his head was still inside of me and then pushed back in. However, this time, when he pushed back in, Chen Zi Han started to pull out.

    The back-and-forth motion started out slow, Liu Wei studying my face for the slightest sign of difort. However, my only source of difort was how slow they were going.

    Wang Chao chuckled. "Stop being so gentle. She is not going to break. She wants you to fuck her."

    And that was why you need at least one psychic in a situation like this.

    Liu Wei and Chen Zi Han both let out a strained chuckle and briefly looked at each other.

    Whether they reached an agreement or if it was Wang Chao''s words, it was like the floodgates opened. Liu Wei started to pound into me harder, and Chen Zi Han matched him stroke for stroke.

    I could feel the pressure building up until I couldn''t hold back my orgasm anymore. Tilting my head back, I screamed my pleasure as my guys grunted their own release.

    Satisfied, I fell back asleep, both guys still inside of me.

    ----

    Liu Wei looked at Chen Zi Han on the other side of a passed-out Li Dai Lu. He smirked at the other man, satisfied that he had managed to fuck her into oblivion.

    "In the interest of full disclosure, I have absolutely no interest in you," said Liu Wei as he gently pulled himself out of the warmth of his woman''s core. As soon as he was fully out, the mixed seed from him, Chen Zi Han, and Liu Yu Zeng came out with him.

    Chen Zi Han grunted as he slowly pulled out, not wanting to disturb his Princess'' sleep. "On that point, we are inplete agreement," he answered with a smirk. "But, on a side note, that was¡­ something."

    "Fuck yeah," grunted Liu Wei as he adjusted his sses. "That will be happening again."

 Chapter 427 Stay With Her

    ?

    Wang Chao leaned back in his chair, watching Liu Wei and Chen Zi Han cleaning up Li Dai Lu and the bed after their mind-blowing morning. Liu Yu Zeng, after throwing on a pair of pajama bottoms, gently took Li Dai Lu into his arms and waited off on the side as the sheets were reced.

    Once Chen Zi Han was assured that the bed was in perfect condition for their woman, Liu Yu Zeng ced her back in the middle, tucking her in gently. "Are you going to stay with her?" asked Liu Wei, approaching the man.

    Wang Chao quickly put her underwear into his pocket and grunted. "You guys need to deal with the Red Dragon shit. I''ll only be in the way. I''ll stay here. Once you are done, we will go look at yachts."

    Liu Wei raised an eyebrow and looked at the man sitting in front of him. "That bullshit might work on others, but I know you too well," he scoffed. "Next time, just say you want some alone time."

    "Fine. I want alone time with her," Wang Chao said, raising an eyebrow of his own.

    "Then get undressed and into bed," whispered Liu Yu Zeng as he pped the other man on the shoulder. "We''ll be backter."

    "Just make sure that you are safe," grunted Wang Chao as he stood up and started to pull off his shirt. "Don''t wake her up because one of you got hurt."

    "What about Bin An Sha?" asked Liu Wei, pulling on a clean white shirt from his brother''s closet. Grabbing a pair of ck pants and a ck vest, he quickly got dressed.

    "Fuck, forgot about him," snorted Liu Yu Zeng. "Send him out to fight more zombies?"

    "If anyone knows what is in that mud water, it would be him," pointed out Wang Chao, taking off his pants. Only in his ck boxer briefs, he pulled back the white duvet cover and climbed into the bed. He gently pulled Li Dai Lu in closer, tucking her against his side.

    "I''ll go ask him what could be in it," growled Chen Zi Han. He was fully dressed in his standard ck dress pants with a ck button-up dress shirt. A silver belt buckle was the only ssh of color on him; even his tattoos were hidden away. He adjusted the button on his wrist before looking up at the others.

    "Who lives and who dies?" he asked. Liu Yu Zeng handed his friend a new pair of ck leather gloves and watched as Chen Zi Han turned into the most feared enforcer in all of Country K.

    "You really need to ask?" smirked Liu Yu Zeng as he pulled out a blood-red shirt from his closet. He shrugged it on and started to do up the buttons, only leaving the first two undone. He tucked it into his ck dress pants and went back to his closet to find a belt.

    "Yeah," grunted Chen Zi Han as he walked over to the door and stood in front of it. His hands were loosely sped in front of him, his feet shoulder-width apart.

    Liu Yu Zeng shrugged on his shoulder holster before tossing a second one to the other man. "Kill them all. I never want to go through this bullshit again," he growled as he checked his guns and put them in their holsters. "Coming back to this was not part of my n."

    "Understood."

    "Go get the information we need. We will leave when you are done," said Liu Yu Zeng. Chen Zi Han grunted as he finished putting his guns away and left the room. "Are youing with us or babysitting?" he asked, turning to his brother.

    "I''lle with you," said Liu Wei, going into a special drawer in his brother''s dresser and pulling out a pair of ck leather half gloves.

    "Be safe,e home," yawned Li Dai Lu, not even bothering to open her eyes. The three men chuckled, and Wang Chao brought the covers up higher, just in case she got cold.

    "Always am, always do," said Liu Yu Zeng as he walked over to the bed and gave her a kiss.

    "Get some sleep now; we''ll be back soon. Then we will go shopping for a yacht," chuckled Liu Wei as he waited for his brother to get off the bed before giving her a kiss of his own. She let out a loud yawn and snuggled into Wang Chao''s embrace.

    "Look after her," he said with onest look to Wang Chao.

    "Always."

    Liu Wei softly closed the door behind him as he left the room. Turning around, he saw Chen Zi Han standing over a very pissed-off assassin. "Should I even ask?" he said with a sigh. At least they were quiet enough not to wake their Queen.

    "The fucker gave Princess a cup full of six different types of mushrooms," growled Chen Zi Han, wanting to pull the other man to his feet just so he could punch him again.

    "There was also chai, cocoa, turmeric, sea salt, and cinnamon," growled Bin An Sha as he climbed to his feet. He was still feeling the effects of fighting the zombies and was not in peak condition.

    He felt a hand grab his shoulder, spinning him around before another punchnded on his face.

    "You fucking idiot!" growled Liu Yu Zeng lowly, "Why the fuck would you give someone that is allergic to mushrooms six different types of mushrooms?"

    "Who the Hell is allergic to mushrooms?" scoffed Bin An Sha, looking between the men. Never, in all of his years of medical school, had he ever heard of someone being allergic to mushrooms.

    "Li Dai Lu!" said the other three men at the same time. "She is also allergic to alcohol," added Chen Zi Han as an afterthought.

    "There is no way that she is allergic to mushrooms. She just probably doesn''t like them and has made something up to exin why she won''t eat them," scoffed Bin An Sha. "Less than 0.1% of the poption is allergic to mushrooms, and for the most part, it is because they are allergic to mold."

    "I don''t care what you think or what the numbers are. If you ever give her mushrooms again, they will still be finding your body parts ten years from now," threatened Chen Zi Han.

 Chapter 428 Whatever You Need

    ?

    (NSFW)

    This time, when I woke up, I was deliciously sore in all the right ces. Moaning in delight, I opened my eyes to see Wang Chao staring down at me. "Good morning, Sleeping Beauty. Or should I say good afternoon?" he joked, cing a kiss on the top of my head.

    I wrinkled my nose, not at all impressed with his sense of humor. I would sleep all day and all night if I could, and the man knew it. "How are you feeling?" he continued, not minding my silence.

    "Good," I replied with a smile. And I was feeling fantastic. "But why didn''t¡ª" I started to ask, but I trailed off midsentence, not sure how to keep going.

    "But why didn''t I join in on the fun?" he asked with a gentle smile on his face. "Remember, even if you don''t say it out loud, I can still hear it."

    I stuck out my tongue at him but stayed silent, waiting for his answer. The silence continued to stretch as he started to run his fingers through my hair. "I guess¡­ I¡ª" he began before cutting himself off.

    "I am waiting until I have proven myself to you before I sleep with you again," he said quickly, and I could tell that it took a lot out of him to admit that.

    "You don''t have to prove yourself to me," I said, raising my head up to look at him. "None of you have to prove yourselves to me¡­ unless you are trying to imply that I need to prove myself to you?"

    "Fuck no," he growled at the very idea that I had to prove myself worthy of their love. And it was exactly how I felt, too.

    "You are the first one to tell me that you loved me; did you know that?" I said, changing topics. "I will fully admit to being pissed at you for constantly dragging us from one military mission to another, and for a while, I did wonder where I stood with you. However, knowing that you were fighting an internal battle at the same time made things a bit clearer."

    He searched my face for a moment, and whatever he saw caused him to rx.

    "You will never have to prove yourself to me any more than I have to prove myself to you," I emphasized.

    "I understand," he said, a genuine smile on his face. "But I don''t think that I am wrong that you find it hot that I sit in a corner and direct everything for my own viewing pleasure."

    I shrugged my shoulders, not verbally admitting to anything, but yeah, apparently, I loved being watched by my man. A stranger? No way in Hell.

    "I don''t think that anyone who sees you like that will live long enough," smirked Wang Chao, but I felt a bloodthirsty auraing from him. It appeared that he liked the idea just as much as I did.

    "I''m good with you being the only voyeur in our lives," I giggle, and he grunted, pulling me under him. Wrapping my arms around his neck, I pulled him down for a kiss.

    I could feel his hands drifting up and down my naked skin. I sighed in delight, the purposeful moves just as much of a turn-on as fast and hard was. I moaned into his mouth as his hands drifted to my core; just as he was about to insert his finger into my wet pussy, there was a pounding at the door.

    I froze and watched as a mask of rage descended on Wang Chao''s face. "What the fuck do you want?" he demanded to the closed door, his body not moving so much as an inch. I tilted my hips up, hoping that I could get him to scratch the itch he started.

    "I need to check on Li Dai Lu," called a voice, and it took me a moment to ce it.

    "Go away," growled Wang Chao as he looked down at me, the dark look still on his face. I could feel my heart speed up, but it wasn''t from fear. I looked up at him from under myshes and licked my lips as I moved my hips, taking my own pleasure from his finger.

    I had a very specific idea that I wanted, but I was not sure that he would be open to it. After all, not everyone would be.

    The hand that was just brushing my clit shot upward, gripping my neck and pushing me into the bed. "Let me make something perfectly clear, little one," he growled deep and low into my ear. "There is nothing wrong with wanting something. And there is never anything wrong with knowing that you are safe enough to be willing to explore those desires. I am here to fulfill every thought in your head."

    I took a deep breath, feeling the restraint around my neck. The feeling caused muscles that I didn''t even know were tense to loosen.

    I had read somewhere that the type of person you were for most of your time was sometimes rted to your¡­ sexual preferences. Those who made important decisions or constantly made decisions didn''t want to make decisions when it came to sex. Those who tended to have a more dominant personality sometimes liked it when they could find someone they could submit to.

    "I am here to be who you need," whispered Wang Chao, the strength in his hand never wavering. I sighed in contentment, the pressure of his hand causing me to almost want to drift off to sleep again.

    "Whatever you need," he repeated as he gently kissed my forehead. I could feel sleep calling to me again when the pounding on the door startled me, causing me to bolt upright in bed and look around.

    Wang Chao, as soon as he felt me sit up, moved his hand and pulled me into his arms. "It''s okay; it''s only a dead man," he soothed as his hand rubbed my arm up and down.

    "Like a guy who you are going to kill or a guy that was once alive and now is a zombie dead?" I asked, the slight smirk on my face telling him I already knew the answer; I was just having fun.

    The pounding continued, and Wang Chao swore under his breath.

 Chapter 429 Allergic To Mushrooms

    ?

    Wang Chao gentlyid me back down on the bed before he quickly got out and pulled on a pair of pants. Pulling my panties out of his pocket, he tossed them to me, along with my sweater. "Better get some clothes on, or I really will kill him for seeing you naked," he growled, and I couldn''t hold back my chuckle.

    He was absolutely adorable right now.

    Hearing my thoughts, he narrowed his eyes at me and waited until I had finished getting dressed before opening the door.

    "What the fuck do you want?" sneered Wang Chao, blocking the other man''s view into the room.

    "I need to check on the Queen," said Bin An Sha. "I also brought her a cup of mud water."

    I raised my eyes and looked at Wang Chao. There was no way anyone was going to get me to drink that thing again, even if it wasn''t what made me sick in the first ce. I frantically shook my head no, and Wang Chao turned his attention back to the man in front of him.

    "You know she is allergic to mushrooms; the rest of the guys have already exined that to you," said Wang Chao, not budging an inch. And the idiotic man thought he had something to prove.

    "But it is impossible for her to be allergic to mushrooms. I know that the drink did not poison her as the others im," said Bin An Sha, holding his ground. I would have to give it to him; most would have long crumbled under the look he was getting from Wang Chao.

    "So you think what? That I will just stand aside while you give her something that almost killed her not 24 hours ago?"

    "I figured if she was healthy¡ª" Before Bin An Sha could finish his sentence, Wang Chao had him by his neck and pinned up against the wall. And he was definitely not as gentle as he was with me.

    "Do not test me," said Wang Chao through gritted teeth. "I thought that you would be able to look after her if something had happened to me, so I let you tag along. But make no mistake, I will kill you if you upset her. Now, fuck off. That drink is never getting near her. Do you understand me?"

    Bin An Sha looked at me sullenly as if I was going to intercede on his behalf when it came to any of the guys. I snorted and purposefully looked away. The bond between us was nowhere close to what I had with the guys when I first met them. Something told me that as much as we might have had a connection way back when, at the end of the day, I could still live without him.

    "I''m telling you, it is not the drink. Everyone in City A drinks it and are just fine," pressed Bin An Sha, his face turning red as Wang Chao increased the strength of his grip.

    "And I am telling you, she is allergic to mushrooms," answered Wang Chao evenly.

    "That is scientifically impossible," sputtered the other man, looking back and forth between us. "Tell him," he encouraged me.

    I let out a sigh and turned my attention to Wang Chao. "I am allergic to mushrooms. I have always been allergic to mushrooms. In the three lives that I can remember, I have been allergic to mushrooms." Turning back to the other man, I huffed out another sigh.

    "There, I told him. Are you happy now?" I demanded. "Now, get the fuck out of my room. I need to get dressed."

    Wang Chao grunted and dragged Bin An Sha out of the room by his throat, closing the door behind him.

    I fell back on the bed and let out a third sigh. "You know, they say you shorten your own life every time you sigh," said Violence,ing to sit beside me on the bed.

    "Is he right?" I asked, not bothering to turn my head to look at him. "Is it impossible to be allergic to mushrooms?"

    "You are fucking the Four Horsemen of the apocalypse, and you are wondering if things are possible or not? I am pretty sure that you are living proof that everything is possible," she answered, lying down beside me.

    "True," I acknowledged. "So, what brings you by this time?"

    "You," she answered with a smile.

    "Well, I figured it wasn''t for the guys. What''s up?" I asked, not too sure if I really wanted to know. After all, this was the woman that sent me into a fucking submarine at the bottom of the ocean for a button I can''t even press.

    "You have to stay away from all things mushrooms," said Violence, rolling over to look at me.

    "Done," I replied. There was no way in Hell I would ever willingly eat a mushroom. And now that I know Bin An Sha is making a point of feeding me mushrooms, I was going to stay away from him, too.

    "What do you know about mushrooms?" she asked curiously.

    "That they taste like crap and make me sick?" I asked, not sure what she was trying to get at.

    "ording to folklore, mushrooms have always been a symbol of life, death, and rebirth. Did you know that?" she said, her eyes searching mine like she was hoping that this might be that one clue that would turn on the lightbulb and have me say, ''Eureka, I now know who I am.'' Unfortunately for her, I didn''t put much stock in folklore.

    "So you are saying that I am allergic to life, death, and rebirth? Because I hate to break it to you, I have experienced that at least two to three times in recent memory," I sneered, throwing off the nket and grabbing my jeans and bra off of the floor.

    She let out a bark ofughter. "Yeah, I guess it would be hard to believe that you are allergic to rebirth if you have been reborn countless times up to this point," Violence said, "Just stay away from mushrooms and it is going to be all good."

    "Do you want to tell me why?" I asked, all joking aside.

    "Have you ever seen Snow White?" wondered Violence, answering my question with another question.

    "Yeah, the very first reverse harem," I chuckled, causing Violence to roll her eyes.

    "Hardly, there were reverse harems since the beginning of time. But I digress¡­ You are allergic to mushrooms the same way she was allergic to apples."

 Chapter 430 Thank You For Letting Us Know

    ?

    Violence left me after saying her little words of wisdom, and I quickly got dressed.

    For the life of me, I could not understand how she equated my allergy to eating a poisoned apple and falling asleep, but if she said to stay away from them, then I would listen to her. Running quickly to the ensuite bathroom, I washed my face and brushed my teeth.

    Pulling my hair up into a ponytail, I looked at myself in the mirror, making sure that everything was in order before I went out. And just because I was taking a lot more time with my appearance had nothing to do with the fact that I didn''t want to be around Bin An Sha or his whole mushroom thing.

    Absolutely nothing at all. I was just starting to care about my looks for the first time in my past three lives.

    I left the bathroom just in time to hear yelling and crashing. That should be the rest of the guysing back from dealing with syndicate matters and learning that the good doctor tried to give me the mushroom drink again.

    There was another crash and the sound of something heavy hitting the wall. I probably should go out before they destroy the house. I didn''t know who it belonged to, but they might want it back.

    "Wee home," I said, leaving the bedroom and walking into a line of my four men staring down at Bin An Sha. You know, for an assassin, he certainly gets his ass kicked a lot. Maybe that was why he switched to medicine.

    I came to a sudden stop as I looked at my men. All four of them looked like they could havee straight out of a GQ magazine, and mydy bits were reacting to them like I was not just wrung out dry a couple of hours ago.

    "You fucking tried to give her the drink?" demanded Chen Zi Han, and I could guess who was the one doing the throwing.

    "Now, now," I said, going to stand in front of the giant. He was so frigging hot, dressed all in ck, that it took me a few minutes to remember what I was going to say. "We don''t know who this ce belongs to, so try not to damage it too much," I continued, stroking Chen Zi Han''s chest and marveling at the muscles underneath his shit.

    "We do, Sweetness," said Liu Yu Zeng as he ced his elbow on Chen Zi Han''s shoulder and leaned in to talk to me. "It''s mine."

    "This ce is yours?" I asked, looking at the beautiful furniture and the stunning views of the mountains and the ocean.

    "Yup," he said with a nod. "I needed a ce away from thepound where I could just rx," he continued.

    "So, if this ce is yours, then that means that it is mine too, right?" I asked, cocking my head to the side. I was a firm believer in the idea that what was theirs was mine, and what was mine was mine, too.

    "Correct," said Wang Chao with a smile. "This ce is yours."

    "Then, if that is the case, I really don''t want it to get damaged. You guys can go y elsewhere," I said, shooing them out of the living room and toward the front door. I passed a chef''s kitchen and paused for a second to take in the ck cabs with white marble countertops and all stainless steel appliances.

    "Chen Zi Han insisted that the kitchen be done just so," said Liu Yu Zeng,ing to stand beside me. "Do you like it?"

    "Love it," I said, nodding my head. Yeah, I could definitely picture this ce being a vacation house for us. There was no way I was going to let anything happen to it.

    Doubling down on my conviction, I went back to pushing Bin An Sha out of the house. Which, in hindsight, it was probably not a good idea to put my hands on someone that was trying to poison me.

    Pulling out a handful of powder from somewhere, he smeared it all over my hand and arm that was touching him.

    Chen Zi Han let out a roar of anger as his brain processed what happened much faster than mine did. Picking me up, he rushed into the kitchen and sat me down on the counter beside the sink. Gently grabbing my right arm, he turned on the water and started washing the powdery substance away.

    Once he was satisfied that the brown power was gone, he thenthered up my hand and arm with soap and water before rinsing it off a second time. Patting my arm dry, he picked it up and studied it in the light.

    There wasn''t so much as a red mark from the powder, which I could only assume was mud water.

    "Told you she wasn''t allergic," came Bin An Sha, strolling into the kitchen, the rest of the guys following behind him. "If she were, then her skin would have had a reaction of some kind or another."

    "You know," I said as Chen Zi Han picked me up off the counter and put me down on the floor. "There are a lot easier ways to die."

    Bin An Sha looked at me for a moment before turning away and addressing the guys. "All I am saying is that I don''t think she had a reaction to the mud water, which is why it is not my fault she got sick."

    "That was your whole reason for chasing her around? To make sure she realized that it wasn''t you who poisoned her?" demanded Liu Yu Zeng as he undid the cuff buttons of his shirt and started to roll up his sleeves. "You''re insane."

    "Hardly," scoffed Bin An Sha. "All I am trying to say is that I care about her just as much as the rest of you and would not do anything to hurt her."

    "Thanks for letting us know that," I said, leaning against Chen Zi Han. "I really appreciate it." I wasn''t going to get into a long, drawn-out fight. It just wasn''t worth my time or energy. Instead, I pulled the very Canadian move of dismissing him with politeness. "However, I think the guys and I were about to leave. Will you be okay here on your own? I know you are still not feeling up to a lot of strenuous activity."

 Chapter 431 Get Away

    ?

    We left Bin An Sha home, looking like a puppy with separation anxiety. Oh, well. I needed some time away from having mushrooms being shoved down my throat.

    We went to the closest marina to Liu Yu Zeng''s ce to look at potential yachts. We parked the truck and bikes in the parking lot and walked down to the wharf. My first impression of the boats, ships¡­ yachts was that they were decidedly unimpressive... and borderline ugly.

    I don''t exactly know what I had in my head for what I was looking for, maybe something along the lines of a cruise ship, but these boats didn''t look big enough to be safe out in the middle of the ocean.

    "This one is mine," said Liu Yu Zeng as we approached something more along the lines that I was expecting for a yacht. It was all white along the exterior, with four levels clearly above water. Walking closer to it, I nodded my approval. It also didn''t hurt that it was three times the size of the boat next to it.

    Whoever said that size didn''t matter was not thinking about going out on the ocean for a few months with free-range sharks and zombies swimming underneath you.

    "I don''t know if it will work or not, but we might as well take a tour while we are here," he continued with a shrug as he jumped into the small tform at the bottom of two sets of stairs. I looked down briefly and the thin line of water between the dock and the boat and saw two beady eyes staring back at me.

    Yeah, that was going to be an issue.

    I hissed at the zombie, sending out a wave of bloodlust, and watched as it disappeared under the waves.

    "Everything okay?" asked Wang Chao as he came up to stand beside me.

    "Fine," I snapped, still staring into the water. "Apparently, I am a zombie maic now," I continued to grumble as yet another pair of eyes looked up at me from even deeper in the water. A picture of me trying to get onto Liu Yu Zeng''s yacht only to be grabbed by a zombie and dragged down into the water popped into my head before I could stop it.

    "Liu Yu Zeng," called Wang Chao, and the other man turned to look at him. "Give me your hand," Wang Chao continued, holding out his hand to Liu Yu Zeng.

    With a confused look on his face, Liu Yu Zeng reached forward and sped the other man''s hand, causing the ship to bump gently into the dock.

    I looked down and realized that there was no longer a big enough gap for me to see the zombies, and I sighed in relief. Chen Zi Han quickly hopped onto the boat and held out his hand for me to grab.

    With onest check to make sure that there was no way for a zombie to drag me under, I got onto the boat as gracefully as I possibly could. Liu Wei quickly got on after me, and once he was certain that everyone was safe onboard the ship, Wang Chao finally let Liu Yu Zeng pull him up.

    "I am really hoping that this one works," I said, looking at my men. "I don''t really want to keep getting on and off of these things."

    Chen Zi Han grunted his agreement, and Liu Wei only chuckled. "How about I take you around as Liu Yu Zeng goes to see if everything is in working order," said Liu Wei as he wrapped an arm around my waist. Chen Zi Han quickly ced a kiss on the hand he was still holding before he let go.

    "I''ll go help Liu Yu Zeng," he said as he walked up the seven steps to the first floor. Opening up the gate, he turned to look down at the rest of us. "Don''t stay down there too long."

    There was a moment of silence while Wang Chao, Liu Wei, and I just stood still, the boat gently rocking under us.

    "Ladies first," said Liu Wei, and I quickly went up the stairs, wanting as much space between me and the zombies as I could.

    Getting to the first official level of the yacht, I looked around. There was what looked like a hot tub right beside me with a bunch of lounge chairs around it. There was a sky roof between two of the chairs, and I could only assume that that meant that the sleeping quarters were down a level¡­ near the water''s surface.

    I shuddered at the thought of zombies being able to watch me sleep.

    "If you are really that stressed about being on the water, why are we even doing this? Let''s find a nice piece ofnd and stay there. It doesn''t have to be the ranch. We can always make a new ranch if you want," suggested Wang Chao as he wrapped his arms around me.

    He had a good point, and I know he did. But I just wanted to stop people-ing for a while as I mentally prepared myself for the next few years. I figured that being lost on the ocean for a few months would aplish all that.

    "You know, I seem to remember a cabin in the middle of the mountains about 900km away from here," suggested Liu Wei, looking at me with a smile on his face. "I don''t know if it would be good for farming or raising animals, but it is definitely deserted; we can see for miles, and best of all, there shouldn''t be anyone around because no one knows about it."

    "If no one knows about it, then how did you find it?" I asked, cocking my head to the side and smiling at him.

    "Because it is mine," he said with a shrug like it was no big deal. Wang Chao''s head swung around and looked at him. "You have a house I don''t know about?" he demanded, almost offended at the very possibility.

    Liu Wei smiled and shrugged his shoulders. "It was a retirement n for when I wanted to get away from everyone and everything."

    Huh, it looked like I wasn''t the only one to think like that.

 Chapter 432 Okay, New Plan

    ?

    I walked around the deck chairs and skylight and further into the middle of the ship. Nodding my approval of the white sectional and chairs, the beige throw pillows, and the three coffee tables, I went to sit down in the middle of the sectional.

    "This superyacht has about seven guest cabins, a fully outfitted gym, a salon, as well as a pool," said Liu Yu Zeng as he and Chen Zi Han entered the living room from the other side of the ship. "And the even better news is that it is still in working order."

    Well¡­ fuck. I was kind of hoping that it looked pretty but was dead in the water so I wouldn''t have to disappoint anyone who thought a cruise was a good idea.

    "However, there is bad news," interjected Chen Zi Han, ring at his friend beside him. "A yacht this size normally requires at least 20 people to crew it. Liu Yu Zeng, as much as he thinks otherwise, does not actually know how to do that, and I am not willing to risk Princess."

    Huh, maybe things would work out in my favor after all. That whole idea of a cabin in the mountains was sounding better and better, especially when something, all of a sudden, something bumped into the outside of the ship hard enough to send us rocking back and forth.

    Yup, being in the mountains was definitely climbing to the top of my list.

    "We can grab some of the guys from thepound," suggested Liu Yu Zeng, and Chen Zi Han already started shaking his head before he could finish his sentence.

    "Nope, no way. We need a crew that actually knows what they are doing. Besides, do you really trust 20 of our men on a ship with Princess? You would have started tossing them overboard as soon as you felt they had stared at her too long," said Chen Zi Han, looking to Liu Wei and Wang Chao for their input.

    "I have suggested a cabin in the mountains," said Liu Wei as there was yet another bump. I was thankful we were still sitting at the docks; otherwise, if I was in the middle of the ocean, I would definitely be freaking out about now.

    Liu Yu Zeng paused and looked at his brother for a second. "Who would all be there?" he asked slowly.

    "The five of us," shrugged Liu Wei. "In fact, we can leave for it right now. I assume you still have your habit of clearing out a ce when you leave it?" he continued, looking at me.

    I shrugged my shoulders, not admitting to anything. Besides, the guys knew me well enough to know that Liu Yu Zeng''s ce was emptied except for the furniture.

    "Only the five of us? No outsiders, no guards, no zombies¡­ no assassins?" pushed Liu Yu Zeng, looking around at everyone.

    "Only the five of us," confirmed Wang Chao with a smile.

    "Okay, new n. We go there," nodded Liu Yu Zeng as he turned around to go back the way he came from. I let out a soft sigh of relief. Arge part of me was worried that he would insist on going for the cruise, and I knew that I would have agreed just so he wouldn''t be upset.

    "Done," said Chen Zi Han, dipping his head down and kissing me. "To have you all to ourselves every hour of every day seems like heaven."

    Yeah, this cabin idea was starting to sound better and better.

    I quickly started to go through the list of supplies I had in my space. I still had more than enough sr panels, working appliances, and lights to outfit a base the size of City A, so that won''t be a problem. My farnd still had ducks, chickens, cows, horses, sheep, and pigs, so meat, dairy, and eggs were covered.

    The farnd itself still had endless fields of grain, corn, and almost every other vegetable I could think of. My orchards were producing fruit faster than I could keep up with, and I was drowning in the amount of strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries that I had.

    Yeah, I couldn''t think of a single problem with moving to a mountain with just me and the guys. Hell, I could get back to baking and canning again.

    I closed my eyes and pictured what it might be like and felt the tense muscles in my body rx.

    I could still send out my zombies to take over the country and destroy mankind, and I wouldn''t have to be out on the water to do it.

    "All right, I am ready," said Liu Yu Zeng,ing back. "I just went to grab the keys. No point in letting anyone else get their hands on my yacht. I paid a crap ton of money for it."

    "Really? How much?" I asked, curious. I looked around at thevish interior as well as the size and thought that it would easily cost a few million. However, I was able to buy a huge ranch that backed onto the mountains around City A for $5 million, so there was no way the yacht would cost more than that.

    "A little over $90 million. I got a really good deal on it," said Liu Yu Zeng with a satisfied nod of his head. I blinked a few times, letting his words sink in¡ªover $90 million for this yacht. I could buy my ranch 18 times for that amount of money. No wonder only rich people could buy a yacht.

    Looking around with new information, I came to a really important understanding. Rich people spent their money on useless shit because, at the end of the day, there was no way his yacht was nicer than my ranch.

    Oh well, "Bless your heart," I said to Liu Yu Zeng, nodding my head. "I''ll make sure to put this in one of thekes inside of my space. The ducks won''t be happy, but you are right. There is no way I am letting someone take a $90 million yacht."

    Of course, that didn''t apply to me taking anyone else''s yacht.

 Chapter 433 No Point In Killing More Than I Have To

    ?

    With the new ns made, we decided that there was no time like the present to start heading to the cabin.

    Once again, Liu Yu Zeng and Chen Zi Han got off the yacht first and used both Wang Chao and Liu Wei to pull the boat closer to the dock so I wouldn''t have to see the zombies lurking just under the water''s surface.

    After everyone had made it onto the dock safely, I vanished the ship into my space. Maybe one day, when there were no zombies in the ocean, we could revisit going on a cruise, but the world would have to change a lot between now and then.

    "Are we going to bother telling Bin An Sha where we are going?" I asked, looking specifically at Wang Chao.

    "Fuck that," growled Liu Yu Zeng right before Wang Chao shook his head no.

    "He is lucky to still be breathing after that stunt he pulled," added Chen Zi Han as he escorted me back to Cerberus and the bikes. "He can stay at the condo. I am sure he is smart enough to leave when he notices that there isn''t any food in it."

    "You would think that, wouldn''t you?" chuckled Wang Chao. "But I''ve seen him go a week before realizing that he needed something to eat."

    "Meh," I said, shrugging my shoulders. Not my circus, not my monkeys.

    "I think it would be a good idea to grab some supplies," suggested Liu Wei,pletely changing the topic. "I haven''t really furnished it yet, thinking I would have a few years before I was going to be living there," he continued as he got on Reaper.

    "Wait¡­ we are going to a cabin in the middle of the mountains that has not been furnished yet?" I asked, my eyebrows merging into my bangs.

    "Yeah, is that going to be a problem? There should be some home decor stores in the nine hours it will take us to get there," replied Liu Wei, looking at me with concern.

    "No, that sounds like heaven," I said with a sigh. I could decorate a whole new ce and have it be exactly what I wanted. Images started going through my mind about what I was going to do. I might not have ever seen the ce, but that didn''t mean I couldn''t n. And if my ideas didn''t fit, I am sure that we could easily knock down some walls to create the space.

    "Might want to at least double that E.T.A," chuckled Wang Chao. "She has stars in her eyes. I don''t think we are going to be rushing the process."

    "And heaven help anyone who gets between her and her ideas,"ughed Chen Zi Han as he picked me up and put me in Cerberus. "Might as well consider this a vacation and enjoy the journey."

    "Works for me," I said, the smile growing bigger and bigger on my face.

    ----

    We had driven maybe thirty minutes from the marina and into downtown City H on our way back out when we were stopped by a handful of humans blocking the only road.

    Cerberus came to a stop behind the line of guys, and I just sat in the truck, more than willing to let my men handle things. Given my current mood, I was more than happy just to run the people over in order to get on with my shopping.

    Resting my elbow on the door, I closed my eyes, thinking that maybe if I took a nap, I would get to the furniture store faster.

    However, the bestid ns¡­

    "My Queen," said Cerberus hesitantly, his soft voice pulling me out of my nap.

    "Are we there yet?" I asked with a yawn. I sat up straight and stretched out my back, hearing all the cracks and pops in it.

    "I am afraid not," answered Cerberus. "We haven''t left our position yet."

    "Are the guys in trouble?" I said, opening my eyes to look around. We were still in the exact same position that we were in earlier.

    "No," he confirmed. "Hower, there is arge group of zombiesing up behind us, and I don''t think anyone has noticed."

    I thought about what he said for a moment and realized that I didn''t get my zombies from the huge horde that the guys were fighting when we first got here. Chances are, after I was poisoned, they just killed them all so that they could leave with me. Now was a good opportunity to make up the numbers.

    "Thanks!" I called out to Cerberus as I got out of the cab and walked away from the guys and the humans blocking our path. Maybe I could give the zombies a little snack to speed up their cooperation and get rid of the nuisances in front.

    I might have walked about ten minutes before I came up to the scouts. Cerberus was right that no one would have known that they were there. "Alpha," I growled at them and stood still, waiting to see what they would do next.

    The zombie in the center looked at me and cocked his head to the side, showing off his array of teeth.

    "I am not one you want to challenge," I assure him, calling my purple me and setting him on fire. You always needed that one to act as a messenger to the others. Turning my attention to the scout to the right, I repeated my request.

    It hissed at me before turning around and heading back the way it came.

    I faced the remaining eight zombies, none of them daring to move more than their normal swaying. It took maybe five minutes or so before I saw movement off in the distance. Switching my vision to be able to see their mes, I watched as an almost solid wall of purple and blue mes rushed toward me.

    I let out a roar to let them know exactly what they were rushing into and watched as the wall slowed down. I had a use for these zombies, so there was no point in killing any more than I absolutely had to.

 Chapter 434 What She Told Us To Do

    ?

    The scouts parted to let their Alpha through, and I watched as the light blue zombie approached me. His head was tilting back and forth as he stared at me. Opening his mouth slightly, he showed me his bloody teeth with chunks of flesh caught between them before closing his mouth again.

    I bared my teeth. I knew that they were nowhere as impressive as his, butbined with my purple me, I think he got the point.

    "What want?" he hissed at me, his voice scratchy fromck of use.

    "To feed you," I replied with a toothy smile on my face. "I know where you can find all the dumb meat you want," I continued, remembering what the zombie king had called humans.

    "What catch?" asked the zombie, his eyes narrowing on me as he swayed back and forth in a hypnotic manner.

    "No catch," I assured him. "You leave this city and follow the roads, eating whatever you happen toe across."

    "Leave city?" he questioned as if he had never thought about doing that before.

    "Yes. There are too many of you and not enough prey. Leave the city and find new prey," I said, trying to speak slowly and clearly so he could understand. It wasn''t that he was stupid; there was simply anguage barrier between us.

    "Leave city, find new prey," he repeated, cocking his head to the side and studied me.

    "Exactly."

    "No catch?"

    "No catch."

    He let out a grunt and let out a loud roar that the hundreds of zombies repeated. He looked at me again for a moment before the scouts dashed past me. Since the Alpha hadn''t moved, I didn''t bother to leave either.

    After about fifteen minutes, the scout came back and went to stand in front of the Alpha. No words were exchanged, no sounds or anything else to describe what he saw, but soon, the Alpha grunted and turned toward me.

    "Many stupid meat," he said, narrowing his eyes on me like I had lied to him or something.

    "There are," I nodded, thinking that he meant the line of humans that was trying to keep me and my men inside the city. "You eat."

    Great, now I was grunting my sentences like he was. Cracking my neck, I let out a frustrated breath of air before I opened my mouth. "There are four men from my horde; you will not touch them, or I will kill you painfully. Kill the others," I said, not too sure how much the Alpha would have caught.

    "Four live, rest die?"

    "Sure, let''s go with that," I said, sending out a message to my men not to turn around until I told them it was safe to do so. "The four to live will have their backs to you," I continued, hoping that this would work. The next time I wanted to recruit a horde, I would have to think of a better way to keep my men and my zombies separated.

    Don''t get me wrong, by no means was I concerned about my men dying. I just didn''t want them to kill my cannon fodder so soon.

    The Alpha grunted before taking off in the direction that I hade from, his horde following quickly after him. I stood still, letting the zombies part around me like a rock in the river.

    ''They''reing,'' I said through my link with the guys. ''I hope you didn''t want any of the other humans to stay alive.''

    I waited until thest line of zombies passed me before turning around and returning the way I came.

    The world really was a different ce when you truly understood your role in it, I thought to myself.

    There was a time when I would tremble in fear over just the thought of seeing a zombie on a supply run; now, I got cranky when I didn''t see one.

    Yes, the world had definitely changed for me.

    I started to sing a sweet song about looking good for someone under my breath as I slowly walked toward what I could only assume would be a massacre. What Ipletely missed was a single pink me hiding inside of one of the buildings, watching the whole scene between me and the zombies.

    ----

    "Any idea what she meant by that?" asked Liu Yu Zeng as he leaned against Chen Zi Han. There was a group of maybe 20 or 30 people demanding their help in front of them, not letting them leave the city unless they submitted to their demands.

    Unfortunately for the humans in front of them, the only demands they would submit to was that of their Queen.

    "No idea," grunted Chen Zi Han, wondering how Liu Wei and Wang Chao had so much patience to deal with those people. If it were up to him, he would have started shooting. Then the situation would have been over long before now. "But no matter what happens, don''t turn around."

    "Yeah," sighed Liu Yu Zeng. "The only problem is that I am getting the feeling that there is a huge threat at my back. It is taking everything inside of me not to turn around."

    "And you think that isn''t the same as the rest of us?" chuckled Chen Zi Hand, and Liu Yu Zeng could see that the other man''s hands were clenched into fists, his knuckles turning white from how hard he was squeezing.

    "But this is what the Queen told us to do," said Liu Wei from over where he stood beside Wang Chao. The two were keeping each other in check to make sure that they didn''t do anything stupid. However, the man in front of him kept screaming in his face, like the louder he yelled, the more likely Liu Wei was to agree to his unreasonable demands.

    "This is what the Queen told us to do," confirmed Liu Yu Zeng.

    There was a brief second where the world seemed to stand still, and the hairs on the back of Liu Wei''s neck stood up straight. When time seemed to restart, there was a rush of zombies bypassing the men like they didn''t exist and descending on the humans in front of them.

 Chapter 435 Did Anyone See That Coming?

    ?

    "You horde?" ask a zombie,ing to a stop between Liu Wei and Wang Chao. The two men looked at each other but didn''t turn to look at the zombie.

    "We are," said Wang Chao, assuming that this was the Alpha zombie of the horde tearing into the human in front of them.

    "No touch," grunted the zombie, clearly not happy with their answer. The two men stayed quiet as all of their instincts screamed at them to turn around and fight. But Li Dai Lu asked them not to, so they wouldn''t.

    The zombie paused for a moment before stepping in front of them. Turning around, he studied the two humans. "Not dumb meat," he said, seemingly memorizing their faces. The zombie then turned to look at Liu Yu Zeng and Chen Zi Han. "Not dumb meat," he grunted a second time.

    He paused for a second before turning back around and looking at his horde. Seeing them all on the ground, gorging on the flesh of the dumb meat in front of them, the zombie Alpha nodded. It was worth it to listen to the Lord if it meant more flesh to eat. "Leave city; find more prey," he said, repeating hermand.

    He let his zombies continue to eat until it seemed like the majority of them were finished. Letting out a roar, he watched his scouts take off down the street. Feeling a light pressure on his leg, the Alpha looked down at a small purple zombie less than half his size.

    The small female held up a severed arm to the Alpha, not moving as he stared at the offering. The smell was definitely no longer appetizing, the blood no longer flowing quickly through the dumb meat''s veins. With a sigh, the Alpha epted the meat and patted the small one on the head.

    He watched as the female ran back to where arger female stood. She looked at the Alpha for a second before lowering her head and eyes. Grunting, the Alpha took arge bite from the limb, ripping the flesh from the bone. Swallowing the unappetizing meat, the Alpha looked back at the female and her offspring, making sure that they saw him eating. The female nodded to him and opened her mouth with a smile, satisfied that her mate was eating properly.

    When the scout returned, letting him know that the way was clear, the Alpha roared out his next set of instructions to his horde, and as one, the zombies walked forward, ready for whatever the bigger world offered them. At least his horde will be able to eat.

    ----

    "Did I just see what I thought I just saw?" asked Liu Yu Zeng as he walked up to his brother and Wang Chao once the zombies had left.

    "That apparently the Alpha is just as whipped as the rest of us are?" asked Liu Wei, adjusting his sses.

    "That his daughter is kind of cute?" asked Chen Zi Han,ing on the other side of Wang Chao.

    "That it makes me want a daughter, too?" added Wang Chao with a smirk on his face.

    "I really didn''t see thating," admitted Liu Yu Zeng, rubbing the back of his neck. "Now I am feeling guilty for all the zombies I killed."

    "I don''t think anyone saw thating," said Liu Wei, letting out a harsh chuckle as the reality of what they just saw hit home.

    "Should we open an orphanage?" asked Wang Chao, turning to look at his assistant. "I mean, I don''t know the particrws regarding orphanages for zombies, but they should be simr to those for human children, right?"

    "It should be doable," replied Liu Wei, taking out his notepad and pen. "We would need to learn the best environment for the children, whether that is in the water or onnd, as well as their nutrition requirements."

    "Li Dai Lu mentioned farming humans," interjected Liu Yu Zeng. "Should we look to see how cost-effective that is?"

    "Then again, the zombies in the water seemed healthier," cut in Chen Zi Han. "God only knows what type of toxins the kids would be consuming if their diets only consisted of humans."

    "We''ll find some scientists and get them going on that project," said Wang Chao.

    "Do I even want to know?" asked Li Dai Lu as she approached the men from behind.

    "Thinking about zombie orphanages," said Liu Yu Zeng, turning around and looking at his woman with a smile on his face.

    "Ah," nodded Li Dai Lu. "Never really thought about that, but they are cute, aren''t they?"

    "You know they could have kids?" asked Liu Wei, his eyes wide as he looked at his Sweetheart.

    "Well, yeah, why couldn''t they? They are hard to kill, but they are not the living dead, remember?" she said, looking at the four of them confused. "We could also build a sanctuary for the Asymptomatics if you want to," she added. "I know that some of them be persecuted when a woman gives birth to a zombie."

    "I''ll add that to the list," said Liu Wei, quickly writing down her points.

    "Should that be what we do?" asked Li Dai Lu.

    "What do you mean?" asked Wang Chao walking up and wrapping his arms around her shoulder. She grabbed his forearm and just held him in ce.

    "Originally, I was thinking that I should just teach the humans a lesson," she admitted. "I think I changed the course of things a little too much when we stopped that tide. Life seems too easy for the humans left in the world. But what if instead of just stopping at teaching the humans a lesson, I¡­ we¡­ side with the Asymptomatic and the zombies?"

    "Side with them how?" asked Chen Zi Han as he thought about what she said.

    "Create a new world just for them?" she said slowly, looking around at the men. "Create a world where they are safe, where they can walk the streets, their children attend schools and y in parks. Where Asymptomatics don''t have to fear the deaths of their newborns if it turns out that they carry the zombie gene."

    "What about the humans?" asked Wang Chao, not really caring about the answer either way. He was more than happy to let Li Dai Lu n out the future.

    "What about them? Millions of years making the same mistake over and over again; I think they have fucked up enough."

    "Hell can be Heaven," said Chen Zi Han as he and Liu Yu Zeng shared a look.

 Chapter 436 No Medicine For Regret

    ?

    The atmosphere was still solemn amongst my men, even aftering to the conclusion that they wanted to build a new world for the zombies.

    "All right, talk to me," I said after the silence continued to stretch on.

    "About what?" asked Liu Yu Zeng, looking at me in confusion.

    "About why you are upset," I said, trying to find the right words to exin how they seemed.

    "I just don''t like the idea that I might have killed children, even if they were zombies," said Chen Zi Han from where he was leaning against his bike.

    "Oh, Sweetie," I said, walking up to him and wrapping my arms around him. "You can''t think like that," I continued as I rubbed his back. "You will drive yourself crazy with ''what ifs''. Besides, most hordes with families tend to stay in the cities where it is safer, and food is easier to find. The hordes that we fought wouldn''t have any children in them."

    "How can you be so sure?" asked Chen Zi Han, a pleading look in his eyes like he was begging me to make it all better.

    "Think back. All the hordes that we fought were wandering around, right? Looking for new territory, so to speak," I answered, looking at him. "Most single males in any animal kingdom are sent out to seek new territory while the females and children stay where it is safest¡­ look at most lions and leopards."

    "So, you are saying that those were single zombies with no ties to anywhere that banded together to find food?" he pressed.

    "Exactly," I said. "Which is why that horde was still in City H, even though food was bing scarce. It wasn''t worth it to them to take children out into an unsafe environment."

    "Then how did you convince them to do that?"

    "I pointed out that food was running out in the city but that there was more food outside," I replied with a shrug. "It was a simple matter of survival. They needed to go where the food was."

    "I had no idea they could even have kids¡­ There has never been a child zombie in any of the shows or books," said Liu Yu Zeng. He walked up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist, pinning me between him and Chen Zi Han. "I thought killing zombies was a given."

    "We have been trained all our lives that it is us against the ''others''," I started as Liu Wei and Wang Chao came to stand on either side of me. "It doesn''t matter who the ''other'' is, as long as it is not us," I continued, hoping that the guys would understand what I was trying to say. "For millions of years, humans have searched for something that made someone else ''other'', and the excuses are ridiculous. However, now there is a very clear ''other'' in our lives. Why would you not think to fight and kill them?"

    "It doesn''t make it right," pointed out Chen Zi Han, his head tilted back so that he was looking up at the sky.

    "Never said it did," I answered. "I am saying that it is human nature."

    "And now that we know they aren''t so much ''other'' anymore," said Wang Chao. "Now we can make up for what we did."

    "Exactly," I said with a nod. "But before any of that can happen, you all promised me a shopping trip with a cabin vacation, in case you forgot,'' I mock growled at them, trying to dispel the tension.

    There was no medicine for regret; all we could do was learn from it and move on to create a better future.

    The men chuckled and got on their bikes, "The Queen wants furniture; let''s go get her furniture," said Liu Wei as he put on his helmet.

    "I know the perfect ce," added Liu Yu Zeng, the smirk firmly back in ce. "We can start there and then move on."

    "Keep your eyes open for some good pots and pans," said Chen Zi Han as he, too, put on his helmet and flipped up the visor. "And storage containers for leftovers."

    "Leftovers? What''s that?"ughed Liu Yu Zeng, and the harmony amongst my men was restored.

    No, there was no medicine for regret, but you could learn from it.

    Getting into Cerberus, I closed the door behind me and leaned my head back against the headrest.

    "You never told them that zombies could have babies?" asked Cerberus, and I let out a sigh.

    "Honestly, I thought it was a myth," I said, rubbing my head. "Like the Loch Ness monster or big foot. asionally, you heard of an Asymptomatic woman giving birth to a zombie and the two getting killed, but I had no idea that zombies could actually procreate."

    "What are you thinking about?" my truck wondered after a few minutes of silence.

    "As a human, I feel like I should support the human side of this fight and wipe out all the zombies," I answered slowly, trying to sort out my thoughts even as I was talking about them. "But at the same time, it''s not like the zombies asked to exist. It was humans that created them, and it was humans that now want to eradicate them without asking their opinion. I don''t think that is fair either. I just don''t know what side I should stand on. With great poweres great responsibility," I added as a joke.

    "And if you weren''t human? What side would you stand on?" pressed Cerberus.

    I opened my eyes and looked out the front window at my four men in front of me. "I think humans keep fucking up over and over again, assuming that just because they are the superior species, they can do anything they want, and the world just has to ept it."

    I paused for a moment, feeling the rightness of the words settle on me. "And I think that enough is enough. They don''t deserve any more chances."

    "So¡­"

    "So, I will side with the zombies and give them a chance. After all, it has already been established that I am the viin of this story. Might as well give the humans a reason to hate me even more."

    "Long live the Queen," said Cerberus, and I could feel his approval of my statement.

    ''Long live the Queen,'' repeated the four bikes, causing me to smile.

 Chapter 437 Utter Perfection

    ?

    (NSFW)

    We walked into the first furniture and home d¨¦cor shop that the guys managed to find, and I was like a kid in a candy store. Since most people really didn''t care about couches or chairs or anything else along those lines when food was scarce, this ce had been virtually untouched before we came in.

    Unfortunately for me, that also meant that there was a thickyer of dust covering everything. Luckily, it was nothing that a vacuum cleaner couldn''t fix. "I don''t suppose that you know the colors inside of your cabin," I asked Liu Wei, not knowing if we would have the ability to mix our own paints or anything like that to change the colors. If I were supposed to try and find furniture, it would help if I knew the existing color scheme.

    "Dark," he shrugged, not sure how else to describe it. "cks, greys, and some wood."

    I nodded my head and wandered away, trying to find some things that I liked; however, it was like the yacht problem all over again. I hated pretty much everything that I saw. I wanted something timeless, something that I could see five years from now and still like as much as I did now.

    But I wasn''t seeing any of that.

    I remembered tossing a lot of furniture into my space before, so I at least had that as a backup in case I needed it, but I wanted something that was ours, not second-hand from someone else''s house.

    I continued searching through the living room gallery before making my way to the dining room options. Finding a beautiful wooden farmhouse table and sixfortable ck chairs, I put them into my space before moving on.

    "Sweetness!" shouted Liu Yu Zeng from somewhere in the store. Looking up, I saw him jumping up and down at the far end, waving his hands frantically. Laughing at how absurd he looked, I leisurely made my way over to him, grabbing anything that I liked in my path.

    "What do you think of this?" he asked before turning around and proudly presenting a beautiful ck leather couch with a matching loveseat and ottoman.

    "I love it," I assured him, and I really did. It was the exact aesthetic I was looking for: not too masculine, not too feminine, solidly built, and would be perfect in a study or library.

    Pulling it into my space, the five of us continued to look around the store until I had determined that we had everything I wanted. We quickly moved on and continued through all the stores that the guys suggested inside of City H,ughing and having a good time as we went.

    It was perfection and everything that I needed right now.

    -------

    "How do you think we should handle this?" asked Zhao Jun Jie as he walked up behind Wu Bai Hee and ced a gentle kiss on her naked shoulder. She turned around to look at him, her beautiful hair flowing around her like an angel, but the rest of her body, hidden only by a nket, could tempt a man to sin.

    "I think it is very obvious," she replied before turning her attention back to the people below her, screaming and carrying on about theck of food and supplies. "We need to send them out to get what they clearly want. We can turn one of the empty buildings into a meeting hall where we can post the different things that we need, and people can volunteer to go out and get them."

    "Aren''t you worried that they might meet with some danger?" said Zhao Jun Jie between his kisses. His woman always had the best ideas, and he thanked God every day for bringing her into his life.

    "I am," she answered as she buried herself into his arms, letting the nket she was holding drop. "But if someone like me,pletely powerless, could survive out there for months by myself, then I think that there are others that could do the same. After all, it is not like I am all that special," she continued, shuddering as his fingers started to drift up and down her spine.

    "That is where you are wrong," whispered Zhao Jun Jie. "You are the most special person I have ever met in my entire life."

    "I love you, too," smiled Wu Bai Hee, looking up into the eyes of the man in front of her. He chuckled as he suddenly gripped her ass and puller her up into his arms. She wrapped her legs around his waist and started to leave a trail of kisses on his neck and chest.

    He groaned before flinging her onto the bed and watched her bounce a few times, herughter cutting through the yells outside. Following her onto the bed, he quickly covered her body with his and shoved his cock inside her wet, willing hole.

    This was his home. He never felt better, more powerful, than when he was plowing into her, hearing her soft, delighted moans and screams as he brought her to the ultimate release. No woman ever made him feel this way, and there was no way he would ever want another woman but her inside his bed.

    Picking up his pace, he felt her inner muscles mping down on him, trying desperately to keep him inside with every stroke out. Her body begged him for more just as her seductive words screamed for him to go faster, go harder.

    He felt her nails digging into his back, causing rivets of blood to start falling down his back as he continued to fuck her with everything he had. He could feel the tingling at the base of his spin, telling him that he was going toe, that he was going to shoot his seed inside of her and hopefully get her pregnant.

    The idea of her big and round with his child unlocked an almost primal level inside of him, making his hips move even faster. Reaching between them, he found her clit and rubbed it hard, sending her to the stars just before he could no longer hold back. As his woman, her satisfaction and pleasure always came first.

    He copsed forward, his forearms catching his weight before he hurt his woman. Theyy there on the bed, panting from their efforts as the pleasure continued to course through both of them.

    "You are perfection," he whispered, looking down at Wu Bai Hee. "Pure and utter perfection."

 Chapter 438 Breaking Out Into A Rash

    ?

    Wu Bai Hee waited for Zhao Jun Jie to fall asleep before she slipped out of bed and threw on a silk housecoat. Walking back over to the window ten stories in the air, she looked down at the people gathered below her like they were ants waiting to be squished.

    They were right. Supplies were starting to run low. And heaven forbid people didn''t get their favorite perfume or designer clothes. No, things would need to change but slow enough that they wouldn''t notice.

    She would start by letting them create teams and then sending the teams out on missions. That would create a hierarchy within the poption, segregating people. One thing that she had learned in her first life was that if you wanted to control a docile poption, you needed them to be so concerned about fighting the others around them that they didn''t notice what was actually going on.

    She would get Zhao Jun Jie to send those with powers outside to collect supplies and then let them keep 60% of what they managed to find. That would elevate them while suppressing those without powers, keeping them hungry and docile.

    And once the ''normals'' had had enough, they would revolt against the power users, not her or her little puppet. Not to mention, there was no guarantee that those sent for supplies woulde back. It was the perfect cover for culling the poption of City A until only the most desirable humans were left to repopte the world.

    Turning her back to the window, she slipped into the bathroom and pulled open a drawer full of makeup that Zhao Jun Jie had given her that first night. Reaching all the way to the back and pushing aside some eyeshadows and brushes, she pulled out a very subtle silver rectangle with fourteen little white pills on it. Popping out one of the pills, she quickly swallowed it before returning the packaging to its original ce.

    She would need to go to the pharmacy tomorrow and get some more pills without Zhao Jun Jie knowing about it.

    There was no way she would ever carry his child. The only child she would have would be Liu Wei''s once everything was settled, and the two of them controlled City A together.

    Softly closing the drawer, she turned around to flush the toilet and then washed her hands. No, Zhao Jun Jie was a good cover for now while she set the groundwork, but soon enough, Liu Wei would return to her, and she needed everything to be ready for him.

    "Are you alright?" mumbled Zhao Jun Jie as he sat up in bed and looked at her.

    "Of course," she purred, making her way back to the bed and removing the housecoat as she went. "Just had to use the washroom, but you made it so hard for me to walk," she chuckled, getting under the covers and going to cuddle with Zhao Jun Jie.

    "I wasn''t too rough with you?" he asked, concerned. She always made him lose control, but that didn''t mean that he would ever want to cause her difort.

    "No, you were perfect," she assured him with a smile.

    Zhao Jun Jie smiled and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her in even closer. Kissing the top of her head, he rxed. The issues he had to deal with would be dealt withter. Right now, he just wanted to spend time with his woman.

    -----

    We had left City H a few hours ago after ensuring that we had taken everything for our new house that we wanted.

    The roads were deserted, with only a few scouts peeking out around the rubble and debris. When they saw it was us, they bowed their heads and waited for us to pass, never once getting in our way or issuing a challenge of any kind.

    All in all, it was a nice drive. It was the first time that I had ever traveled to the central provinces of Country K, and I couldn''t help but marvel at the scenery.

    "It is really different from City A or City H," said Liu Wei, his voice cutting through the speakers of the truck.

    "Different is necessarily bad," I assured him, not bothering to point out that different seemed to be the keyword for my third life. Everything was different. And I was loving it.

    "We areing up to City G," said Liu Yu Zeng, "The capital of H province. Do you want to take a break and go look around?"

    "Sure," I said with a shrug. Might as well stop and stretch my legs. Hopefully, there would be some nice furniture ces there as I was still looking for a bed that could sleep five adults. I''ll give you a hint¡­ something like that was really hard to find.

    "Take the third exit," said Wang Chao. "That should bring us more to the shopping district instead of downtown."

    There were a few grunts, and before I knew it, I was back in a shopping district.

    Looking at all the stores standing side by side, some looted, some not, I realized that I was actually shopped out. Cerberus pulled up to a well-known furniture store, one of the few that were actually broken into, and I got out of the truck.

    "I''ll go in first," grunted Chen Zi Han as he dismounted and put his helmet on the seat of his bike.

    "No need," I said with a sigh. "There appears to be fifteen people inside the building," I continued, quickly scouting for mes. This was the exact moment that the expression ''Be careful what you wish for'' struck me. I used to pray about finding more humans, but now I was really hoping to find a lot less of them.

    "Do you still want to go in?" asked Wang Chao, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me into his chest.

    "I don''t think we have much choice in the matter," said Liu Yu Zeng, nodding toward where four men in military fatigues were walking out of the building, their guns raised. I couldn''t be sure, but I think I broke out into a rash as soon as I saw them.

 Chapter 439 No Place Is Safe

    ?

    For the first time in two lives, I felt that I had more than enough supplies to just move into the mountain cabin and that I didn''t need anything more. Letting out a long sigh, I huddled deeper into Wang Chao''s arms, wondering if it was toote for us to just turn around and leave.

    "Show us your hands," growled the man in the front, his automatic rifle up and ready to shoot.

    "Not going to happen," sighed Chen Zi Han, and I could feel that he was more than a little done with everyone, too. "You are going to let us in, find any furniture our woman wants, and then we are going to turn around and leave."

    "I can do without the shopping," I called out. "Can we just go?"

    "Sure," said the very reasonable leader. "As long as you give us your trucks and bikes." Okay, so maybe he wasn''t as reasonable as I originally thought he was.

    "You don''t want them," chuckled Wang Chao, his arms still tight around me. "Trust me on that one."

    "I think I know you," said the man, briefly lowering his gun before raising it again.

    "No, you really don''t," sighed Wang Chao. I think the four of us breathed a collected sigh of relief that Wang Chao wasn''t offering to help the military soldiers. Guess you can teach an old dog new tricks.

    "Who are you calling an old dog?" growled Wang Chao with a smile as he looked down at me. Tilting my head back, I returned his smile. "Woof, woof," I barked lightly at him as the men around us let out a low chuckle.

    "Hands, now," said the soldier to the right, causing my men to turn around and look at him. Bad move on his part, but who was I to burst his macho bubble? If he wanted to think he was tough shit because he had the gun, then let him.

    "No," I said. "You and yours are going to turn around and go back into that store, and we are going to go back on the road. Hopefully, we will never meet again," I continued with a sigh. If nothing else, this encounter has proven to me that Wang Chao would no longer put the military first, so maybe it wasn''t a total loss.

    "No," replied the second guy, repeating my words and tone. "You will be giving us your supplies, and then you can walk your ass wherever you want to go."

    "Wait, why am I the one walking?" I asked, turning around in Wang Chao''s arms to look at the man. "You are the solider; clearly, you should be the one to do the walking."

    "Because we have women with us," he replied with a shrug of his shoulders. "And we have the guns."

    I paused for a moment, cocking my head to the side and looking at the idiot. He had women with him, which was why he wanted our vehicles, but didn''t I count as a woman, too? Why should I be walking while they weren''t?

    Well, at least the second half of his statement was easier to deal with than the first half. With a flick of my wrist, I put all of their guns into my space, joining my ever-growing collection of guns. If I knew it was this easy to get guns after the EMP, I never would have negotiated with Wang Chao and Liu Wei as much as I had.

    Wang Chao growled, clearly unhappy about my thoughts, but I just shrugged my shoulders. Tell me the lie.

    "Now, what were you saying?" I asked as the roar of iing zombies broke the standoff between us and the men.

    ---

    "Give us back our guns," said the shit for brains as he took a menacing step toward Princess. Chen Zi Han slid behind the other man and brought a knife to his throat.

    "No," whispered Chen Zi Han into his ear. "You don''t threaten my woman and expect to live."

    There was another cry from the approaching zombies, but Chen Zi Han didn''t even flinch, unlike the man in his arms. "Hurry up and give them back," said the man, turning to look at Chen Zi Han, the whites of his eyes clearly visible. "We are all going to die if you don''t."

    "No, you are going to die," smiled Liu Yu Zeng as he took out his two 9mms and pointed them at the men wanting to rescue their leader. "And we are just going to stand here and watch it happen."

    "We risked our lives for you and this country, and this is the way you are going to pay us back for our services?" demanded the man to the right, the one who told Li Dai Lu to walk.

    "I don''t remember having a gun pointed to my head when I enlisted, or maybe that has changed?" mused Liu Wei as he adjusted his sses. "No, I think I would know if that was part of the new joining instructions."

    "You were part of the military?" asked the man as hope started to shine in his eyes. "Then you are one of us."

    "Hardly," scoffed Liu Wei. "I am not, nor will I ever be, one of you."

    "But you said that you were once in the military. That means that we are brothers, and you never leave a brother behind," said a third man as he took a step forward. However, when Liu Wei pulled out a gun, he quickly came to a stop. "You cannot kill us."

    "See, that was what I thought too," nodded Liu Wei, "But then my so-calledrades sent me and mine out on suicide missions simply so they wouldn''t have to do the hard work. I am a fast learner. I learned my lesson quickly. I suggest you do the same."

    "No! You can''t leave us," said a womaning out of the store. One of the men quickly turned around and wrapped her up in his arms.

    "Mei Mei, it isn''t safe," he said gently as he tried to lead her back into the store.

    "No ce is safe," she countered, spinning around and out of the man''s arms. "Isn''t that right, General?"

 Chapter 440 Tired Of It

    ?

    I looked up at the man holding me in his arms, wondering just how the Hell he knew the woman in front of us. He shook his head, a confused look on his face.

    Grunting my displeasure, I turned back to look at the woman. "Sorry, Sweetheart, he doesn''t seem to remember you," I said with a self-satisfied smirk on my face.

    She briefly nced at me before turning her attention back to Wang Chao. "I am Hua Mei," she said, introducing herself, and I could see the man who had tried to lead her to safety stiffen behind her. Yeah, it sucked when the person you were with was always looking to upgrade. At least I never had to worry about that myself. "We met at the military ball two years ago. My father, High Admiral Chao, introduced us."

    Wang Chao simply turned his attention away from her, not bothering to acknowledge her in any way. "I am sure that countless women were introduced to Wang Chao during those events, but it seems that you didn''t leave asting impression," I answered for him with a shrug of my shoulder.

    Suddenly, I saw movement from the corner of my eye, and I turned my attention to the scouts that were approaching. "And maybe you should have listened to your man instead of bothering mine," I continued as the scouts continued to glide forward.

    It seemed that I had their undivided attention.

    The woman, following my gaze, let out a scream before turning around and running into the furniture store. Well, at least they solved that problem for me. The men, now realizing what had set her off, turned back to me.

    "Let him go and give us back our guns," said the member who had remained silent up until now. I turned to look at the soldier with the stream of blooding from his throat from where Chen Zi Han was cutting into it.

    "No," I said with a shake of my head. "You don''t get to threaten me and then think that just because there are zombies around that I will all of a sudden side with you. That''s not the way this works," I said, not caring when one of the scouts appeared just to my right.

    "Need help," hissed the scout, his swaying gaze never wavering from the bleeding man in front of him. Not that I med him. Even I could smell his fear from where I was standing, and my nose was nowhere near as good as a zombies''. For them, it would have been like ringing a dinner bell.

    "Do I need help, or do you need help?" I asked, watching the eyes of the soldiers in front of me go wide. The zombie cocked his head to the side and paused for a moment.

    "Do you need help?" he hissed slowly, the unfamiliar words causing him to stumble.

    "I don''t need help," I assured him. "Thank you."

    The zombie grunted and turned around, his gliding steps eating up the distance until he and the other scouts disappeared.

    There was a sound of protest, and I looked at the man off to the side that made it. "What? You have something to say?" I asked, a smile on my face.

    "You¡ª" he started before quickly stopping again. "You¡ª"

    "Me, what?" I asked, leaning against Wang Chao.

    "You are betraying your own for the zombies?" he asked finally, and I could see a mask of rage descend on his face like I, personally, was the reason why the world had gone to pot.

    "My ''own'', as you put it, betrayed me again and again. For some reason, the zombies are more loyal than any human ever was. But to answer your question, yes, I am betraying the humans in favor of the zombie. If you don''t like it¡­ do something about it."

    The man stepped forward, only to fall to the ground, a bullet piercing his skull. I looked over at Liu Yu Zeng with a smile on my face. "Really?" I asked him with a chuckle.

    "Oops," he replied with a shrug of his shoulders. "My finger slipped."

    "Hate it when that happens," said Liu Wei as his finger slipped too, and a second soldier hit the ground dead. "But then again, he had that oneing."

    I looked to see that it was the second guy who thought the needs of the women inside were more important than my needs¡ªlooked like I was not walking anymore.

    "If you want my advice, look after you and yours. Don''t be dragging unrted people into your business. You never know when those you try to drag down are stronger than you," I said, looking at the leader as tears started gathering in his eyes.

    "You fucking bitch," he growled right before Chen Zi Han slit his throat. Dropping the body to the ground, my enforcer came to stand beside me.

    "My hand slipped," he grumbled, rubbing his wrist like that was the actual problem. The other three men grunted like they understood his pain.

    "What is your choice?" I asked, no longer willing to back down and just leave. "Can we go through the store and see if there is anything that I need, or are you all going to die first?"

    The two remaining men stepped aside, and I nodded my head in approval.

    "Smart choice," I said with a smile. In fact, I think it was the first smart choice that any of them had made today.

    Wang Chao let go of me, and my four men walked behind me as I entered the store. While before I was just going to take what I needed, I was now more than willing to just put everything into my space just to be a bitch.

    However, it appeared that I had forgotten simple math. If there were fifteen people inside a building, and five went out to try and kill us, how many people were still inside the building waiting to finish the job? The answer was six men with guns.

    A shot rang out before my brain was even able to process anything, and I turned my head just in time to see a bullet flying straight to my head.

    Fuck my life. I was really getting tired of being shot at.

 Chapter 441 On The Road Again

    ?

    Wang Chao saw the bullet heading toward Li Dai Lu, and he waved his hand, freezing it where it was. Walking around his woman, he plucked the pullet out of the air and restarted time again.

    Within seconds, there was a second gunshot, and the man who tried to kill Li Dai Luy on the ground in a puddle of his own blood. Everyone turned their attention to Wang Chao. Liu Wei, Liu Yu Zeng, and Chen Zi Han all had a smirk on their faces, but the other men in the store simply stared at him.

    "I meant to do that," he said with a smirk and a shrug of his own.

    Li Dai Lu only rolled her eyes before taking away all of the soldiers'' guns.

    "I am really getting tired of being shot at," she grumbled, and Chen Zi Han wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her back into his chest.

    "Don''t worry," he reassured her. "As soon as we get to the cabin, there will be no one to bother us."

    "From your lips to God''s ears," she said with a sigh. A flick of her wrist was all it took to bring everything inside of the warehouse store into her space. The men and women left inside looked at her with fear in their eyes as one man stepped forward and walked right up to where Li Dai Lu was being held.

    "Take us with you," he said, staring deep into her eyes.

    Wang Chao and the rest of the men stiffened but otherwise said nothing. At the end of the day, it would be her decision who she saved and who she let die.

    "Not going to work," she replied, not once breaking the staringpletion between her and the strange man. "I live with a spirit user; the maniption tactic will not work on me. Good try, though," she continued before bringing up her own gun and shooting him in the head.

    "Fucking spirit users," she said with a sigh before her head shot up, and she turned to look at Wang Chao. Her eyes widened in panic for a moment. "Not you. I was not talking about you," she said quickly, trying to reassure the other man.

    "No worries," heughed softly. "I''m a permanent fixture inside your head, remember? I know what you mean even when you don''t."

    ----

    I stuck my tongue out at Wang Chao before turning my attention to the rest of the people in the now-empty room. The tag chaser was there, her hands clutching at the invisible pearls around her throat. "I think I got everything. Let''s get on the road again."

    Liu Wei and the rest of the guys grunted, and we turned away from the eight remaining humans. Whether they lived or died would depend on their fate, but I had no interest in helping them after all that shit.

    They should have just let me try to find a bed for the cabin. It''s not like they needed all the beds in the store.

    Heading toward the truck and bikes, I saw the same scout as before stepping out from behind a car and looking between me and the building we just left. "There are eight," I said, not bothering to raise my voice. I knew he would be able to hear me no matter what. "Enjoy your meal."

    I climbed into the cab and put on my seatbelt, not even bothering to hold back a yawn. We would probably need to find a spot to spend the night. There was no way we would be able to make it up the mountains with how tired I was.

    Then again, we also had vehicles that drove themselves, so maybe we should just keep going.

    I heard the door to the passenger side open, and all of a sudden, my seatbelt was off, and I was being pulled into a pair of big, strong arms. Taking in a deep breath, I rxed into Liu Wei''s embrace.

    "Are you okay?" he asked as Cerberus took off behind the motorcycles, his pace smooth and steady.

    "Yeah," I said with a nod. "But I am more than a little done with the day."

    "Reaper said that he can lead everyone to the cabin so we don''t have to stop. Would you like that?" he asked. He took my hair out of the ponytail it was currently in and let it fall down around us. The pounding in my head lessened as my hair was released, and I nuzzled his chest in thanks.

    "I think I am willing to do just about anything as long as I don''t have to think," I told him honestly. I was just so tired¡­

    "Then why don''t you just rx and leave the rest to us? We are here to support you; you don''t need to be superwoman every minute of every day. We got this," he said with a light chuckle. "You know, we were capable of running Country K by ourselves before you showed up."

    "Oh yeah? And how did you do?" I shot back, raising an eyebrow but refusing to open my eyes.

    "Clearly not well," he joked back. "Life is much better with you in it."

    I grunted my agreement before sleep pulled me under. I wondered why I was so tired all of a sudden.

    ----

    "She is out," said a female voice beside him, and Liu Wei turned to see Violence in the driver''s seat. "It is going to take a while for her body to be able topletely recover from the mushrooms. You need to take extra care that she stays away from all of them."

    "How¡ª" started Liu Wei before dropping off, not sure how to correctly word his question.

    "How could something so innocent as a mushroom or six be able to drag her to death''s door?" asked Violence, putting his question into words.

    Liu Wei grunted and nodded his head, wishing that he had a nket to wrap Li Dai Lu up in so she wouldn''t get cold.

    "What do you know about mushrooms?" asked Violence as she pulled just what he was looking for out of thin air.

    "That they are a fungus," answered Liu Wei with a shrug. He never really thought about them other to know that you can eat some, but not others.

    "Correct," smirked Violence, "But they are so much more than that. And that secondary part of their nature is what is so deadly to Li Dai Lu."

 Chapter 442 Removing The Veil

    ?

    "Speak clearer," growled Liu Wei, not liking that he was not fully informed about a subject, especially not one so obviously important.

    "Some cultures see them as a symbol of life, death, and rebirth," said Violence, repeating what she had told Li Dai Lu. "Others see them as a symbol of immortality or as a bridge between the mortal world and death. But at their very core, they represent life, death, and rebirth more than they are a type of food."

    Liu Wei just looked at the woman beside him; his eyebrow raised as he waited for the other shoe to fall. And with Violence, there was always something hidden beneath her words that she just expected them to know.

    "Li Dai Lu asked me how you guys were supposed to bring about Hell on Earth," said Violence, looking out the front window at the four bikes that road in front of them, leading the way and protecting their woman.

    "Okay?" he sighed, knowing that he would never get a straight answer from her.

    "It led me to do a lot of research about the human legends and prophesies about your four. Do you know any of them?"

    "Can''t say I do," he grunted. Never in his life had he taken the time to learn about folklore, prophesies, or anything along those lines. However, he was now kicking himself for that.

    "In one book, they talk about how four of seven seals that were meant to bring an end to mankind were unlocked," started Violence, not once bothering to look at the man. "Each one of the seals represented each one of you. The first horseman rides a white horse and carries a bow. He is thought to be pestilence or disease, spreading his poison with every shot from his bow."

    "Liu Yu Zeng," said Liu Wei, nodding his head in understanding. His brother was the white rider, the first of the Four Horsemen.

    "The second horseman rides a red horse and carries a sword representing war, conflict, and strife," continued Violence, and Liu Wei turned to look at Wang Chao. "Wang Chao," he said out loud.

    "The third horseman is depicted as a food merchant, carrying a set of scales as he rides his ck horse through towns, his scales showing how bread would have been weighed in times of famine when all food is as precious as gold."

    "Chen Zi Han," grunted Liu Wei, and the man in question turned around to look at the truck behind him. It was at that moment that Liu Wei understood that everyone was listening in on what Violence was saying. "The Third Horseman of the Apocalypse."

    A sense of dread filled Liu Wei, knowing that he was about to learn something that wouldpletely shake his foundations and potentially shatter his world forever.

    "The Fourth Horseman is the only horseman to be mentioned by name," said Violence, turning to look at him for the first time since she started talking about the Four Horsemen. "When the Lamb broke the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, ''Come.'' I looked, and behold, an ashen horse; and he who sat on it had the name Death," quoted Violence, the look in her eye turning sharp as she stared at him.

    "Me," said Liu Wei with a nod as goosebumps broke out all over his body. "I am the Fourth Horseman of the Apocalypse.

    "You are," she agreed.

    "That is good and all," came Liu Yu Zeng''s voice through the speakers. "But what does this have to do with Li Dai Lu or her allergy to mushrooms?"

    Violence ignored Liu Yu Zeng, instead focusing her sole attention on Liu Wei. "And behind Death sat Hades, Lord of the Underworld and the consumer of souls."

    "Are you telling us that Princess is Hades?" demanded Chen Zi Han, his voice catching as he uttered the words.

    "No," said Violence, shaking her head. "I am telling you that Li Dai Lu is the body of Hades while we are all pieces of her soul that was shattered centuries ago when you guys broke her heart for the final time. She is not Hades yet. And until she can gain those memories on her own, she will never be able to be Hades again."

    Silence met her words as the men thought about what she had said.

    "You told her that this was herst life," said Wang Chao, breaking through the silence.

    "That is right," said Violence, turning away from Liu Wei and toward Wang Chao on his bike.

    "So what will happen if she dies?" he pressed.

    "Then the underworld will be destroyed, releasing all the souls inside of it onto the world. The dead will rise again, and Hell will appear on Earth," said Violence slowly. "So, let''s make sure that doesn''t happen, okay?"

    "So we technically aren''t the ones that bring the apocalypse to the human poption," mused Chen Zi Han, and Violence snorted.

    "Of course not. How many times has there been war, or gues, or famines, and the humans grow stronger as a result, changing the world they live in once again? Mostly for the better, if I am to bepletely honest. No, I would be more worried about Demeter trying to kill Li Dai Lu or an asshole trying to unseal the remaining three seals. Those two options I would be much, much more concerned about than anything your four do."

    "Demeter, as in the loving Goddess of agriculture, harvest, and fertility?" asked Liu Wei, confused.

    "Loving Goddess, sure," scoffed Violence, a look of intense hatred crossing her face. "More like a psychopathic freak that is a little too in love with her son, if you know what I mean."

    "Her son? Doesn''t she have a daughter? Persephone?" asked Wang Chao. "And doesn''t the story go that Hades fell in love with Persephone''s beauty and kidnapped her to the underworld? It was how the seasons came about¡­"

    "Firstly," said Violence, the sneer in her voice causing all of the men to shiver. "She had a son, as psychotic as she. However, the son fell in love with Hades and followed her to the Underworld. Once he realized that Hades would never really care about him, or at least no more than she might care about any friend. He started telling lies about how she kidnapped him. Lies which you four believed!"

 Chapter 443 All We Have

    ?

    Warning: Possible triggers including mentions of r@pe in a past life; no details will ever be given.

    "What do you mean; what lies did we believe?" asked Liu Wei, his world exploding into a million pieces as Violence revealed everything. He looked down at the woman sleeping in his arms and gently tightened his embrace.

    "You thought that she was not satisfied with you four, so whenever you were called, you went willingly," exined Violence. "Death was the only one reluctant to leave her. He thought that she had kidnapped Demeter''s son because she was lonely since everyone was gone all the time. He believed that as long as she always had one of you four with her, then she would never want another. However, where you three go, Death always has to follow."

    Violence let out a harshugh. "Instead, you fell into Bin An Sha''s plot and left your vulnerable Queen all alone and easy prey. Self-fulfilling destiny if I ever hear of it."

    "Bin An Sha," interjected Liu Yu Zeng, his bike slipping out from under him for a second before he managed to righten it. "As in the ipetent doctor that Wang Chao brought back with him?"

    "Yeah, that one," said Violence. "And I, for one, am more than happy that you left him back in City H. Maybe he will starve to death or get eaten by zombies, saving us all some trouble."

    "Do you think that is a possibility?" asked Liu Wei.

    "No," grumbled Violence. "Even if everyst person in this world died of starvation, Demeter would make sure that her little boy remained happy and healthy. Which is more than I can say for her ns for Hades."

    "Why does she hate Hades?" asked Liu Yu Zeng, confused. "It''s not like Li Dai Lu asked for Bin An Sha to be obsessed with her."

    "For the exact same reason why Athena punished Medusa for being raped by Poseidon. Because at the end of the day, it is never the man''s fault," sneered Violence. "It was also the reason why Hades forgave you again and again, because it was never your fault."

    "That will end now," growled Wang Chao. "We will not leave her again, and we will definitely not leave her to Bin An Sha''s mercy."

    "Huh, apparently you can teach an old dog new tricks," smirked Violence, and Liu Wei could feel the tension flowing out of her. "But back to the mushroom allergy. The mushroom belongs to both Hades, as death, and Demeter, as rebirth and life. So, every time she consumes a mushroom, a part of her soul is destroyed, and she is drawn closer to the final death, but another half of her soul is returned to the underworld to heal. It''s aplicated process."

    "Does that mean that because the mud water has six types of mushrooms in it that, six parts of her werepletely destroyed?" shouted Chen Zi Han as he turned around to look at the passenger sleeping in the truck.

    "Two parts of her soul," said Violence sadly. "The mushrooms were ground up, so she didn''t consume whole mushrooms."

    "Who did she lose?" asked Liu Wei sadly.

    "Sadness and Depression," shrugged Violence, not at all upset that it was those two personalities that she lost. They definitely would not be missed. "But Bitch and Psycho went back to be stronger, so you might want to keep your eyes open in case they make an appearance."

    "All good," shrugged Chen Zi Han. They were all different aspects of the woman he loved, so it wasn''t that big of a deal.

    "Now for your marching orders," said Violence. "She needs to take it easy for a while. She has some heavy shit that she needs to deal with in two years, but she is not strong enough to face it right now."

    "What do you mean?" asked Liu Yu Zeng.

    "Let''s just say that Medusa is not the only one to receive unwanted attentions," sneered Violence. "Nor the only one to think that it was their fault. Her second life was filled with trials and tribtions that no woman or man should ever have to experience."

    "If that is the case, then she doesn''t ever have to deal with it. We will do it for her," growled Chen Zi Han.

    "I am afraid not," smiled Violence sadly as she looked at the woman in Liu Wei''s arms. "This is something that she has to face herself to rebuild her soul."

    "Then we will stand by her and support her in any decision she makes," shrugged Liu Wei. And if it meant that one of the guys got to the son of a bitch first, well, then that was just retribution.

    Violence chuckled. "Yeah, I think I like you guys a lot more than the Horsemen in the past."

    "And after her vacation? What should we do then?" asked Wang Chao.

    "Then find your weapons, level up until you are the Four Horsemen, make sure no one releases the other three seals, and kill all of your soulmates that are still living," said Violence, turning to look at Liu Wei.

    "Why are you looking at me? Wu Bai Hee is dead. I killed her," he pointed out. Violence rolled her eyes in response but said nothing.

    "We will get everything done," assured Wang Chao as Ares put on a burst of speed.

    "Good. Get to the cabin, and don''t stop for anything," said Violence. "Kill anyone in your way."

    "Understood. And Violence," said Liu Yu Zeng as Lin took off after Ares. "Thank you for telling us everything."

    "As long as you don''t tell her. Remember, in order for her to be restored to her original form, she needs to remember everything by herself," said Violence before disappearing.

    "Does anyone else feel like the rug has been pulled out from under them?" asked Chen Zi Han after a moment.

    "Yup," grumbled Wang Chao. "But at least we know what is going on now."

    "I just don''t like keeping it from Princess," replied Chen Zi Han.

    "I think you are overlooking something really important," pointed out Liu Wei. "She is actually keeping it from herself. And who are we to determine what she should or should not know."

    "That is a very gray area," said Chen Zi Han worried.

    "And sometimes, that is all we have," answered Wang Chao, effectively ending the conversation.

 Chapter 444 Welcome Home

    ?

    I woke up to sunlight in my eyes. Moaning, I rolled over and opened my eyes only to see the stunning view of bright green fields and mountains as far as the eye could see. Instead of a typical window or even a floor-to-ceiling window that was all the rage right now, the entire wall in front of me was nothing but ss. In fact, every wall in the room was made of ss to the point where it felt like you were sleeping outside.

    I crawled over two bodies, not caring about their moans or groans, and got out of bed. The mountains seemed to call me in a way that even those behind my ranch outside of City A never did. I put my hand on the ss, pleasantly surprised to find it warm, and just stared outside.

    I wanted to wake up to this view every single morning.

    "I take it you like it?" asked Liu Wei as he came up behind me and wrapped me in his arms.

    "I think it is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen," I breathed, looking at the snow-capped mountains and the low-hanging clouds. It felt like we were living in the sky, far above any zombie apocalypse or mortal problems.

    "I see something more beautiful every day. But at least now you know how I feel every time I look at you," he whispered in my ear as the two of us looked out at the scenery.

    "Flirt," I replied with a smile. Turning around in his arms, I wrapped mine around his neck and pulled him down for a kiss. "But this ce is fantastic," I breathed as soon as our lips parted.

    "And this is only the master," chuckled Liu Wei. "Come on, we will let the others sleep, and I''ll show you around."

    I took his hand in mine, not caring that I was still dressed in my red sweater and granny panties. I had all the time in the world to get changed and showered, but first, I needed to see the rest of this house.

    We left the bedroom and walked down the hall to what should be the living room. There was a wood-burning stove in the corner of the room but nothing else. Thinking about the ck fabric couch, loveseat, and oversized chair I had grabbed from one of the stores earlier, I brought them out and arranged them around the room.

    Putting a wooden coffee table in the center, I tossed some red throw pillows and a few nkets onto the couch. We could always arrange thingster, but this would work for right now.

    "What do you think?" I asked, looking at the furniture. Liu Wei chuckled and pulled me into the next room.

    "I think as long as you are happy, we are all happy," he said before sweeping his arm in front of me. "Wee to the kitchen."

    I gasped in disbelief. Theyout was open concept, so the ''L'' shaped kitchen shared a space with the dining room and family room. However, what took my breath away was the view. Once again, there were no walls to the outside world, only a ss barrier that separated us from the beautiful mountains and bright blue sky.

    The kitchen cupboards were done in ck, with a light wooden butcher''s block countertop the only ssh of color. The floors were made from a ck marble-like material, and even the metal panels holding up the ss walls were ck. The darkness inside only made the light outside all that much more prominent.

    A few more flicks of my wrists and I had a fridge set up along with a range. I couldn''t wait to start cooking and baking on it again, but I would need to install the sr panels. To say that we were ''off-grid'' implied that there was a grid nearby, and I had a feeling that we left that hours ago.

    I put the farmhouse dining room table in the middle of one of the windows and set up a cozy family room right off the kitchen. I even took out the big screen TV with its stand, the DVD yers, and everything else that I could think of. I tossed a fluffy white run on the floor that almost looked like fur and ced a coffee table on top of it.

    Nodding to myself, I looked up at Liu Wei to get his approval.

    "Perfect," he said, looking down at me. "And I am not talking about the decorations."

    I smiled and kissed him again just as Chen Zi Han came stumbling into the family room. "Good morning!" I said cheerfully. "What do you think?" I asked, gesturing around the room for him to see.

    "I think you look perfect," said Chen Zi Han as he came forward and gave me a big hug and a kiss. "I am going to assume I am going to be cooking on the wooden stove over there until we get the sr panels set up?" he asked, looking at Liu Wei.

    "Yeah," grunted the other man. "Wang Chao, Liu Yu Zeng, and I will get them set up while you get some food going."

    "What about me?" I asked, cocking my head to the side as my two remaining men came out of the bedroom. I couldn''t wait to spend my day decorating the ce and moving us all in.

    "You, my darling dearest, can do whatever you want," said Liu Yu Zeng as he picked me up and spun me around. "You just let your men get your dream home set up."

    I looked at my men and then around the house. This is the first time I think I have ever felt so¡­ at home so quickly. But more than it just feeling like home, it felt like a home for the five of us. Even the ranch, and God knows how much I loved that ranch, felt like it was my home, and the guys were just visitors.

    But this ce seemed like it was built for us as a family, and it was perfect.

    I smiled as Liu Yu Zeng put me down, and Wang Chao came in for a morning kiss. Wrapping my arms around him, I hugged him tightly.

    "Wee home," I said, looking at the men. They smiled at me and grunted their agreement.

 Chapter 445 Putting Down Roots

    ?

    It took the three guys a day to set up the sr panels and backup generator. While they were doing that, Chen Zi Han and I were setting up the kitchen and pantry with all of our food supplies. This was the first time in a little over a year that I fully andpletely stocked a house with the intent and purpose of staying there long term.

    In fact, since my first life back in Canada, I had only done this once before, and that was when I moved into the ranch. The feeling of putting down roots was so profound that I paused for a second and just looked around.

    There were nts all around on different shelves and tables, bringing life to the ce. Cupboards were filled with breakable china dishes that I had never been able to use before but always kept¡­ just in case. nkets were thrown on every couch, ottoman, and chair, ready to be used as we curled up in front of the TV or firece. I even ced a sectional facing one of the ss walls with a few throw pillows and nkets on it just in case I wanted to stare out the window and marvel at the beauty of nature.

    Chen Zi Han and I found another room near the front of the house to act as a study/library. I added the leather furniture that Liu Yu Zeng picked out and filled the built-in bookshelves with every book I had in my space.

    The best part? There was still room for plenty of books.

    That night, after we finished eating the chicken pot pie that Chen Zi Han made, we curled up in the family room and put on a movie. Cuddled between Wang Chao and Liu Wei, I drifted off to sleep to the sound of aliens invading.

    -----

    The days became months, and slowly, spring turned into summer and then fall.

    I walked out of the house and went to track down my men, who had taken this time to start training. I was legitimately surprised to learn that Liu Yu Zeng remembered my request that he start training if he wanted to always be by my side. I had a little over a year to go before I would have to rejoin the rest of the world and say goodbye to this life¡­ or at least a temporary goodbye.

    But I needed to deal with a few things before I could retire up here and never deal with people again. I think my biggest problem was how much my men spoiled me and catered to me. It made it all that much harder to leave.

    "Dinner!" I called out, and my voice echoed all around me.

    "Be right there!" Wang Chao called. Turning around, I headed back to the cabin, knowing that the guys would be back as soon as they were done for the day. Breathing out, I noticed my breath turning foggy. I would need to start preparing everything for winter, but for the first time, the idea of snowing didn''t freak me out.

    No, this ce truly was paradise.

    -----

    I waited until all the guys had left our house before doing one final walkthrough. I had put all the perishables into my space, but I didn''t want to miss something and take the chance of it going rotten before we got back.

    "Don''t worry," said Wang Chao, pulling me into his arms as I stood in front of the wall of ss, staring out over the mountains. "We will be back," he promised.

    "I know," I said with a sigh. It had been two years since we moved into the cabin. In just over two weeks, it will be the anniversary of when I transmigrated here for the first time, and I needed to put my ns into gear.

    I had no intentions of saving humans; in fact, I was hoping that there wouldn''t be that many to save. But even after all this time, I can still picture that healer getting shot in the head trying to give me my freedom. I needed to go save her; I needed to deal with all my demons if I wanted to truly live my life on my own terms.

    Besides, I haven''t seen Violence or any of my other personalities since I moved up here, and I was kind of missing them.

    "We will be back," repeated Wang Chao. "Even if we have to destroy everyst creature on Earth, we will be back."

    "I know," I answered. Come Hell or high water, we would be back. And when that time came, I was going to put down roots.

    ----

    The streets were empty as we drove down them, with the only sounds of the motorcycles cutting through the silence. Tumbleweeds drifted across the highway as weeds encroached on the once-smooth pavement.

    "I will have to admit," said Liu Yu Zeng, his voiceing across the speakers of Cerberus'' cab. "When I first thought of a zombie apocalypse, this was what I had in mind."

    I hummed in agreement as I studied the forest on either side of us. I could feel the zombies staring at us, but not one of them made a move. Unperturbed, we continued following the road. We had two weeks to get to one of the smaller suburbs outside of City A, and given the road conditions, we were going to need every minute of those two weeks.

    "Ever get the feeling you are being watched?" asked Liu Wei from where he drove behind me. Unlike before, where all four bikes would go in front, my men opted for more of a cage formation where I waspletely surrounded by them.

    Wang Chao and Ares, who were driving out front, snorted at his remark. "Yeah, almost as if we were surrounded by zombies," he smirked.

    "No," said Chen Zi Han slowly, "I feel it too. And it is not zombies."

    His remark caused everyone to go back to being quiet as tension mounted inside of my men. If it wasn''t the zombies keeping an eye on us, and I knew that there were zombies doing just that, then who was staring at us?

    "Stop!" shouted a man as he walked out in front of Wang Chao, holding up his gun. "This is a robbery."

 Chapter 446 The Kind Goddess

    ?

    "He''s joking, right?" demanded Liu Yu Zeng as he pulled up to Wang Chao and took off his helmet. "You are joking, right?"

    "I don''t know who you are, but this is our territory. And no one goes anywhere without paying their dues," said the man holding the gun.

    "See, I told you! Taxes are nothing but robbery!" joked Liu Yu Zeng as he turned to look at the rest of the guys.

    "I suggest that you put that gun down and walk away before you can''t walk anymore," suggested Wang Chao, taking off his helmet.

    I watched as the man shifted his weight, and at least twenty other men poured out of the forest and surrounded us. I huffed in disappointment. Clearly, there were still too many humans around if we ran into this many after just a few hours of driving.

    I opened the door to the truck, and Chen Zi Han quickly appeared to help me down. Walking up to the leader, I ignored thescivious looks and the cat calls. Yeah, this was the world I was more familiar with.

    "Who do you belong to?" I asked as I came to a stop beside Wang Chao.

    The leader looked at me for a moment before scanning my guys. "Ourselves," he sneered, like it was the most obvious answer, and in a way, it was.

    "Power users?" I asked again.

    "You ask a lot of questions for someone that should be seen and not heard," he scoffed before licking his lips. "And if these men haven''t taught you your ce, I will be more than happy to."

    I held up my hand to stop one of my men from shooting the guy in front of me. I had no idea whose ''finger would slip'', but I knew that at least one of them was nning to put a bullet in the guy''s head for talking to me like that.

    However, bullets would not be useful to us right now. Information, on the other hand, would be.

    "So, not power users. Asymptomatic then," I mused with a nod. "A useless piece of crap that is only good as a scavenger, picking up the cast-offs of those with true power. You poor, poor man. How does it feel to know that a woman like me is stronger than you?" I continued, calling up my pink me and letting it dance on the palm of my hand.

    I watched his face go pale as he took a step back away from me.

    Realizing what he just did, he stepped forward once again, but the damage was done, and we both knew it. "Now, my man told you to walk away before you couldn''t walk anymore. Unfortunately, you didn''t listen." Throwing out my pink me, I watched as it engulfed the man, his cries of pain echoing through the woods around us.

    I walked over to Cerberus and leaned against his hood, getting morefortable to watch the show. I had purposefully chosen my pink me because it was my weakest one. Dominance and torture were all that mattered in this new world, and I was going to start out strong.

    "I''m sorry," I said, calling back my me. The leader staggered forward a few steps but remained standing, his body covered in burns and blisters as he stared at me. "You were going to teach me my ce."

    "Fucking bitch," he growled, and I could see his men starting to shift back and forth, wondering what their next move should be.

    "That I am. But if you think that I am the only one here with a power, then I am afraid you are very much mistaken," I answered with a smile. "Boys? If you would be so kind?"

    Liu Yu Zeng smiled brightly as his mist flew to the men surrounding us,pletely engulfing them before they could even scream.

    I never took my eyes off the leader as he stared at his men, literally rotting in front of his very eyes.

    "Too bad for you," I said, standing up straight and calling on my blue me. "But at least you aren''t going to be suffering any longer. That has to count for something, right?"

    The leader screamed as my mes once again engulfed him, only to be quickly cut off as he turned to ashes. Huh, I guess my blue me got stronger without me realizing it.

    Looking around, I saw that we were the only humans left standing. Nodding in satisfaction, I turned to Wang Chao. "Next time, hit them first, then negotiate, if necessary," I advised him before walking back to Cerberus and getting into the truck. Yeah, for better or worse, the world was back to normal.

    ----

    Wang Chao and the rest of the men watched their Queen walking away from them and sighed. "We need to get done whatever brought her out here fast and then get back home," said Wang Chao. They hadn''t even been out in the real world for a day, and he was already done with it. He could only guess how Li Dai Lu was feeling.

    The other three men grunted their agreement and went to their bikes. They had experienced a life that they never knew possible, and now they were anxious to get back to it.

    -----

    "My Lady," said a young girl as she curtsied to the woman sitting on the couch before her. "Your dinner is ready."

    Wu Bai Hee looked at the girl with a smile. "Thank you so much," she said gently. "Have you had a chance to eat yet?"

    "Oh, yes, My Lady," gushed the girl. It was the dream of most girls in City A to be able to serve Lady Wu Bai Hee. She was the kind Goddess, always making sure that the citizens were looked after. It was well known that she was willing to starve in order to make sure that everyone had the ability to eat.

    "That is good," she replied, standing up. "Why don''t you leave early and get back to your family? The sun is still setting early, and it will be dark soon. It would devastate me if something were to happen to you."

 Chapter 447 Deserved Only The Best

    ?

    "Thank you, My Lady," said the girl, giving onest curtsy as Wu Bai Hee dismissed her for the day. "I hope you enjoy your dinner!"

    "How could I not when you are the one to make it?" chuckled Wu Bai Hee as she watched the girl no more than 12 years old running out of the condo. Turning her attention to the table with the food on it, she walked over and picked up the te. Logically, she knew that it was all edible food on it, but for the life of her, she could not figure out what it was.

    In the center of the te was a stew or a thick soup of some kind, with chucks of something that may or may not be vegetables swimming in a red sauce and a tiny piece of bread on the side. There was no rice, no meat, no nothing on the te that looked even remotely appetizing. And worst of all, she knew that this was the best the city had to offer because she was the one to imnt it into everyone''s head that she deserved only the best the city had to offer.

    Sneering in disgust, she then went to the sink and threw the meal down the drain, pulling apart the bread so that it could fit better and not cause anything to clog up. She took her time cleaning the te and sink, making sure that there would be no sign of the food left anywhere.

    "Do you know she thinks of you as the kind Goddess?" asked the woman who appeared in the middle of Wu Bai Hee''s condo.

    Turning around, Wu Bai Hee gave a curtsy of her own to the woman in front of her. "There is only one true Goddess, and I am looking at her," said Wu Bai Hee softly, her head bowed down.

    Demeter scoffed at the mortal in front of her. "Be careful that you don''t start believing your own con," she warned the woman and watched as the mask on the mortal''s face seemed to melt in front of her. "Much better."

    "Why are you here?" asked Wu Bai Hee, going to sit down in one of the chairs. Just as she was about to approach it, the chair moved a fraction of an inch. Just enough to let her know that sitting down in it was not a good idea.

    Rolling her eyes, she stood before the Goddess.

    "Am I not allowed here?" scoffed Demeter. "I am here to tell you that I am losing patience with you."

    "I am sorry," responded Wu Bai Hee quickly, looking at the ground. It was not her fault Liu Wei, and the others seemed to have disappeared off the face of the Earth. She had sent scouts out for two years now, and not one hade back with any information. "I think the woman with Liu Wei is dead if that is any constion."

    "You think she is dead? Just because you send people out to find her, and they can''t? I will tell you right now that she is alive and well. Both of which were your responsibility to ensure didn''t happen," said Demeter, looking around the condo. "Instead, you have set yourself up with quite the little con here, haven''t you? All the humans in City A think of you as some kind of saint when, in fact, you would cheerfully throw them to the zombies if it benefited you."

    "Yes, well, there are two types of people in this world. Those born to rule and those born to be ruled," smiled Wu Bai Hee as she studied her nails. "It is their honor to be of use to me."

    "You really believe that, don''t you?"ughed Demeter, and, with a wave of her hand, she transported Wu Bai Hee and herself into a desecrated alley.

    The Goddess pointed to a creature huddled in a corner, its thin clothes doing nothing to protect it from the crisp autumn wind. "What about her? Does she really seem like she is capable of ruling anyone? Or do you think she enjoys being rules instead?" asked Demeter as a man walked up to the huddled mass and, grabbing it by the hair, started to pull it away from its corner and down into yet another, darker corner.

    Screams rose from the darkness, the creature pleading with everything it had but unable to form even a single word. Its cries and screams continued for hours until its voice gave out. Wu Bai Hee tried to back away, but Demeter held her arm in a death grip, her fingers digging into the other woman''s flesh.

    After some time had passed, the man walked out of the shadows, whistling a happy tune, while the creature crawled across the dirt and went back into its corner. It lifted its gaze as if able to see Demeter and Wu Bai Hee, meeting the other woman''s eyes.

    Shuddering, Wu Bai Hee looked down at the ground, refusing to look into the eyes that were an exact copy of her own.

    Demeter let out a chuckle, and all of a sudden, the alley disappeared, and the two women were back in the bright, beautiful condo that Wu Bai Hee called home.

    "Find my son, find Li Dai Lu and her men,"manded Demeter as she stood up and brushed the wrinkles from her skirts. "If you don''t, I will send you back to that alleyway, and you can remember exactly how it felt to be ruled."

    Demeter, Goddess of agriculture, harvest, and fertility, disappeared just as the lock on the front door turned, and Zhao Jun Jie strolled into the living room. ''Oh, and congrattions,'' came a voice inside of Wu Bai Hee''s head, causing her to stiffen. ''You are expecting a little boy. Zhao Jun Jie has been praying so hard; how could I not answer his calls?''

    Zhao Jun Jie strolled into the condo just as thest of Demeter''s words echoed in Wu Bai He''s mind. "I missed you," he said, pulling her into his arms and giving her a gentle kiss on the forehead. "How was your day?"

    It took Wu Bai Hee a few minutes to respond to him after having that bomb dropped on her. "Just fine," she said with a strained smile. "How was yours? That is the more important question."

 Chapter 448 Like Glue

    ?

    I never knew what was worse: running into humans and getting the blunt end of the stick or traveling for hours in the dead silence with only the thoughts in your head to keep you from going insane.

    "You called?" said a cheery voice, and I turned to look at my passenger seat to see a girl looking exactly like me with pigtails in her hair and wearing a very dusty blue dress with a ck and white checkered apron.

    "I don''t know. Did I?" I asked with a smile. "Hello, Crazy,"

    "Hello, main personality," she replied with a big smile on her face. "Admit it; you missed us."

    I chuckled at her statement because up until this point, no, I hadn''t really missed them at all.

    "Well, now I am crushed," said Crazy with a shrug, seemingly anything but crushed. "But that''s okay. Something tells me that I am going to be visiting you a lot for the next little while."

    "Probably," I admitted. "After all, I would have to be more than a little crazy to leave the peace and quiet of the life I was living to return here."

    "Not like I amining by any means, but why did you leave?" asked Crazy, looking over at me. I must have been mistaken because I thought for sure that I saw a trace of pity on her face.

    "Because even if there is no medicine for regret, I currently have the chance to change the future and fix my biggest regret. I would be a fool not to take it," I said with a shrug.

    "You might be crazy, but you are no fool. Who is the healer to you?"

    "I feel like she was me in my first life," I said at longst. "She sacrificed everything for a stranger that she barely knew and died without truly experiencing life."

    "Well, that is a bit presumptuous of you, don''t you think?" demanded Crazy, looking at me like I was¡­well¡­ crazy. "How do you know that she didn''t get to experience the life that she wanted and that she died without regrets, knowing that you got away?"

    "I was locked in a cage big enough to fit a medium dog. I was beaten, I was¡­ abused, and I was forced to fight for the enjoyment of others every night. And every night, she sat there in the cage beside me and held my hand. How could that be what she wanted for her life?"

    "Now," said Crazy, holding up her hands, "Just hear me out. How do you know that you didn''t arrive at a time in her life when she needed you the most and you were her anchor, that you were the one that convinced her to take one day at a time and keep living when she had long since given up? How do you know that she didn''t die with a smile on her face, knowing that she did everything she could to save you and you got away?"

    I thought about what Crazy said, and I had to admit that maybe she was right. Maybe I was looking at it from apletely egocentric way. Maybe she did choose death, and that was how she wanted to go. I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath, trying to keep the tears from spilling over. Now was not the time to sit here crying. I was not a victim in this life. I had nothing to cry over.

    "You have everything to cry over," pointed out Crazy, really not helping when it came to suppressing my emotions. "I mean, it might not have happened to you in this life, but that doesn''t mean you don''t still bear the scars and the memories as if it did happen. If you want to cry, cry. And then, when you are done, rip the souls out of every Reaver in thatpound and bath in their blood. That''s what I would do."

    "It bothers me that you are making sense right now," I said, letting out a wateryugh.

    "Being crazy every so often is not a bad thing," replied Crazy with a smile as she turned her attention outside of the passenger window. "It gives you a way out, a way to dpress from all the repressed emotions. Let the feelingse to the surface and exorcise them so they are no longer strong enough to drive you crazy."

    Once again, I was left speechless by a side of myself that probably should be locked up in a mental facility of some kind. "We did that once, you know," said Crazy with a smile. "We spent a good ten or fifteen years in a mental hospital. It was some of the best years of our lives up to now."

    "It was?" I asked, surprised. Mind you, I wasn''t surprised that when Crazy was in charge, we ended up in a psychiatric ward; I was more surprised that it was some of the best years of our lives.

    "There is something incredibly freeing to be you without any cares or concerns about the social norms," chuckled Crazy. "You scratched the surface of it in this lifetime but nowhere near where we were before. The key, though, is to rein in the crazy before it takes total control. That was a hard lesson for us to learn."

    "Is this your way of telling me that I should let you take control?" I asked with a chuckle.

    "Oh, fuck, no," she replied quickly with a shake of her head. "My brand of crazy is on an entirely different level that I don''t think your men are prepared for."

    I chucked and shook my head. "I might need you, though,'' I said softly. Maybe if I couldbine Crazy and Psycho, I would be able to get through thepound, rescue the princess, and make it back with enough of me left intact that the guys would still want me.

    "And when you do, I am here. And so is Psycho. She would love toe out and y a bit in the pits for a bit. I heard that the blood of your enemies did wonders for your skin," smiled Crazy. "But I don''t think you need to worry about your guys wanting you or not wanting you. They are going to be stuck to you like glue during this whole thing. If you let them."

 Chapter 449 Interrupting Lunch

    ?

    "I guess you are right," I said tentatively, and Crazy gave me a knowing smirk. I had sketched over a lot of essential parts of my n to the guys, so maybe it was about time I told them everything. "Besides, if they could put up with my multiple personalities, they can put up with anything."

    "That''s my girl!" shouted Crazy before disappearing from the car. ''You might not see me, but I am always watching,'' she giggled inside of my head, causing me to roll my eyes. But she was right. The guys had never once wavered in the three years that they were by my side.

    I think it was time that I shared some of the not-so-pleasant memories, and hopefully, by tearing off the scabs, the memories would fade away, and I could finally start to heal.

    However, before I could open my mouth and let the guys know I wanted to talk to them, Cerberus mmed on his brakes, causing my forehead to be knocked against the wheel and start bleeding.

    "Fuck," I groaned as I heard five frantic voices calling my name. "I''m fine," I called out as I reached up and touched the bright red liquid flowing from the center of my head. Two years and not so much as a scratch. At least I don''t have to worry about my blood attracting zombies.

    "What''s going on?" I asked, rubbing my hand on my ck leggings. ck: the best color in the apocalypse. Hides blood and bloodstains like it''s nobody''s business.

    "Humans," grumbled Wang Chao. He got off his bike and started to walk toward the truck, his eyes never leaving my forehead.

    "Wanna kiss it better?" I joked as I opened the door and jumped down.

    He leaned down and gave me a kiss right on top of the cut. Within seconds, the pain stopped. "Huh," I grunted in surprise. "Didn''t see thating."

    "What can I say?" he smirked. "I''m magic."

    "Yeah, yeah," I grunted as Chen Zi Han rushed over. Picking me up, he put me on top of Cerberus'' hood and took out a clean cloth from his jacket. Liu Wei handed him a small bottle of water, and between the two of them, the blood was quickly cleaned up.

    Pulling out a small,pact mirror, I saw only a thin pink line from where the cut used to be, and even then, it was healing up rapidly. "So, what are the humans doing now?" I asked with a sigh, vanishing thepact and turning to look at the guys.

    "Getting eaten," shrugged Liu Yu Zeng. Out of all the guys, he was the only one with his back to me. Walking over to him, I wrapped my arm around his waist, and the two of us watched a team of power users valiantly fighting against a horde of maybe 20 or so zombies.

    The other guys made their way over, and we stood there, just watching.

    Unfortunately, it didn''t take long for one of the humans to spot us and rush over. "What the Hell are you doing? Stop watching and help us!" he cried. I guess he thought that I would be the weak link because he was about to grab my arm when Liu Yu Zeng quickly put a stop to that idea.

    Now, I am sure that breaking the poor man''s arm was going a little overboard, but I was willing to cut my men some ck.

    "Sorry," I said to him with a shrug. "But we will not be getting involved. Your teammates look like they need some help; you might want to go back."

    "You broke my fucking arm; what use am I now?" growled the man, pointing to where his radius was sticking out of his elbow. I would admit. It looked painful.

    "You were just flinging out fireballs," replied Liu Yu Zeng, rolling his eyes. "I don''t think a broken arm is really going to affect your aim all that much. Heck, it might even improve it."

    The man looked at Liu Yu Zeng, his face turning red with anger. However, my joker waspletely unaffected by the look. However, I guess when you are Disease, a human ring at you is really not that big of a deal.

    However, with one man out of the fight, the rest of the humans looked around to see where he went. Finding us, they, too, rushed over like they had just seen their saviors. "You have to help us!" cried the only woman in the group. "Please!"

    "And just how do you expect us to do that?" I asked, cocking my head to the side and looking at her.

    "By taking our ce," she sneered. Grabbing me by my upper arm, she flung me directly into the center of the horde.

    Fucking fighting power user.

    Luckily for me, two zombies managed to catch me before Inded on the ground and injured myself. "Thanks," I grunted as the zombie gently ced me on the ground. "Are any of you hurt?" The zombie cocked his head to the side and opened his mouth to pant.

    "Yeah, I guess that is a dumb question," I said, answering my own question. The other zombies around us also cocked their heads to the side and started to pant¡­ their version ofughing out loud. "Well, I''ll get out of your way so you can go back to having lunch. Is your Alpha around by any chance?"

    As one, the zombies turned around to face the tree line, and I could see a light purple zombie leaning against one of therger trees. Grunting my thanks, I walked back over to my men.

    "I am thinking that that didn''t quite work out how you thought it would," I said, looking down at the woman. She was currently on her knees, Liu Yu Zeng''s gun resting against her temple. I looked to see the remaining members of her team pinned down by my guys, unable to do anything for fear that she would be killed as a result.

    She snarled at me and tried to get to her feet, but Liu Yu Zeng unclicked the safety on his gun.

    "If you think he won''t shoot you because you are a woman and the world desperately needs women right now, I am afraid you are very much mistaken," I said as she studied Liu Yu Zeng for a moment longer than I liked.

 Chapter 450 Fucking Spirit User

    ?

    "You see, he is my man. And anyone that is not me? Well, he sees no point in keeping them alive," I said, shaking my head at the woman. "But if you don''t believe me, you can always see for yourself."

    "What do you want?" demanded one of the men,ing forward. He towered over me, and I could see a smirk growing on the woman''s face. Awe, did she really think that he could do something to me before Liu Yu Zeng blew her brains out? How cute.

    "I am pretty sure that we wanted to be left alone," I replied, looking up at the man. "But that, apparently, didn''t work for your friend," I continued, nodding my head in the direction of the man who was cradling his broken arm.

    "How did you get the zombies to not eat you?" asked the man standing in front of me.

    "By taking a y from your girlfriend''s book and offering them you guys instead," I answered with a shrug. There was a pause before my words managed to sink in. Letting out a loud yell, the man reached out to grab me, only to be brought up short by the sound of a gunshot.

    "Oops," smiled Liu Yu Zeng as the woman dropped to the ground, dead. "Sorry. You reached for my woman; I got a bit antsy."

    The man looked at the dead woman, his eyes wide with shock. "You killed a woman," he said, looking up at Liu Yu Zeng and then back down at the woman.

    "In his defense," I said, pulling out a gun of my own. "I did warn you guys."

    The man, who I could only assume was the leader of this team, lunged at me, the rest of his men following suit. However, before he could actually touch me, he was blocked by a light purple hand and tossed into the middle of the zombie horde.

    Unlike when I experienced the same thing, the leader was left to hit the ground, getting the air knocked out of him before the zombies descended. Screams and cries of pain could be heard for a few minutes until there was nothing but silence.

    I looked at my men, and they quietly backed away, leaving more than enough room for the zombies sneaking up behind them to have ess. Nodding to the Alpha, I went to join my men around Cerberus, giving the zombies a chance to finish up their lunch.

    "You okay, Princess?" asked Chen Zi Han.

    "Yup," I replied with a smile. "But I never thought I would experience a day where the zombies would save me from humans." He grunted and pulled me into his embrace as the fighting intensified. Fortunately for the zombies, there was no strong enough fire user to actually cause them much damage.

    "Okay?" asked the Alpha as he came over. Looking me up and down, he grunted. "Okay."

    "Yes," I assure him with a smile. "Your horde managed to catch me in time."

    "Good," he grunted.

    "Can you tell me what has been happeningtely?" I asked, the majority of my attention on the fight. I didn''t want to intercede and kill the humans simply because then they wouldn''t be as appetizing to the zombies.

    The Alpha turned around to supervise his horde and crossed his arms. "Lots of food. Good eating," he said after a few minutes.

    I nodded my head. "That''s good. If you don''t mind, we are going to take off. We have to get to City I by the end of the week."

    The Alpha grunted and nodded his head. Walking away to rip the heads off of one of the men trying to hide in the forest, he waved us away and enjoyed his snack.

    "I definitely did not see any of thising," grumbled Liu Yu Zeng as he and the other guys got on their bikes.

    "I didn''t think I would have more sympathy for zombies than I would for humans," I said with a smile as Cerberus took off, skirting around the fight and continuing on our journey.

    ------

    Bin An Sha looked at the gates outside of City A and wondered if he was really ready to return. After being left unexpectedly in City H, he had traveled around the country looking for his Queen as well as developing more effective ways of fighting the zombies.

    But after all these years, he was tired of constantly moving around.

    Moving up to the front of the line, he looked at the guard just outside the first gate. "Name?" asked the guard, not bothering to look up from his paperwork.

    "Doctor Bin An Sha," he answered.

    "Power user or Asymptomatic?"

    "Power user."

    "Type?"

    "Healer." At his word, the guard''s head shot up, and he stared at Bin An Sha in amazement.

    "Healer?" he asked, his breath catching at the very idea there could be two healers in City A. That alone would make them the most powerful city in the whole country. Then again, Wu Bai Hee deserved nothing less than to have two healers.

    "Correct," said Bin An Sha. He had very quickly learned just how revered being a healer was in this new world where a single scratch could be the difference between life and death.

    "Right this way, Sir," said guard before quickly speaking into his walkie-talkie. The first gate rose, and then the second one. The third one remained closed, but that was to be expected. "What type of housing would you prefer?"

    "My own," sneered Bin An Sha as he gave the soldier his address. After a briefmunication between the guard and another person, the guard looked at Bin An Sha with a smile.

    "That address is vacant. You can move in right away. Would you like someone toe clean it for you before then?"

    "No," grunted Bin An Sha. Nothing would drive him crazier than to know that someone had been in his condo without his knowledge for any reason, even cleaning it.

    "Understood, and let me just tell you, Sir. You are incredibly lucky. The First Lady of City A is in the condo next to you. She is amazing and is the reason why City A is prospering the way it is," exined the guard as he personally escorted Bin An Sha through all of the different checkpoints.

    Bin An Sha looked at the man beside him and grunted at the fanatical look in his eye.

    "Fucking spirit user," he grumbled under his breath.

 Chapter 451 Ripping Off The Band-Aid. Trigger Warnings For This And The Next!!

    ?

    Trigger warnings: mentions of r@pe in a past life, torture, abuse, and thoughts of suicide. Make sure to take care of yourself and skip this chapter and the next if necessary.

    Finding a clearing off of the beaten track, the guys and I set up camp. It had been so long since we had had to do it that it took a few times to get the fire going. Luckily for us, I still had my RV, so we didn''t have to remember how to properly put up a tent.

    The guys must have sensed that I had something on my mind because as soon as I pulled out the RV, Chen Zi Han brought me inside and into the bedroom. He tucked me in under the covers, handed me my reading tablet, and kissed me on the head.

    "I''ll let you know when dinner is ready," he said. "Is there anything that you wanted?" he continued. The RV was constantly stocked with meals in the freezer, ingredients in the fridge, and snacks in the cupboards, so I didn''t have to take anything out of my space when we wanted to eat.

    "Up to you," I said, looking up at him with a smile. If there was one thing I could always count on, it was Chen Zi Han''s need to feed and take care of me.

    "Then you just rx and let us take care of the rest," he replied before giving me another kiss before leaving the room and closing the door behind him.

    "I like him," said Crazy as she appeared on the bed beside me. "You have done much worse," she continued with a nod. Pulling out a bag of chips from our space, she opened them up and started to eat.

    "You know it drives me bat shit crazy when there are crumbs in the bed, right?" I demanded, watching bits of salt and vinegar chips onto the bed. "And I really don''t like how you guys are able to randomly take stuff from my space."

    Crazy shrugged her shoulder, sending even more crumbs onto the top of my nkets. "me Violence. As soon as she figured it out, the rest of us learned how to do it," she answered, turning to look at me with a smile on her face. "And just how crazy am I driving you?"

    I rolled my eyes and sighed, turning my attention back to my e-reader. I wasn''t in the mood to read anything right now, but it was much better than being lost inside my mind right now.

    "You know, it''s like a band-aid. As soon as you rip it off, you let the wound bleed all over the ce until you die of blood loss," said Crazy, blinking at me.

    "Not helping," I groaned, throwing the tablet away.

    "I''m sorry? Was I supposed to? Because I am really not the one to turn to for advice or help of any kind. I could ask one of the other ones, but the only one around right now is Psycho, and not even I am crazy enough to think that she would be helpful in this situation," she said, vanishing the chips and turning to look at me. "But seriously. There is no way to anticipate or prepare for their reaction until you see it for yourself."

    "Really? Because I am pretty sure that my brain is doing a really good job going through every possible scenario right now, and not one of them works out in my favor," I grumbled as I brushed the crumbs off the cover.

    "You know you are an idiot, right?" asked Crazy,pletely seriously. "Your mind isn''t actually working through the different scenarios in a logical manner; it is simply a trauma response meant to provide you with some sense of control over an uncontroble situation. That means it is one of us, your loving personalities, that is creating the scenarios inside of your head. And if I am to guess, it would be Fear or Pessimism working overtime. Those two bitches work way too hard. They need to take a vacation sometime."

    "And when they learn that I was repeatedly forced against my will until all I wanted to do was slit my own wrists? What then?" I asked softly. I could deal with them learning I once ripped a person''s ear off with my bare teeth in the cage or that I dug that same person''s eyeballs out with my thumbs. Those situations made me look like a badass bitch.

    Telling them that I was pinned down, a wire around my neck so if I moved too much, it would slit my throat while Reaver after Reaver did whatever they wanted? Well... that just made me feel weak.

    And let''s face it, no strong woman would ever let that happen to her.

    "I''m sorry, but I thought I was the crazy one here, not you," sneered Crazy, and for a second, I saw something truly terrifying swirling around inside her eyes.

    "You think that you were weak because it happened?"

    "I was weak because I let them do that shit to me," I replied, my voice raising in irritation. Why couldn''t Crazy see that? "I was weak because all I had to do was sit up and let that wire slit my throat. Instead, I was too weak to take my own life."

    "Ha!"ughed Crazy. Sitting up, she crossed her legs and looked at me. "Every time you say the word weak, I hear strong."

    "And that is probably because you are Crazy," I shot back, forcing the tears back into my eyes. Never once did I see any part of myst life as me being anything but weak.

    "You were strong enough to let that happen to you when most would have copsed. You were strong enough not to take your own life because, whether you realized it or not, you had people who depended on you. Let me get this into your head¡­ YOU WERE STRONG BECAUSE YOU SURVIVED. And if your men can''t see that, then trade them in for a better model," said Crazy, screaming at me.

    "I would like to put in an official protest about being traded in for a better mode. You know the older, more beaten models are much more reliable."

 Chapter 452 Slowly Bleeding To Death: Trigger Warnings!!!

    ?

    Trigger warnings are still in effect.

    Gasping, I turned around to see all four of my men standing around my door. Liu Yu Zeng, who had just spoken, was leaning against the frame, his legs crossed at the ankles and his arms crossed against his chest.

    "Fuck," I said harshly under my breath as I turned to look at Crazy beside me. She wiggled her fingers at me. "And now the band-aid is off," she said with a smile before disappearing.

    "Fuck," I repeated, closing my eyes and letting my head fall to the pillow under me. Well, at least I wouldn''t have to repeat the worst of it, depending on how long they were standing there.

    "Ever since Crazy mentioned bleeding to death," replied Wang Chao, answering my unspoken question as he and the rest of the guys filed into my room. Liu Wei and Wang Chao took the spot on either side of me while Liu Yu Zeng took the spot at my feet.

    I looked at Chen Zi Han, who stood standing in the doorway, not moving.

    "Can''t stand the idea of touching me?" I asked him softly, my head cocking to the side. "Can''t say I me you. I couldn''t stand being in my body for 10 years after that. Luckily, I died."

    Chen Zi Han continued to stand perfectly still, but the expression on his face changed to something I had never seen before. His mouth twisted into a sneer, and his eyes turned pitch ck until I couldn''t even see the light green color that used to bring me suchfort.

    In fact, if he didn''t feel like my Chen Zi Han, if I couldn''t feel that draw, that link to him, I would think he was apletely different man. Even the guys around me stiffened when he looked at him. Liu Yu Zeng rolled out of bed and went to go stand between me and the enraged Third Horseman at my door.

    "You think you are enough?" Chen Zi Han sneered, looking down at Liu Yu Zeng as if he had never seen the other man before.

    Wang Chao, who was on the edge of the bed closest to the door, got up and stood shoulder to shoulder with the younger Liu brother, staring down Chen Zi Han.

    The other man cocked his head to the side and stared at the two men. "Biggest brother and second brother. Should I be scared? Because I hate to tell you this, but I am not."

    Watching the confrontation between the three men, I felt my heart sink, and I thought that I was going to be sick to my stomach. What the Hell was going on here?

    "You two climb into her bed as if you didn''t hear a wording out of her mouth. But guess what? I did. I heard everything," sneered Chen Zi Han before looking between the shoulders of the two men and staring straight into my eye. "I heard everything."

    The tears in my eyes that had been gathering ever since I knew I would need to tell them what was going on started to fall uncontrobly. I gasped, struggling to take air into my lungs, but I refused to break the gaze between me and Chen Zi Han. Whatever was toe, I needed to face it head-on.

    Sitting back up in my bed, I straightened my back and pulled back my shoulders. I was strong enough to live through that, and the nightmares after; I was strong enough to deal with this.

    "I heard everything," repeated the entity I realized was Famine. "Which is why I will only ask you this this one time," he continued, the tension in the room rising.

    "Ask," I said, not bothering to wipe the tears from my eyes.

    "Can Ie in?"

    -----

    Chen Zi Han''s heart broke when he heard the love of his life exining to Crazy about her fears, about her concerns with how he and the other guys would react, and he listened to her calling herself weak over and over again.

    But never once did he think she was weak. She was the strongest woman that he ever knew because it was a lot harder to live than it was to die. Death was simple: a moment in exchange for endless sleep. In fact, the only people for whom death was not easy for were those who survived afterward and had to keep going as if their world hadn''tpletely copsed.

    But that was his woman. The one he would destroy the world for. And he needed her to know that her decisions werew. She was no longer the helpless person she was in her second life.

    It would kill him if she turned him away right now, but he needed to tell her that she had the final say on who was allowed into her bed, that she had the final say on who could touch her and when.

    And that understanding needed to start right now.

    He was disappointed in the other men for putting their needs to touch andfort her in front of her needs. If the memories were riding her that hard, she might not be able to tell the difference between them piling onto her bed and the Reavers who did the same.

    No, he would wait at the door until she invited him into her room and into her bed.

    That was the best way of giving her back the power that those¡­ things¡­ took away from her.

    And once they found that camp, those Reavers, he would give them the most prolonged and painful death that he could.

    There would be no easy reaping for them¡­ no, he would slowly withdraw their essence until they were weakened and punish them when they couldn''t fight back. And then he would restore them just a bit until they thought that their punishment was over, and then he would start all over again. He would let them experience slowly bleeding to death without a drop of blood falling.

    He would introduce them to the deepest circle of Hell again and again until his Princess¡­ his Queen, was satisfied, and then he would give her the pleasure of taking their lives.

    No, the punishment waiting for the Reavers was not going to be easy, not after what they did to his Queen.

 Chapter 453 Plans For The Future

    ?

    I looked at Chen Zi Han and wondered how I could ever be so stupid as to think that he would leave me because of something that someone did to me.

    "Yes," I said, my voice catching as it tried to move around the lump in my throat. "You four are always wee in my room and my bed whenever. There will never be a time that I don''t want you around."

    "Is that your final answer?" asked Chen Zi Han, still staying at the door, but I could see his eyes changing back from ck to green. "I warned you I would only ask this once."

    "Final answer," I promised him with a watery smile and a nod of my head.

    He strolled forward, pushing Wang Chao and Liu Yu Zeng out of the way with his massive shoulders. Reaching down, he picked me up into his arms andid down on the bed with me on top.

    "Well, shit," muttered Liu Yu Zeng looking between the two of us. "I never even thought about it." He looked at me seriously, his smirk long gone. "Can Ie in too?" he asked,pletely serious.

    "Yes," I answered, rolling my eyes. The smile on my face was bright, and I was feeling a million times lighter than I had in God only knows how long. Too many lifetimes that was for sure.

    "I am not going to ask," said Wang Chao as Liu Yu Zeng went to the bed andid back down. "I don''t care what happened to you in another lifetime. I don''t care what horrors you survived or how many scars you have as a result. Everyst experience that you lived through has turned you into the woman you are today, the one that I am in love with. I am yours; however, you want me; for as long as you want me. And if and when you decide you no longer want me, I will still be beside you in the shadows. Even if you couldn''t ever bring yourself to have anyone touch you for the rest of your life, I will still be by your side, thanking both Heaven and Hell that I met you. So you better get used to that."

    I raised an eyebrow at Wang Chao''s impassioned speech.

    "You don''t care what happened to me?" I asked with a smirk. I knew what he was trying to say, but I would have to admit that the delivery left something to be desired.

    He shrugged his shoulders and turned to Liu Wei beside me. Following his gaze, I blinked at the man.

    "Itpletely tears him up inside to know that something like that happened to you," said Liu Wei, looking deep into my eyes. "It kills him that he wasn''t there to protect you so that you would never have to experience something like that. However, since you did, it has changed nothing. You are still more important to him than his next breath. He is going to go and rain down terror like the Reavers have never known until they are on their knees in front of you, begging for mercy."

    My eyes widened, and I turned back to Wang Chao. He simply shrugged his shoulders, "What he said."

    Looking at Liu Wei, I blinked. "Ditto," he replied with a smirk on his face.

    "But now that we have covered why we are going to go on a murderous rampage, what do you want to happen?" asked Liu Yu Zeng. His eyes changed to two ck holes on his face before he blinked, and he was back.

    I guess the guys were taking the news harder than they wanted me to know, but then again, how could they not?

    "I need to find a healer. Unfortunately, I have no idea her name or anything about her, really," I said, not sure how I should exin this. Even I couldn''t figure out why she was so important to me. "I know that she had a fianc¨¦ called Bain Long Qiang, that she was from City D, and that she died so I could escape the Reavers."

    "Bai Long Qiang?" said Liu Wei, looking at me with a confused look on his face. "The guy from City D that was there for the City J zombie tide? That Bai Long Qiang?"

    "Surprise," I said with a hesitant smile on my face.

    "That was why he was so important to you," said Wang Chao as the pieces clicked into ce. "He was the healer''s fianc¨¦."

    "Exactly. I needed him to go save her," I nodded. "I want her saved, but I also want to take revenge on the Reavers. When I originally thought I was doing this by myself, I couldn''t guarantee that I could do both sessfully. I told him where to find her and when she would be there, but I couldn''t tell him anything else. After all, all I knew was based on my previous life and not the current timeline."

    "Did you set anyone else up to help?" asked Liu Yu Zeng, and I could tell that he was a bit upset that I had nned to leave them to go out on my own, but that was three years ago. I have since changed my mind¡­ obviously.

    "Rip," said Chen Zi Han. "That was how she originally knew him. He was at the Reaver camp, too."

    "More than that¡­ Rip is a Reaver," continued Liu Wei, nodding his head as his mind spun. "He was there at the camp, and if that happened in this lifetime, then he would already be in ce to help the healer."

    I nodded my head.

    "But how were you originally nning on getting into the camp yourself?" asked Liu Yu Zeng, staring me down from where he was lying at my feet.

    I wrinkled my nose, not really wanting to tell him that answer. "Little one," growled Wang Chao from where he stood. "Answer the question."

    "I know where they found me the first time, so I was nning on going there and waiting for them to ''catch'' me."

    "And I am going to assume that that is no longer part of your n¡­ right?" growled Chen Zi Han.

    None of the guys were happy when I didn''t answer his question.

 Chapter 454 Protect The Healer

    ?

    Wang Tian Mu stared at the bars in front of her, her eyes blurring with her need to sleep. But scary things came in the darkness, their taunts and touches more than she could bear to wake up to. Forcing herself awake, she whispered a prayer that he would being soon. He always kept the monsters away. She blinked slowly, and when she opened her eyes again, the bars no longer existed.

    Instead, she found herself walking beside another woman in a vast field of flowers. They were heading towards a massive mountain range, smiling andughing with each other. She couldn''t hear what they were actually talking about, but she knew that that woman meant more to her than anything else. Like the friendship formed, walking through fields was meant tost forever.

    "She ising," came a childlike voice, pulling her out of her dream.

    "What?" she asked groggily.

    "She ising," the voice said again, this time sounding older, more malicious.

    "Rip?" she choked out. If he was there, then she was saved. The rest would leave her alone.

    "Get some sleep," he grunted, and she strained her eyes to see him in the darkness.

    Knowing he was there, even if she couldn''t see him, Tian Mu reached out her hand and gripped the warm flesh in front of her. Pushing her magic into the giant man in front of her, she sighed when she felt him softening under her touch.

    The very first time she ever saw him, he had been terrified. She had been at thepound for months when he strolled in, so much bigger than the other Reavers around him. She worried that he would be just like them. And in the daylight, he was. But as soon as darkness fell, he changed into something elsepletely, her protector.

    The best part was just how scared the rest of thepound was of him.

    And because they were scared of him, whenever he was around, they left her alone.

    "Thank you," he sighed. His words were no longer as broken as they were when she first met him, and his childlike personality was slowly disappearing. But he had to keep up the act as much as she did. She shuddered at the idea of another Reaver, knowing that she was able to heal and strengthen Rip.

    "But you need to save your energy. If she finds out that you are wasting away trying to heal me, she''ll kill me," he chuckled as if he just heard the funniest joke ever.

    She heard his body cracking as he sat down in front of her cage and leaned his back against the cold bars.

    Sighing in relief, she curled herself up into a small ball so she waspletely hidden behind the man. "You''ll say here?" she asked, reaching out to grab the back of his shirt in her hand.

    "I''ll stay," he replied, and she could hear the smile in his voice. "Sleep well, healer. I am here to protect you."

    ------

    Rip looked over his shoulder at the helpless woman hiding behind him. When he first met up with the Reavers, he hadpletely forgotten what Li Dai Lu had asked him to do. Lost in the blood lust and ability to rip people to pieces, it was a while before he even noticed the woman in the cage.

    But as soon as he did, it was like his entire world shattered in that instant, only to be rebuilt around her.

    Running his fingers through his long blonde hair, he let out a soft sigh. She managed to do so many things for him; she healed him both inside and out. And yet, he couldn''t even get her out of the fucking cage.

    He closed his eyes and tilted his head back. Yes. She had healed him. And, in turn, earned a willing ve for life.

    "Want to die?" he growled softly, not willing to wake the woman up. Turning his head, his eyes focused on the outline of a maning out of the surrounding forest. He knew it was one of the new humans that had joined the pit in thest week. He had seen him wandering around, seemingly trying to get his bearings inside thepound, but Rip could smell a military man a mile away.

    "Not particrly," said the man with a big smile on his face. "Just going out for a walk on such a beautiful night."

    "Walk elsewhere," growled Rip, straightening his head and looking at the man in front of him. He would admit that the man knew what he was doing in the pit. He had fought 12 times in seven days, and not once did he ever lose a fight.

    However, the same could be said for Rip.

    "I see you here almost every night. I was wondering if there was anything special inside that cage," hedged the man as he took another step forward. He appeared calm and rxed, but Rip could smell the tensioning off him.

    "What do you want?" the giant asked, not rising to the bait. He had been around men like him before and knew that anythinging out of his mouth would be nothing more than a web of lies with a sliver of truth.

    "I am looking for someone," admitted the man, and Ripper stared at him.

    "Look elsewhere," suggested Rip, a teeth-bearing grin on his face.

    "But I think what I am looking for is in one of those cages," the other man pressed, nodding his head toward a sea of cages that all looked the same. And inside each one was the same thing.

    "Have fun," shrugged Rip, but warning bells were ringing loudly in his mind.

    "Hopefully, I will be able to meet you in the ring sometime soon," smiled the man, the moonlight shining off his teeth.

    "For your sake, I hope not," shrugged Rip, not at all caring about the other man. The Reaver Alpha kept him around because he was entertaining. If he stopped being entertaining, he would start being considered a threat, and if he was a threat, he would be killed.

    And if he was killed, there would be no one around to protect the healer.

    No, he would continue to dance to the puppet master''s tune until it was time for him to destroy everything.

 Chapter 455 A Little Dose Of Crazy

    ?

    I woke up in the middle of the night, a scream threatening to tear me apart from the inside out.

    I could feel the sweat dripping down my face, my heart pounding as thest bit of a nightmare drifted off. It might be gone, but the aftereffects willst for the next few hours.

    Scared to fall back asleep just in case it managed to find me again, I disappeared into my space, needing time to put myself back together.

    It was hard exposing yourself by talking about things you knew were rotting wounds. Most people, especially those who had never experienced those nightmares, think the best way to heal was to talk about it.

    And in some ways, they are right. I am no longer scared about my guys'' reaction to what happened to me in a past life. But by talking about what happened, I opened the door to the nightmares. Which brought me here, making chocte cake in the middle of the night in my space so I don''t disturb anyone else.

    "You left me in a ck hole of rage and confusion. Is the type of medicine you practice, Dr. Quinzel?" came a voice from my dining room table. "What do you think? Can I be the next Clown Prince?" asked Crazy.

    I turned to look at her and was surprised to see her in a purple and green checkered dress with a white apron. Her hair was dyed purple and ck, matching her outfit.

    "I didn''t know you guys could change your outfits," I said,pletely ignoring her question. "Violence always seems to be in the same red dress."

    "That is because Violence is boring, and has a giant stick up her ass. Me, on the other hand, am a free spirit. If I want to change, I change," she said, and snapping her fingers, she was back to her blue hypnotic Alice dress.

    "That one is my favorite," I said, turning back around to my stand mixer. Shredding some zhini, since that squash wasing out of my ears, I added it to the batter before pouring everything into the prepared cake pans.

    "Ew, did you really add veggies to your cake?" demanded Crazy, wrinkling her nose in disgust.

    "It''s really not that bad. Besides, I have over a hundred zhini that need to be eaten and more growing every day," I answered with a shrug of my shoulders. I really needed to find some way to use it all. I refused to throw out anything I grew.

    "And you can''t just feed them to the chickens or the pigs? I really don''t think something that green is fit for human consumption. At least you drowned it in chocte first, I guess."

    I turned to look at Crazy over my shoulder as I scrapped thest of the batter into the second cake pan. "You know I am not arguing that. Anything tastes better when it is bathed in chocte. Except carrot cake. That one is pretty fantastic as it is."

    I put the pans in the oven and set the timer. "But why do I think you popped in for another reason than to criticize my baking?" I asked with a sigh as I took off my apron and went to go sit down across from her.

    "I don''t know why¡­ I mean, putting veggies in cake should be a capital offense as far as I am concerned," huffed Crazy.

    I looked at her, not saying a word.

    "Fine! Anything but silence! Please! Anything but silence!!!" she screamed and started to melt into a puddle of ck, blue, and white goo all over my clean floors.

    Leaning over the side of the table, I watched as an eye formed in the goo. Blinking once, it rolled around to look at me.

    "Nice try," I said with a smile. "But you are going to have to clean yourself up. Lord only knows where you''ve been recently."

    "I''ve been in the ninth circle of Hell," said Crazy as she pulled herself off the floor and sat back down in her chair. "It''s a nice ce. Warm and sunny all year round, it makes a fantastic vacation destination¡­well, if you ignore the screams, that is. I''ve even met some of our ex''s there. Nice guys," she continued, her words picking up speed until she was talking a mile a minute.

    "Crazy," I warned her, leaning back in my chair.

    "Fine," she huffed. "I figured that now was not a good time to be alone, and if you didn''t want the guys around, I would keep youpany."

    "Thank you," I said, realizing for the first time that the residue of my nightmare was no longer clinging to my brain ever since she appeared.

    "Does this make me your new favorite personality?"

    "Sure," I answered with a smile. I was starting to think that everyone needed a little crazy in their lives in order to keep them sane.

    "Ha! I''m going to tell her you said that!"ughed Crazy. "How long until the cake is ready to eat?"

    "I thought you didn''t want any¡­ you know, with the zhini in it," I answered, looking at her confused.

    "What?!? You put zhini in a chocte cake!? How could you do something like that?!?" she demanded, a massive smile on her face. "But seriously, when will it be ready?"

    "Half an hour," I replied, looking at the timer on the microwave. "And then another hour to cool down and frost."

    "You know, if you started this an hour and a half ago, you''d be done by now, and I would be eating cake. Sometimes you are really inconsiderate of others¡­ you know that, right?!" Grumbling under her breath for a few minutes, I just stared at my personality from where I was stilling.

    For some reason, I didn''t think that she was as Crazy as everyone might think. I think that maybe, just maybe, she was wearing a mask so that she would let other people see what she wanted them to see while keeping her real self safe and secure.

    "You can''t be crazy all the time," she said suddenly, returning my stare. "But you can give yourself a break when the worldes crashing down on you."

    "Okay, Crazy," I nodded, a big smile on my face. "You are right."

    "Hey, just because I''m crazy doesn''t make me wrong. Call me in an hour and a half. I want cake."

 Chapter 456 A Trip Down Memory Lane

    ?

    After leaving those pearls of wisdom, Crazy vanished from the kitchen, once again leaving me to my own thoughts. However, instead of being lost in what was, I concentrated on making sure that my n would seed. I didn''t haveplete faith in myself that I wouldn''t, somehow, fuck it up. But instead of worrying about it, I forced my brain to move past it.

    In my second life, when I first transmigrated into this world, my body had been¡­ damaged, to say the least. My left shoulder was dislocated, my right ankle was broken, and my left knee was the size of a football. And those were only the injuries I knew I had for sure.

    Every breath that I took hurt. Every time I so much as twitched, it sent wave after wave of excruciating pain through my system, causing me to ck out. And yet, I had no idea what had been done to me. There were no memories to draw on, no idea of who I was and how I got there.

    But one thing was for sure: whoever had this body before me died as a result of those wounds.

    I found myself along the side of a road, the bottom half of my body sloping down toward the ditch while the upper half was clinging to the road with bloody fingernails. It was almost like I had been tossed out of a car and left to die.

    I didn''t know how long Iy there, hoping for some gold finger. I would have killed for the ability to heal or to be some kick-ass assassin who knew how to patch myself up. Instead, I was a social worker, and the extent of my medical training was a few videos on how to do CPR and how to call 911.

    Yeah, I was really not ready for this world.

    But then I heard the sound of a car driving down the street. I didn''t know if I should stand up and wave or try to slide back into the ditch more so that I could just disappear. And since it hurt to breathe, that first option was not going to happen.

    I used my hands to push my body back, trying not to scream as the excruciating pain flooded my system. But when I heard the car stop, I knew that it was toote.

    Looking up, I saw one of the most beautiful men I had ever seen in my life. His ck hair was perfectly done, his hands were soft and pale, and his nails were perfectly cut and filed. Even his three-piece business suit didn''t have a speck of dirt on it.

    How naive I was, thinking that this man was there to save me. After all, in all transmigration novels, it was always the first man you meet who was going to end up your male lead. And that was what I thought, too. I thought that he was some CEO who was going to pick me up off the street, take me to the hospital, feed me, buy me clothes, the whole fairy tale.

    Then again, I guess that is why they call it a fairy tale. Something like that would never exist in real life.

    "You poor girl," he cooed, crouching down. "It looks like you have taken a nasty beating. And yet, you are still alive." He reached out and gently brushed a piece of tangled hair from my face and tucked it as best he could behind my ear.

    "It really is hard to survive in this world, isn''t it? Especially with everything that has happened in thest three years. But don''t you worry about a thing, okay? I have you now. Everything is going to be okay. I will take care of you." He gently picked up my battered body, trying his best not to cause me even more pain, and brought me to his car. It was a shock to see that it was one of those much older models.

    I had thought for sure that, given his style, he would have one of those electric cars, but then again, who was I to judge? He was kind and was looking after me. It really didn''t matter what car he drove at the end of the day. That was just me thinking materialistically.

    The timer on the microwave started to beep, startling me out of my thoughts.

    Getting up from the table, I walked over to the oven, put on some oven mitts, and took the two pans out. cing them on top of the stove, I went to sit back down and waited for them to cool down. If I left my space now, time would be suspended, and I would never get them cool enough to frost.

    To this day, I could still smell the cologneing from that man. There was no way I knew how to describe it other than to say it smelled like sandalwood and seduction. But it was one of those things that I could never forget. No matter how many lifetimes have passed.

    I wouldter learn that he made his money as a recruiter. That was why he could afford to take showers, wear expensive suits, and drive around in a car when no one else had one. The Reavers paid him to find bodies¡­ man, woman, human, zombie¡­ it didn''t matter. As long as they could take a beating or deliver one, they wanted it for their pit.

    I am sure that if I wasn''t involved, I could actually appreciate what the Reavers managed to do. They recreated the Roman Colosseum andbined it with a circus. They always moved around, never spending more than two nights in the same location. And everyone who had money or something to give was more than wee to bet on the fighter they liked best¡­

    Or bet on how long a 5''2" woman wouldst against a zombie.

    At first, I thought we moved so much because the Reavers were scared that they would get caught. That the government woulde and shut them down. But that wasn''t the case at all. They moved so much so that none of us fighters would ever actually n their escape.

    What was the point of leaving if you didn''t know where safety was?

    I still remember the first time I had ever seen a zombie was in the pits. Hell, it didn''t even register that we were in the middle of an apocalypse until that very moment.

 Chapter 457 Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy

    ?

    I could smell the desperation in the air as Liu Yu Zeng and I walked down the dark hall. The walls were covered in graffiti, letting us know with no uncertainty whose territory we were entering. Shouts and screams echoed all around us as the man in front ignored everything as if this was nothing.

    And to him, it would be.

    But maybe I should exin how we got here¡­

    I told the guys my ns for how to rescue the healer and to say that they weren''t impressed was an understatement.

    My bright idea was that I should recreate my original kidnapping, sticking to the events that had happened in my second life. I roughly knew when the recruiter was going to be driving down that stretch of the highway toward City I, give or take a weak, and I thought that if I could get my body into the exact same as before, it would be easy peasy lemon squeezy. I would be picked up and dumped in the Reaver camp with no worries. However, given my rate of healing, I would either have to be far away from the guys, or they would need to beat the crap out of me every few minutes.

    Now, I know that my n was not the best one, but the way the guys were acting, you would think that I had asked them to kill me. A few hours of arguingter, I decided to go down a different route.

    And when I say I decided, I meant the guys decided and wouldn''t budge on the issue.

    Wang Chao''s winning idea was that if I wanted to get into the Reaver camp under the guise of a prize fighter, then I should let the guys do the fighting, and I could just be there as arm candy. That way, we would all be together and watch each other''s backs.

    I knew that, technically, that idea would work. There were a lot of underground fighting rings that the Reaver camp I was in recruited from. It''s not like they owned the idea of fighting for money. In fact, it was one of those things that followed humans since the dawn of time.

    They, however, did perfect it.

    But the biggest issue with that idea was the fact that each match was to the death. There was no point in letting the loser use up valuable resources like food if they weren''t strong enough. So, if all four of my men walked into the same fighting club, there was no guarantee that they would all be walking out. And to say that I was not happy with that idea was¡­ only slightly urate.

    When I pointed that out to the guys, Liu Wei suggested that we split up then and each of them go to a different arena, and hopefully, they would meet up at the right camp at the right time.

    I hated that n almost as much as I hated the one of us all being together. If it were easy to find people and we all had a working cellwork, it might be a doable idea. That way, we could just call each other and meet up. However, that was not the way the new world worked, and I was not going to lose my guys for ten to twenty years because we were all being moved around the country every few weeks, and no one knew where the others were.

    There was no way that our link could act like a cell phone, either. It needed us to constantly be around each other for it to work. It would be okay a short time away, but after any extended length of time, it would fizzle and snap. Not something that I wanted to go through either, thank you very much.

    No, as far as I was concerned, that was an even worse idea than me getting my ass kicked and dumped on the side of the road.

    That led to another round of arguments, which had Liu Yu Zeng pipping up with his n. He and I would go into an underground arena together, him as the fighter and me as his wife. That way, he would still have a backup, but not one that he would have to fight and kill.

    The other three guys could just be around, watching the fights, maybe bing a manager or something if they even had those. But the point was that we would all be together, and I would be safe.

    I couldn''t exactly disagree with their statement. I would be safer if I acted like a mouse and let the guys handle everything, but I wasn''t the type of woman who could just sit back and let them do all the hard work. This was my n, and I needed to actively participate in some way.

    Chen Zi Han, always more in tune with my emotions than anyone else, including the psychic, suggested that while I didn''t participate in the fights or try to bring attention to myself, I could act as a bodyguard, making sure that whoever I was paired up with, didn''t get attacked from behind. I could still y the role of a dutiful, quiet wife around outsiders but be the guys'' hidden weapon when needed.

    Honestly, with all the ns being thrown back and forth, I like this one the best. We would be together, I wouldn''t have to have any of them out of my sight, and they still felt in control of the situation.

    The hardest part was to decide who was the lucky man going to fight for his life every night in the ring.

    Once again, this ended up being a lot more of a fight than I had anticipated. Everyone wanted to be the one fighting if it meant that I would be beside them.

    However, Liu Yu Zeng turned out to be the winner simply because I promised him on the beach years ago that I would never leave his side.

    And they say that women have a really good long-term memory.

    So, that was how Liu Yu Zeng and I ended up in one of the best underground fight clubs in City I, walking to our doom with only the jeers of the current fighters to apany us.

 Chapter 458 No Oneâ€™s Lackey

    ?

    The hallway led to a flight of ten stairs, each riser having its own tag on it. The dim light changed to a mixture of purple and green.

    "Joker vibes much?" I muttered under my breath, causing the man in front of us to spin around and stare at me.

    "You might want to get your bitch to keep her mouth shut," he sneered, looking at Liu Yu Zeng. My man simply raised his eyebrow in return.

    "You might want to keep your mouth shut instead and never speak to or about my wife in that way again," replied Liu Yu Zeng with a smirk on his face. I chuckled as I watched the man turn a sickening shade of green, or maybe it was a result of the lighting. I couldn''t be too sure.

    "I will put up with it, but the higher-ups will never ept her disrespect," he pressed, not wanting to be seen backing down but also not wanting to start anything either.

    "But is she wrong?" asked Liu Yu Zeng, waving his hand around to the lights, the graffiti, the random stickers on the door at the top of the stairs. It looked like we were about to enter a madhouse.

    How appropriate.

    The man ignored him and went up to the door. Entering a series of knocks that sounded a lot like ''shave and a haircut'' to me, the door was opened from the other side.

    "Password," asked the gruff voice of the bouncer. I rolled my eyes at the stupidity of this all. It wasn''t like they were being super sneaky. We managed to find this ce in less than fifteen minutes after entering the city. A single question to a random human on the street, and we were in.

    And let''s face it, it wasn''t like the police were chomping at the bit to shut down clubs like this. They had their hands full, living their own life. No¡­ this show was simply to make these guys feel superior like this was an exclusive club that only certain people could get into.

    Then again, I guess only certain people woulde here to make and waste their money when the world went to shit around them.

    After the correct knock and subsequent verbal password were exchanged, the door opened to a scene that I was more than a little used to.

    It was a massive room. Or, at least, it would be a massive room if there wasn''t a giant metal cage in the center of it surrounded by booths and tables. There was a staircase along the far side that all the poor plebians could go up to watch the fights from the second floor. However, the best seats were reserved for those that could afford them.

    There was bright red lighting all around the cage and outer walls. I didn''t know if that was to recreate the mes of Hell or because red blood didn''t show up as well under red light. You know, in case they needed to protect the delicate sensibilities of the rich and famous. Couldn''t afford to have the sight of blood ruining their dinner.

    I sighed as I looked around. At least I didn''t have to deal with the strip club lighting in the Reaver''s pits. They had bright white lights, letting everyone see exactly what was going on inside the cage.

    For the most part, the room was empty except for a few scantily d women running around with bottles of alcohol, getting the ce ready to open.

    "What do you think?" asked our escort, looking at us like he expected us to be gushing over how fantastic this ce was. "We are the best flight club in the country. Not only for our talents but what we can provide for our clients." He looked at me when he said thest part, causing Liu Yu Zeng to growl and reach out. Wrapping his hand around the other man''s throat, he dragged him closer.

    "I think I have made myself very clear about the level of respect I expect to be disyed to my woman. She is mine. She is my Queen, and Gods help anyone that disrespects her. Do you understand?" I watched as some of Liu Yu Zeng''s ck mist managed to escape his control and poured into the mouth and eyes of the man before us.

    "I think we understand," said a voice, and I watched a well-dressed man slowly descend the metal stair. "You are a poison user? What are you doing among us lowly humans?"

    Liu Yu Zeng sneered as he flung the dead body of our escort to the floor. The neer waved his fingers, and two bouncers quickly grabbed the body, dragging it away.

    My man watched the whole scene like it was nothing. Adjusting the cuffs of his red dress shirt, he returned the man''s look. "Why should I go out and kill zombies for some base to profit off the supplies I bring back? I am no one''sckey."

    "And what name are you fighting under?" asked the boss of the club,pletely ignoring theckeyment. The poor idiot probably thought that he would be the exception to the rule. He just didn''t know how right he was about having a God in his midst. After all, the First Horseman, Disease, was standing right in front of him.

    "The Red Dragon," replied Liu Yu Zeng, looking at the man that was still standing on top of the stairs above us.

    He snorted. "As in Red Dragon Syndicate? How original. We have had at least twenty people wanting to im that name. They all died the first time they stepped inside the ring. What makes you so different?"

    "Because I am Liu Yu Zeng, head of the Red Dragon Syndicate and the only one that can im that name."

    There was a pause as tension rose inside the room, everyone stopping whatever they were doing when they heard Liu Yu Zeng''s words.

    "Liu Yu Zeng? As in one of the Princes of City H?" asked the Boss, a stunned look on his face.

    "Hardly," scoffed Liu Yu Zeng, looking up at the man like he was nothing. "I am Liu Yu Zeng, as in the King of City H."

 Chapter 459 Always Underestimated

    There was silence throughout the room as Liu Yu Zeng''s words echoed, their importance seeping into everyone who heard them.

    "What are you doing here, in my club then?" asked the Boss, and I could see his white-knuckled grip on the steel hand railing.

    "I am bored. There aren''t as many people to fight left anymore, and those that are on my level are all tied to a base of some kind or other," shrugged Liu Yu Zeng, pulling me in front of him, his arm wrapped around my waist. "I want some entertainment."

    "You want to be entertainment?" repeated the Boss, not sure if he heard him correctly or not.

    "No, I want entertainment; I don''t much care about being other peoples''. However, if it gets me what I want, then I could put up with it," continued Liu Yu Zeng as he leaned forward and ced his chin on my shoulder.

    "What would your cut be?"

    "80/20. The 20 would be your share, of course," smirked Liu Yu Zeng. "And let''s face it, my name alone will be enough to fill this ce to the ceiling and out the door."

    "40/60," came the counteroffer, and Liu Yu Zeng burst outughing.

    "You were lucky I was even offering you a cut, and now you only want to give me 40% of the profit? You need to wake up, boy. That will never happen, not even in your dreams," he let out a very put-out sigh and turned me around so that I was still in his arms but facing him.

    "I told you it would be better just to kill him and take his club," he grumbled, staring at the Boss from over my head.

    "Well, I thought you could y nice. I mean, I don''t really want to be stuck here for the rest of my life. Just long enough for you to scratch your itch and move on," I replied,pletely reasonably. "But if he is thinking 40/60, then there is no point in keeping him alive. One less person in the world using resources."

    "Now, just a minute," sputtered the Boss, but both Liu Yu Zeng and I ignored him. If we made it seem like we were desperate, then it wouldn''t go well for us. We needed to make the Boss believe that we were lowering our standards and that it would be a mutually beneficial decision for Liu Yu Zeng to be fighting for him. "There is no need to go that far. I built this thing up from the ground with my own blood, sweat, and tears. It is mine."

    "Somehow, I doubt that the blood spilled in that ring there is yours," sneered Liu Yu Zeng as he titled his head towards the brightly lit ring. "And we can go anywhere and bring in the crowds. I heard that your ce was the best, but that doesn''t make it the only one. And I am sure that yourpetitors would love to push me in their ring. They will be making twice the money in one night that you would be making in a week."

    "After all, you would be earning money on drinks, admissions, and the fight," I pointed out. The Boss looked down and red at me.

    "I don''t charge admissions," he growled, no doubt pissed that interjected into his conversation. Hopefully, he remembers what happened to thest guy that snapped at me, though. For his sake, if nothing else.

    "Well, there is your first problem. If you want to cater to the rich clientele, you need to charge admission. How else can they know that this ce is exclusive? Next, you charge more for people to be able to sit down instead of standing up in the rafters," I pointed out. I had no idea to run a club, and even I knew that.

    "I hate to break it to you, but money doesn''t grow on trees, you know," sneered the Boss, only to turn pale and gulp when Liu Yu Zeng lifted up a hand covered in ck smoke.

    "I understand that. But on the flip side, those who know how to make money will always have money, and those who can''t go from rich to broke in a heartbeat. What happens when you are bending over backward for a second-generation prince who no longer has money? Are you just wasting yours?" I pointed out.

    To me, it was the most obvious thing. Those who had money in the apocalypse had money because they prepared for it. They took their money out of the bank early, preventing others from doing the same. They have also set up businesses that sell moldy bread for $20.00. Those types of people will always have money and will want to spend it in such a way that all others understand that they have it.

    Like yachts. They really aren''t all that great, but the very idea that someone has one is enough to elevate their status.

    "Well, this is all good and all, but since we aren''t going to reach an agreement, I might as well go to the next club and talk to them instead," interjected Liu Yu Zeng as he turned the two of us around and headed to the door.

    "Wait just a moment. We haven''t finished negotiating things. This is not how a businessman does things," sputtered the Boss, and I knew that we had him.

    "I am not a businessman," sneered Liu Yu Zeng. "I am a thug from a noble family that likes to bash people''s faces in with either my fist or a baseball bat. If I am lucky, I''ll be able to beat them to death with my bare hands. But no one has ever used me of being a businessman."

    I had to hold back myughter. If I knew nothing else about the man beside me was that he was just as much of a businessman as Wang Chao was, just in a different way. However, he always yed to the stereotypical gangster who preferred blood over anything else.

    It made his opponents really underestimate him, and he loved every second of it.

    "50/50, myst offer," growled the boss, clearly not happy.

    Too bad for him.

 Chapter 460 A New Deal

    ?

    "I am pretty sure that I already told you myst offer," smirked Liu Yu Zeng, looking over his shoulder but not once stopping. There must have been a sign or something that I didn''t see, but all of a sudden, there were two bouncers standing in our way.

    While they towered over me, they were the same height as Liu Yu Zeng, just a lot bulkier.

    "There is no way that I am going to ept 80/20 when most of the fighters are only getting 5% profit off of their fights and kissing my feet for giving them that much. I think you need to learn a small lesson on how the world now works. People like you are no longer in control. I am," sneered the Boss, and I could hear his feet echoing as he descended thest few steps.

    I turned around to look at him and, at the same time, to watch Liu Yu Zeng''s back. I knew that he was itching for a fight, so I didn''t want to stop him, but I also knew that he wouldn''t do anything that would put me in danger at the same time.

    "Go have fun," I said with a smile on my face. Looking at the Boss, I saw the reason why he stayed on the stairs this whole time. Looking him in the eyes, I couldn''t hold back myughter. "I see men still suffer from a Napoleonplex, huh?" I asked. The big, tough Boss of the number one underground fight club was 5 foot 3 inches tall, including the shoes he was wearing with a bit of a heel.

    Now, don''t get me wrong. I had nothing against short guys. In fact, I felt their pain more often than not. However, when they were clearly so ufortable with their height, I couldn''t hold back. Whether you are short or tall, own it, and no one can make you feel less.

    But I digress. Shorty stood there, his chin tipped up, and signaled for two more guards.

    Feeling better now that we were surrounded and ''at his mercy'', Shorty walked forward and stood right in front of me, his two new guards on either side.

    "You good, Sweetness?" asked Liu Yu Zeng, briefly turning around to look at me.

    "Right as rain. And don''t worry, I have a backup n in my head, so if you end up killing everyone here, it won''t be that big of a deal," I assured him, calling on my blue me. I wouldn''t get involved, but that didn''t mean that I wouldn''t be prepared if I needed to be.

    But as shit was hitting the fan, a backup n dide to me. And the more I thought about it, the more I liked it.

    "You know what? Kill everyone that stands in your way," I told Liu Yu Zeng, never once turning my attention away from Shorty.

    The Boss sneered at me and, once again, waved his two fingers. This time, there was a loud roar before two zombies came stumbling out from the back room.

    "Are you really bringing zombies to a fistfight?" I asked with a chuckle. There was a brief look of surprise on Shorty''s face before his face twisted into a sneer.

    "I always get my way," he replied, standing up straight.

    "Then I guess it is time to introduce you to the new world," I shot back, remembering what he had told my man. If anyone was going to control the world at the end of the day, it was going to be me. I think I needed to start letting people know.

    Tilting back my head, I let out an earth-shattering roar of my own, one that was answered by at least 60 zombies somewhere in the building.

    Shorty turned pale as he turned around to see a whole horde of zombies filing out of the door behind him.

    "What are you doing?" he demanded. "How can you do that?"

    "Ah, see, that is the greatest thing about zombies. They follow the one that is the most powerful. And, unfortunately for you, that is me," I answered, watching a single zombie glide forward in front of the others.

    "You called?" she asked softly. I would have to admit this was the first time I had ever seen a female Alpha. Good for her.

    "I did. Feel free to kill them all," I replied, walking over to sit down in one of the booths. The red lights would really have to go once I took over.

    "Have deal," she hissed in reply.

    "We can make a new deal," I answered with a wave of my hand. She cocked her head to the side and came to sit down in the chair across from me.

    "What deal?" she asked, her beady eyes never looking away from my own.

    "What is your current deal?"

    "We eat the dead," she answered with a shrug like it was no big deal. However, I knew how much zombies hated to eat already dead flesh.

    "I will let you eat the living," I counteroffered. "I will also free you to be able to wander around anywhere in the city."

    She shook her head, "No, stronger Alpha, doesn''t like others in his territory."

    I froze when I heard her words. Looking towards the horde, I saw something that I had never noticed before. "You are all female."

    "Yes," she hissed. "Safer."

    "Then how about I kill the Alpha for you? Will that help?"

    "You kill Alpha?"

    "It''s not like it is the first time I have done it, and it definitely won''t be thest time," I responded with a chuckle. "It''s kind of what I do."

    "You kill Alpha, then we have deal," hissed the female Alpha in front of me.

    "Until then?" I asked, tilting my head toward the scene in front of us where Liu Yu Zeng was surrounded by both human and zombie bouncers.

    "Until then, we stay out of it," she answered before letting out a low,manding growl. The two zombies that stood on either side of Shorty turned around and walked back to their horde.

    "Thank you," I nodded to her before turning my attention back to my man.

    "Go have fun, Sweetie. I''ll wait here for you."

 Chapter 461 Pregnant

    ?

    Zhao Jun Jie looked at the woman who was sitting next to the toilet, her hair inplete disarray, and tears were forming in her eyes from how hard she had been vomiting. "Really?" he asked, unable to contain the joy in his voice. "You are pregnant?"

    Wu Bai Hee turned her head from where it rested on her arm to stare at the proud leader of City A. He was practically bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet, and she could practically see a tail wagging behind him.

    It made her sick to see him like that.

    Well, sicker.

    Where was this cold, confident CEO who was second only to Wang Chao? How could a piece of shit like him control the capital of the Country? She wanted to snort in dissatisfaction, but the vomit trapped in her throat threatened to make an appearance if she so much as moved.

    "I take it you are happy?" she asked, putting on a tired smile as she looked at the man.

    "Happy? I ampletely ecstatic! I was so worried that after all this time, it wouldn''t be possible for us to have children, but now look at us," Zhao Jun Jie said with a smile.

    ''Us?'' Seriously? What ''us'' Wu Bai Hee was the one miserable, unable to eat for the past few weeks as this¡­ thing¡­ inside of herpletely took over her body. She had tried everything she could, short of throwing herself down the stairs to lose the child, and yet, nothing. The stubborn thing didn''t so much as budge.

    ''I told you, when it is a gift from the Gods, there is no way you cannot ept it,'' said a voice inside of her head. The Goddess had been talking to her more and more every day now. Apparently, her son was near, and she expected Wu Bai Hee to go from apartment to apartment looking for him.

    Wu Bai Hee ignored the voice, the vomit winning the war against her stubbornness, causing her to throw up in the toilet. She moaned when nothing but bile came out. She had long purged herself of any solid food and water that she had consumed, and now her stomach was trying toe out of her mouth itself. As far as she was concerned, that was the worst part.

    "I heard that there is a healer in the condo beside you; maybe I can bring him in here to make sure that everything is going okay," suggested Zhao Jun Jie as he turned around and left Wu Bai Hee where she was. So much for holding her hair while she was sick with his child. One that she never wanted in the first ce.

    Flushing the toilet, she punched herself in the stomach a few times, hoping that that would do something but knowing that it wouldn''t.

    "Nice try," said the Goddess, appearing right beside her, perching on the edge of the bathtub. "But that child isn''t going anywhere," she smirked, even as she wrinkled her nose in disgust.

    "What do you want?" groaned Wu Bai Hee, not even trying to be pleasant.

    "What I want is for you to do what you promised to do. Remember? You died twice, and I brought you back every time. It makes me wonder if I should have given you this third chance. There are a lot of women that would kill to be in your ce. Or die to be," said Demeter, chuckling at her own joke.

    "Then kill me and bring one of them back to be your bitch," sneered Wu Bai Hee as she nted her face back into the toilet and threw up again. "I am pretty done."

    "I might just do that," agreed Demeter when the puking stopped and the toilet flushed again. "But instead of killing you, I will let you live but take away that special little power of yours that makes you think you can do whatever you want."

    If it was possible, Wu Bai Hee turned paler as she turned to look at the woman. "What?"

    "I will keep you alive, just until you give birth, and then I will have Zhao Jun Jie keep the baby and send you into the slums of City A. Without that spirit power of yours, you will starve to death slowly as you sleep in the mud, at the mercy of everyone around you. Yeah, I like that idea so much better than offering you a simple death."

    "And your ns for that bitch?" demanded Wu Bai Hee, the color returning to her face thanks to the rage coursing through her veins.

    "Anyone can torture her and give her a life worse than death. Hell, she ispletely shattered already. Without her men around, it would be easy to crush her," waved Demeter, not at all worried about Hades. She had spent centuries meticulously ripping her apart. In fact, she could teach Zues a thing or two about how to torture someone. Prometheus would be thankful, she was sure.

    Suddenly, the door to her condo was opened, and she could hear two voices talking from the living room.

    "Bin An Sha," whispered Demeter,ing to her feet. "My son! My son is here!"

    "And I am the one who brought him to you," sneered Wu Bai Hee. She attempted to straighten her hair and make her appearance more presentable. She had ns for this son of Demeter.

    "Don''t even think about it. If you really believe that I don''t have a clue what is going on in your mind, you are delusional. My son will never be interested in a woman like you," snapped Demeter before she disappeared, leaving Wu Bai Hee alone in the bathroom.

    There was a gentle knock on the door, and Zhao Jun Jie poked his head in. "Hey, Sweetheart," he cooed as he opened the door further. Wu Bai Hee weakly held her head up to look at the other man, the son of a Goddess.

    "Hi," she sighed, her eyes fluttering closed.

    "What do you think, doctor? Could you take a look at her?" urged Zhao Jun Jie, getting out of the way so that the other man could enter the bathroom. The smell of the ce was so acidic that it made him want to vomit, too.

 Chapter 462 The First Meeting

    ?

    Bin An Sha looked down at the woman in front of him and wrinkled his nose. All he had heard sinceing back to City A was how perfect Wu Bai Hee was. How she was the savior to the people, how she made sure that food was on everyone''s te, and what an honor it was to be of service to her.

    Unfortunately, the woman before him, leaning on the toilet, was none of those things, and he didn''t say that just because she was sick.

    The first time he hade across a spirit user in his travels, he had been taken in for a while, believing everything the man had said. But one day, he woke up, and it was like he was blocked from whateverpulsion he was originally under. He saw the stench of pure eviling off the man, and he was seeing it againing off this ''savior''.

    "Unfortunately, Wu Bai Hee hasn''t been granted a power yet," said the leader of the city, Zhao Jun Jie. Bin An Sha turned to look at the man who was slowly backing out of the bathroom with a look of confusion on his face.

    "I''m sorry," he said, shaking his head. He must have misheard. There was no way that this woman was not a spirit user, given the level of fanaticism the average person had when it came to her. It was either that she had a power that she wasn''t admitting to, or she was just that good at tyrannical maniption. Or both. "Did you say that she wasn''t a power user?"

    "No, I''m afraid that God just hasn''t granted me that privilege. But I do what I can for the people with what I have," the woman in question said softly as she looked up at him from underneath hershes. Bin An Sha looked her straight in the eyes and smirked.

    "I am sure that you do everything you can," he said, sounding reassuring, but his words rang hollow. Wu Bai Hee froze for a moment, a bead of sweat appearing on her forehead that had nothing to do with morning sickness.

    "Do you think you can help her? It kills me inside to have to watch her suffer," asked Zhao Jun Jie, a frown marring his perfect face.

    "May I suggest going into another room and putting on noise-canceling headphones or even going out for a walk?" responded Bin An Sha. "That way, you won''t have to see or hear her."

    "I''m sorry, did you say something?" muttered the other man as he looked at Bin An Sha. "I didn''t hear you."

    "I said that a nice walk would do her well during her pregnancy," repeated Bin An Sha louder. "Although some women never experience morning sickness during their pregnancy, 70% of all pregnant women will experience some level of nausea or vomiting in the first trimester. In contrast, 3 out of every 100 women might experience something called hyperemesis gravidarum, in which morning sicknesssts all 40 weeks of pregnancy. May I ask how far along you are?"

    "I don''t know," replied Wu Bai Hee, her face turning pale at the very idea of being sick for her entire pregnancy. It would literally be a fate worse than death.

    "Well, can you at least remember when youst menstruated?" sighed Bin An Sha, now wishing that he had never answered the door. The longer he stayed close to this woman, the more his skin was crawling. How anyone could touch her enough to procreate was just mind-blowing.

    This time, Wu Bai Hee turned bright red and looked between the two men standing over top of her. "I don''t really remember."

    "It was three weeks ago," pipped up Zhao Jun Jie. "Remember, you told me that you weren''t interested in sex because you were on your rag? You don''t have to be embarrassed. It ispletely normal. Besides, he is a doctor; I am sure that he has heard and seen much worse."

    "If you could help her over to the couch, I will try to see what is going on. Most times, it takes almost six weeks before the symptoms of morning sickness are experienced," said Bin An Sha, stepping out of the way so he didn''t have to get so close to the woman.

    "Of course, of course," nodded Zhao Jun Jie as he ran in and gently picked his woman up. He held his breath until he was outside of the bathroom and strolled over to the couch to put his delicate burden down. "How is this?"

    "Good," grunted the healer, not bothering to get too close.

    "You can fix her from all the way over there?" asked Zhao Jun Jie.

    "I can. It is one of the benefits of having the healing power," grunted Bin An Sha. He brushed the green me deep down inside and used that to coat his eyes, letting him see exactly what was going on with Wu Bai Hee.

    "The baby is about 3.5 cm long," said Bin An Sha,ing back out of the healing trance. "And everything looks to be developing properly."

    "That is such a relief," sighed Zhao Jun Jie, looking at the mother of his child.

    "Unfortunately for you, since the fetus is 3.5 cm long, it makes it roughly ten weeks old. This means you are well into the middle of your third month, and your morning sickness should have been getting better by now. I suggest that you take better care of what you are eating to help prevent vomiting," smiled Bin An Sha as he turned around and saw himself out.

    "Wait! Ten Weeks?!?" demanded Zhao Jun Jie, but the other man was long gone.

    -----

    I looked at the carnage around me and sighed. I really only had myself to me, I guess; I told him to have fun.

    I was still sitting in the same booth,pletely surrounded by blood. There were some very happy zombies crunching away on the screaming men off in a corner, but I could ignore them for the most part. What I was having trouble dealing with was Shorty kneeling in front of me, his pants wet with both blood and urine.

    "Please," he begged, rubbing his hands together like he was praying to a deity. "Please don''t kill me."

    Liu Yu Zeng happily sat down beside me, his knuckles split with how hard he was hitting the guards.

    "But I thought this was your world now?"

 Chapter 463 Pressing The Right Buttons

    "No, no," said Shorty, looking over at Liu Yu Zeng with sheer panic on his face. "It isn''t my world; it definitely isn''t my world."

    "Well, now I just don''t know what to think. I have to admit, I am a bit disappointed," said my man as he tapped his blood-covered finger on the table. Taking a wet cloth out of my space, I handed it to him to clean himself up. The blood was starting to get to me. I had no idea why.

    "You know, I was really looking forward to seeing this new world," he continued, meticulously wiping each and every finger until it was clean. He ced the cloth on the table, and instead of returning it to my space, I set the thing on fire.

    Liu Yu Zeng was about to open his mouth when he quickly turned to look at me. "Are you okay?" he asked,pletely ignoring the mini-boss kneeling in front of him.

    "Fine," I said with a wave of my hand. "The smell is just setting me off."

    "Should we just burn everything and go somece else?" he asked, taking his hand in mine. I wouldn''t like to say I didn''t flinch when he first held out his hand, but once I realized that it was clean, I calmed down and gripped his hand.

    "No, that would put us behind schedule. Now, my n for this ce is to take it over," I said as if that wasn''t the most obvious thing in the world. "The only thing I am hesitating on right now is if we keep him alive as the face or kill him and have you as the face of the club."

    "If I might offer an opinion," pipped up Napoleon, "I think you should keep me alive. I have a lot of contacts that might prove useful to you."

    "I am sure that you are in favor of me keeping you alive," I chuckled, taking out a cup of coffee. I was hoping the smell from the drink would overpower the rest of the stench of the ce. It would definitely have to be scrubbed from top to bottom before we opened. I took a sip and smiled as the club Boss''s eyes widened as he read it.

    I turned it around until I could read it, too. "I''m afraid if I give up coffee, I''ll have to rece it with murder," I read out loud. "Aren''t you d I am still drinking coffee?"

    "Yes," he stuttered, his head bobbing up and down like a chicken''s. "I would offer you a cup, but all I have is mud water."

    "Hard pass," I said with a smile on my face. There was no way I was admitting that I was allergic to the crap to a potential rival. "I have a full supply of actual coffee, thank you very much."

    "Of course, but if you ever change your mind," he continued with a strained smile.

    "You are really pushing for me to keep you around, aren''t you?" I asked, taking another sip. I let out a small sigh as I started to feel human again. I didn''t know what it was about the smell of bloodtely that was just not agreeing with me. Maybe it was because I hadn''t been around it for two years and had forgotten what it was like.

    But no matter what, I was back in the real world now and better start getting used to it again. It was going to get a Hell of a lot worse very soon.

    "I am rtively attached to my life, yes," nodded the man.

    "And yet, you pissed off my man. Not very smart of you," I pointed out, taking another sip and feeling my body rx as a result.

    "So I am learning," shrugged the Boss, still on his knees but a bit less fearful.

    "I once heard a quote that went, ''It is better to be feared than it is to be loved,''" I said with a smile, looking at the man in front of me. "What do you think?"

    "I think that it would be better to be loved," said the man, looking up at me with an adoring smile. Liu Yu Zeng growled low and rose to his feet.

    "I don''t think that my husband would approve of that. After all, a man is only as faithful as his options," I mused. I remember watching a show on the different tricks that a tyrant used to get into power and stay in power. I wasn''t saying that I wanted to be a tyrant, but they did have some good ideas.

    Like ''useful idiot.'' I stared at the man, debating if he could be useful or was nothing more than a liability. And I was not one to keep a liability at my back.

    "Alpha," I called out, and a big, round head poked up from the pile of zombies in the corner, "I have one more for you," I continued, pointing to the man in front of me.

    "Thank you," she hissed as she quickly glided over to us and, took hertest meal by his hair and pulled him away into the corner. I heard his screams and cries for a second chance, but that program also taught me something else. Always have examples for the masses to learn from.

    "Alright," I said, standing up from the booth and walking over to where the rest of the humans not involved with the fighting stood huddled. I pped my hands sharply to get their attention focused on me and not the zombies enjoying their lunch.

    "I realize that that is probably very traumatic, but it shouldn''t happen again," I assured them all. "After all, he had ns to take me out as soon as he could, and that just wasn''t eptable. Now, on to better topics. Everyone will be getting a raise once I figure out how much you are being paid," I continued, looking at the humans in front of me.

    I might not be a spirit user, but maniption was not all that hard. You just needed to know what buttons to push and when.

    "Let''s have some lunch, and then you guys can tell me your ideas for improving the ce. I am sure that you have a lot of good ones."

 Chapter 464 Building An Empire

    ?

    There was a lot of fear and hesitation at the beginning, but I guess that was to be expected, seeing as they watched me feed their co-workers to the zombies. However, once I brought out a buffet of food, the hesitation was gone, and they went to the tables, avoiding the blood spills like it was just another day.

    Then again, they did work in an underground fight club, so it probably was for them.

    One of the women who appeared to work behind the bar sat down first and started piling food on the te in front of her. "What?" she demanded when the others simply stared. "Whether we live or die, at least we are going to have a full stomach, which is more than I can say for the past two years," she continued with a shrug.

    One of the men grunted and went to sit down beside her. "I don''t suppose you have any orange juice," he joked, looking at me. "I would give my right arm for a ss of orange juices."

    "I don''t need arms," I responded, cing a ss of freshly squeezed orange juice in front of him. "But if you are willing to sell your soul, I have an unlimited supply," I joked, not really thinking much about it. There was a short pause before the man snorted.

    "Done. Where do you want me to sign?" he asked, a half smile on his face.

    "No need to sign; I take verbal promises, too," I assure him. "And there are several positions open right now. Do you have one that you would prefer?"

    "Fight manager," he said quickly, raising his head to look at me. "I want to be the fight manager. There are a lot of good fighters here, and a lot of them have gone missing."

    He paused, and I waited for him to continue. I knew exactly where those fighters had ended up.

    "A lot of them were friends. At least if I am the fight manager, I can protect them to a small extent," he continued, pushing the mashed potatoes around his te.

    "Done," I answered with a shrug. "And I have ns for that recruiter. So, if you see him, send him my way."

    "Really?!? You know what they have been doing?" a new man asked, his head popping up for the mountain of food on his te.

    "I know," I said solemnly. "And be careful. Too much food on an empty stomach, and you will make yourself sick."

    "It''s worth it to be sick to my stomach. At least that way, for a few minutes, my stomach will be full," he replied, going back to digging into his hot lunch.

    "What about you?" I asked, looking at one girl who stood to the side, her arms wrapped around her waist as if she was actively trying to hold herself back. "Why aren''t you eating?"

    "I can''t," she said as she stared at the food. "I can''t eat, knowing that my brother and sister are at home starving."

    "Is it just the three of you?" I asked, cocking my head to the side. "Go get them. There is plenty of food. In fact, if you want, you can go get all of your families. I have more than enough for everyone."

    As soon as I finished speaking, all eight of the remaining employees shot to their feet and out of the club.

    "Funny," said Liu Yu Zeng, wrapping his arms around my waist. "I don''t remember you ever being that kind. Especially when it came to food."

    "You think this is me being kind?" I asked in surprise, turning my head just enough that I could see his profile. "Huh," I mused.

    "If this is not you being kind, what is it?" he asked with a chuckle as he nted a soft kiss on the side of my neck.

    "This is meying out a trap," I answered with a smile. "One of my foster mothers always said that you could get more flies with honey. We need more people to work here. Ones that are loyal to only us and not anyone else. The only way to ensure that is to show them that they can have what they want at their fingertips¡­ as long as they follow me."

    "And bringing in their families ties them to you all that much more," chuckled Liu Yu Zeng. "Smart."

    "A person is only as loyal as their options," I repeated. "I am going to make sure that I am their only option."

    Liu Yu Zeng was about to open his mouth when the first sets of steps could be heard running up the stairs.

    "Really? There''s food? What''s the catch? Fuck it! I don''t care about the catch. Give me the food!" came a girl''s voice as the door to the stairwell was pushed open. The girl who wouldn''t eat because she was worried about her siblings appeared with a younger brother and sister in tow.

    The sister pushed to the front and stared at all the food. "I don''t think I have ever seen this much food in my life!" she eximed, looking around the whole room beforeing back to the food. "What do I have to do?"

    "Just sell your soul," I joked, causing the girl to look over at me. She couldn''t have been more than 16 years old. She was lucky to have an older sister as she did, or she would not be as¡­ energetic as she currently was. Sixteen was the standard age to be selling a lot of things, and none of them were for as much food as I was offering.

    "Done," nodded the sister, picking up a te and piling it high with pancakes and bacon. "And if this is real bacon, I''ll sell you the soul of my firstborn, too," she joked before biting in and moaning.

    "Done," I replied with a smile on my face, echoing her words. "But how do you feel about ounting?"

    "Like math or actual ounting? Because I hate math. I mean, stop asking me to find your X. They left for a reason, and don''t ask Y," she grumbled, causing me to burst outughing.

    "I wasn''t thinking Algebra, more like adding and subtracting type math. I need an ountant that I can trust to keep the books for me," I said, a gentle smile on my face. I couldn''t have cared less about the books or whether this ce turned a profit or not. All I needed was one more sibling swearing loyalty to me. That was it.

    "You keep feeding me, and I will learn to love math again."

 Chapter 465 Club Manager

    ?

    I smiled and shook my head at the girl. I remember being that desperate for food, willing to bend over for anyone who would give it to me.

    "All good. You finish up your meal and then see if you can find the office," I said, dismissing her when one of the men around the table raised his hand. "Yeah?" I asked, feeling a bit too much like a kindergarten teacher.

    "I am good with my hand and am willing to sell my soul for at least one meal a day," he said tentatively, standing up.

    "Is there anything you are thinking specifically?" I asked. "I was hoping to turn this ce into something that would be managed by all of you, with the majority of the profits going to all of you. Maybe we could even start a garden on the roof or something," I continued with a shrug of my shoulders.

    I wanted this ce as a front. I needed a ce where me and the guys could blend in and hide when we needed to but still have enough power to move chess pieces as needed, and this club would be perfect. Especially if I could get a whole host of loyal workers who would do whatever I asked them to do.

    The n was still forming in my mind, but I appreciated that all the hard work was already done.

    "I would love to tend the garden," pipped up an older woman, probably one of the mothers of the club employees. "If you have the seeds and soil, I can make anything grow," she continued, her back straightening confidently.

    "Done. I should also have a couple of live chickens if you want to add those to the space," I nodded with a smile.

    The tension slowly lowered, even as the screams from the old boss and bouncers could be heard from the far corner. People were talking andughing as if nothing was wrong.

    "There is a whole apartment building built both up and down. A few of the guys and I could renovate them, maybe move into the building?" asked the man who promised his soul for a meal.

    "Would there be enough space for me and my guys to move in too?" I asked, a worried look crossing my face.

    "Of course! We would make sure that you guys had your ce set up first!" he assured me and the rest of the people around the table nodded their heads in agreement.

    "Awe, thank you. That would be absolutely perfect. But you don''t really need to worry about anything other than having it cleaned out. As a space user, Ie with all my own furniture," I joked, and the othersughed. I looked over my shoulder at Liu Yu Zeng to see the smile on his face, too.

    "I''ll go look around to see if I can find a good ce," he said,ing to his feet.

    "Thanks, honey," I answered with a smile. I tilted my head back for a kiss, and he happily obliged. "Maybe do a whole walk through of the building, see what we have at our disposal."

    "Of course," he assured me before disappearing out of the same doors the zombies emerged from.

    "Will the zombies be staying too?" asked a young boy, hesitantly, clutching to a woman''s leg.

    "For now, yes. But there is no need to be scared of them," I assured him. "They are here because the world is a scary ce outside with so many people and other zombies wanting to kill them. I will make it safe for them, and then they should leave."

    "The world is scary for them?" he asked me wide-eyed, like he couldn''t believe my words. But it did make sense. All that people saw were scary monsters and not a female who was scared of things, too.

    "That it is," I answered, calling the Alpha over. I held out my hand to her, and she took it, looking at me in hesitation. "Do you have a name?"

    She shook her head. "No, remember, all thoughts¡­ strange," she said, and I could see all of the employees of the club and their families looking at her.

    "You need a name," pointed out a little girl, clutching the doll in her arms. "Everyone has a name."

    "No name," answered the zombie again with a shake of her head. "You name?"

    "How about Daisy? I like daisies. They are a pretty flower," smiled the girl,pletely enchanting everyone around her, including myself.

    "Daisy. My name," grunted the Alpha, nodding her head up and down.

    -----

    "They are more human than I thought," said a maning up beside me as he looked at Daisy and a few of the other zombies intermixing with the humans.

    "Well, they were human until they weren''t," I replied, looking up at the man. "But you don''t want to discuss the zombies, now do you?"

    "No, I don''t," he chuckled, looking down at me. "I want a job."

    "And?" I asked. I was almost peopled out at the moment, and maintaining a friendly fa?ade was starting to wear on me.

    "I want to be the club manager," he replied, standing up straighter, pushing his shoulders back.

    "If you are the club manager, what role would I have?" I said with a chuckle. Having ambition was great; having too much was a good way of getting you killed.

    "I thought you would like a much more behind-the-scenes roll to the club," he answered, looking at me with a serious look on his face. "I want the power thates with people knowing that I am the face of the club. But, at the same time, I ampletely happy taking orders from above."

    "I see," I said slowly, nodding my head in understanding. "And how do I know that you are not going to end up betraying me in the end? I have a few very specific ns for this ce, after all. I need someone I can trust."

    "That is a fair point," he agreed with a nod. "You don''t actually know me, but I was once an important person in City I."

    "And?" I asked with a scoff. In my opinion, people always have had an inted idea of themselves, which rarely panned out.

 Chapter 466 Give A Man A Fish

    ?

    "And I want to build my own kingdom, away from the rest of my family," Mao Jing continued, turning his gaze away from me and staring off into the distance.

    "Not much incentive for me to put you in the manager role if you are thinking of wanting to take over everything," I pointed out, not at all concerned about his ns for the future.

    "But it is. I give you my allegiance, and in return, you give me what I need to seed."

    "You are still not really selling yourself here. Are you sure that you were once important?" I said with a chuckle.

    "I was important enough not to need to learn how to sell myself," he answered with a shrug, fully acknowledging that he was screwing up.

    "Tell me, in detail, what your ns are, and I will tell you if I will kill you or give you what you want," I said in no uncertain terms. I was tired, and I wanted to sleep, so this conversation needed to be over and done with fast.

    "I want to build this ce into an actual safe haven," he said, turning to look away from the people and back to me. "I want to be strong enough that nobody fucks with this ce, and I want a safe ce for me and mine."

    "That is good and all," I said, realizing that I was looking at a male version of myself in my second life. "But what are you going to do when they betray you? And people will always betray you."

    He was silent for a moment before he opened his mouth. "I want to be powerful enough that everyone wants toe here, but no one can get in. I want to create a haven for those of us that are here right now and any new fighters."

    "You are still nning on hosting the fights?" I asked, surprised.

    "If stupid people want to throw money away, why not be the one that they are throwing it at? Mind you, the matches would no longer be to the death," he answered with a shrug. I would admit it was a good way of thinking.

    "And how would you keep the zombies fed?" I asked, tilting my chin toward where the zombies were eating as quietly as they could in the corner. "They need fresh food."

    "I didn''t actually take their¡­ diet¡­ into ount," he admitted, watching one of the zombies ripping a chuck of flesh off from the ribs of the old boss. He was still alive but had long given up on screaming. Or maybe the hole in his throat was preventing him from making a sound.

    "If I could make a suggestion?" I said, already epting the fact that I would have him in the manager position until he pissed me off.

    "Of course," he answered quickly, looking at me again with his undivided attention.

    "There are always going to be people who test your limits, both inside and outside of this club. Use them to set an example and feed your zombies."

    "Like you did?"

    "Like I did," I agreed with a smile on my face. "I am not nning on spending the rest of my life here, and you are right; I want to y least in sight. So, if you want to be the manager, that ispletely fine with me. Just remember, at the end of the day, I am still the one with absolute authority," I continued, looking back at the man. "And it is no skin off my back if I feed you to the zombies and find someone to rece you."

    "Understood," he answered with a grunt.

    -----

    Once lunch was over, the humans quickly set to work cleaning up the main floor and turning off the god-awful red lights. Even the zombies pitched in to help, putting the remains of their meals in a bag and throwing it outside.

    "We need to open at the regr time tonight," I said as 50 or so people scurried around me, trying to get the ce clean. Liu Yu Zeng grunted his agreement. We didn''t know when the recruiter would show up, and we had to be ready.

    "It''s amazing that eight people multiplied into this many," he said, looking around at the organized chaos.

    "Put food out, and they wille," I said with a shrug. Even the young children were trying to help out as much as they could.

    "Do you have enough food to keep this going for a while?" he asked, turning around to look at me. He knew that if I didn''t have at least a year to three years of food stockpiled in my space, I would start to get twitchy.

    "No," I answered simply. "But that is why I am getting them to go a garden on the roof with chickens and maybe a beehive for honey," I continued, "Give a man a fish, and he eats for a day. Teach a woman to garden, and the whole neighborhood gets zhini."

    He chuckled at my response, and I saw the woman who had mentioned gardening approaching me.

    "Is it possible to see the space we are working with? The sooner I can get nting, the faster we will have food to eat," she said with a bright smile on her face. I shared her look. There was something about the garden that called to a certain type of people¡­ and like recognized like.

    "Sure," I said with a nod. Turning to look at Liu Yu Zeng, I opened my mouth. "Better get the rest of the guys here. Now that we don''t have to worry about you fighting each other to the death, it is better to have everyone close by."

    "Got it. I''ll let them know. You go talk garden. I have everything under control here," he said, gently kissing my forehead and pushing me toward the door leading to the stairs. I had no idea what I was about to find, but I was looking forward to it.

    "How good of a gardener are you?" I asked, looking at the woman following beside me.

    "A wannabe homesteader stuck in the middle of the city," she answered, a twisted smirk on her face.

 Chapter 467 Dont Overfeed The Zombies

    ?

    I snorted in amusement at her statement. "I hear you," I chuckled. In my first life, I wanted nothing more than to be out in the countryside, growing food and raising chickens, but instead, I was stuck in an apartment with a small balcony only big enough for two tomato nts. I couldn''t even get a pet chicken because my city had a stupid bw against it.

    "It might not be a traditional homestead, but let me see what we can do with what we have," I continued, thinking about what we could do to change an underground fight club into its own fully functioning city.

    We climbed up the six flights of stairs until we couldn''t get any higher and opened the door to the roof, only to be brought up short by the human male standing in front of us.

    "Can I help you?" I asked, shifting my weight to hide my new friend behind me. I stared at the man. He was maybe 5''11" with ''stylish'' ck hair and dressed half decently given the zombie apocalypse.

    "I was visiting Lin Song when I heard amotion downstairs. I figured that this was the best ce to stay until things died down," he answered with a shrug and a smile that I was sure was supposed to be more charming than creepy. He was failing miserably with that.

    "Who is Lin Song?" I asked over my shoulder, never taking my eyes off the man in front of me. ''Liu Yu Zeng, I might need some help up here, please, and thank you,'' I added through the link. It was always to have more muscle than needed, then need it and not have it.

    "The old club owner," came the whispered reply. "He is Gong Ling Xin, one of his good friends and a rich kid."

    She was definitely my type of people if she was adding in how I could use him. "Does that mean I should charge a ransom for him or feed him to the zombies?" I asked back, ignoring the look on the man in question''s face.

    "I would go for asking for ransom first, and if that doesn''t work, feed him to the zombies," she replied in a very pragmatic way. "However, ording to my son, he is a bit of a dick."

    "Yeah, I could see that," I replied, nodding my head and looking at the guy. "I am going to assume the second generation?" It always seemed like it was the second generation rich kids that caused the most problems. If they still had wealth by the third generation, then they knew how to keep it properly.

    I heard the sound of footstepsing up the stairs behind us, and I pushed my new friend to the side so that we weren''t trapped between the idiot and my men.

    "We are going to be putting him up for ransom, and if that doesn''t work, feeding him to the zombies," I said loud enough for Liu Yu Zeng to know my ns.

    "Understood," he replied. "We can handle this. You two just go talk nts." See, now that was a perfect boyfriend/husband.

    "Hello, Gong Lin Xin," smiled the maning up the stairs after Liu Yu Zeng. "Fancy seeing you here."

    "Mao Jing," sneered the dead guy. "And here was me thinking that you would be dead by now, you know, after getting kicked out by your own family."

    "I am not the one that needs to worry about dying," chuckled Mao Jung. "After all, if your Daddy isn''t willing to pay for you, then you are nothing more than zombie food."

    Right! I forgot to tell Liu Yu Zeng something that just popped into my head. And with all my luck, if I wait too long, it is just going to pop right back out.

    "I want to build a cage or a room of some kind for the humans that are going to be zombie food," I shouted back at the guys even as I walked away. "I don''t want them to get a stomach ache from eating too much but then have nothing to eatter!"

    "Got it! There is something in the basement that will work," replied Liu Yu Zeng with a wave of his hand. Knowing that he had everything under control, I turned back around and looked around the rooftop.

    "You know, I don''t remember if you told me your name and I just forgot it or if I never got it in the first ce," I said honestly. Hopefully, she took it as me being scatterbrained and not as an insult that I forgot it.

    "All good," she grunted. "I was worried about the same thing. I am Quan Ruo Gang," she continued, holding out her hand.

    "Li Dai Lu," I replied, gripping her hand in my own. "Now, clearly, we are going to need raised beds, but what else are you thinking?"

    It was a very typical rooftop with a bunch of covered vents but little else. There wasn''t even that big of a barrier around the edges.

    "A fence of some kind so the kids and chickens can''t just walk off of it," snickered Quan Ruo Gang as she started to walk around. "I think we will need to do medium-sized square boxes so you have ess to all sides and the middle."

    I looked out over the space and mentally calcted the number of boxes that could be built. "What are you thinking? 200 boxes? I mean, depending on the size of the paths you want."

    "Yeah, somewhere around that," she nodded. "But I would also want some ces to gather the rainwater. Maybe 50 barrels, if at all possible?" She looked at me, trying to judge where I was going to draw the line.

    "I have four 330 gallon tanks in my space. We could put one in each corner. Do you think that would be enough? If not, I can try to get something else; that is just all I have on hand," I said, my brows scrunching. The 330 gallon tank looked big when I first took it into my space, but now I was worried that it wouldn''t be enough.

    "No, that should be good. Now, let''s talk chicken coops."

 Chapter 468 Never A Perfect Time

    ?

    Liu Yu Zeng stared at the woman walking away from him, worried. There was something off about her, and all of her men knew that. She hadn''t had her period for the past two months, and they didn''t know if they should be excited because she was pregnant or concerned that she was so stressed she stopped having her cycle.

    It was also a delicate bnce because they didn''t know how to bring it up to her. If they told her that they thought she was pregnant, and after a while, her period came back, then she would be crushed. Not to mention, now was really not a good time for her to be expecting, seeing as she was going to enter the Reaver''s camp any day now.

    He also didn''t want to think about her being in that much danger with a new life growing inside her. However, if there was one thing that he learned in his time, it was that there was no such thing as a ''perfect'' time for something. You made the perfect time.

    If you were looking for excuses, you would always be able to find some. The trick was to not even bother with the excuses and look to the positive of any situation. If she was pregnant, then there was no safer ce for her to be other than beside her men. It didn''t matter if they were back in their cabin in the mountains, on her ranch outside of City A, or in the middle of a Reaver camp. She would be safe.

    "Are you even listening to me?" demanded a sharp voice, pulling Liu Yu Zeng out of his thoughts.

    "Not really," he answered with a shrug. There was no point in dealing with cannon fodder. At some point in time, he was going to die, so Liu Yu Zeng might as well concentrate on the important things¡­ like Li Dai Lu.

    "Do you know who I am?"

    "Should I?" sneered Disease, turning his attention to the man who so desperately seemed to want it. "Or is it just that you managed to forget your own name that you needed me to tell you?"

    "Are you trying to start a fight with me? Because I am telling you, after you know who my father is, you will be shitting yourself in fear," sneered the man that was hiding on the rooftop instead of being involved in a fight.

    "Sure," grunted Liu Yu Zeng, not even bothering to waste his breath. "You know who his father is?" he asked, turning to the guy who had followed him upstairs. ording to him, Li Dia Lu had made him the new acting manager of the club, so he might as well prove himself useful.

    "I do," answered the other man, nodding his head.

    "You know where to find him?"

    "I do."

    "Perfect," answered Liu Yu Zeng, stretching his neck back and forth to try and relieve some of the tension that had been gathering for thest few months. "There are going to be three new guys appearing downstairs in the next few minutes. If his dad is someone with legitimate power, ask Liu Wei or Wang Chao to go with you to talk to him. If he is more part of the underbelly, get Liu Wei or Chen Zi Han to help."

    "And if he is both?" asked the guy, no longer paying attention to the zombie food.

    "If he is both, take Liu Wei. He has his feet nted firmly in both worlds," continued Liu Yu Zeng. He would have gone himself, but he was feeling extremely insecure, letting his woman out of his sight for any amount of time.

    For the sake of his sanity and the health of anyone around him, it was best to keep him by her side. Or God help them.

    "What should we do with him in the meantime?" asked the manager, looking at the man that was trying to disappear into the background.

    "I found some cages in the basement. You can put him in one of them until his father pays up. If he doesn''t, then at least he will already be in ce for the zombies when they are hungry," shrugged Liu Yu Zeng.

    Li Dai Lu had only been out of his eyesight for five minutes, and he was already starting to turn stabby. He could see the manager from the corner of his eye open his mouth, but Liu Yu Zeng was not in the mood. "You know what you are supposed to do. Deal with it yourself or find someone to deal with it. Either way, shut up and prove yourself."

    The manager closed his mouth.

    "Are you really going to let him talk to me like that?" asked the dead man talking.

    "I really am," confirmed Mao Jing, nodding his head. "Now, let''s go down into the basement and wait for your father''s response."

    "You will be sorry. Dad will pay whatever ransom you demand and then raze this ce to the ground to get his money back," sneered Gong Ling Xin, not at all fearful of the consequences.

    "Somehow, I don''t think your father''s usual tactics will work this time. But I could be wrong," shrugged Mao Jing as he pushed the other man toward the stairs.

    "In this, you are dead wrong," assured Gong Ling Xin. "Just you wait and see."

    "That''s fine. I have all the time in the world. You, on the other hand, are on borrowed time. I bet you didn''t see thising when you woke up this morning," mused Mao Jing, a smirk on his face as he thought about how the tables had turned. This man, whom he once considered one of his best friends,pletely turned his back on him when his father disinherited him in favor of his younger half-brother.

    "You and I both know you could do something to keep me alive," sneered the other man as he stomped down the stairs. "Don''t pretend otherwise."

    "Maybe, maybe not. But we will never know because I am not going to risk my life and this potential future for a piece of shit like you," responded Mao Jing with a smile.

 Chapter 469 Turning Invisible

    ?

    "We are running out of food and supplies," said Zhao Jun Jie as he rubbed his forehead in frustration. Closing his eyes, he leaned back in his chair and took a deep breath. The numbers wouldn''t change just because he wanted them to. He had toe up with a better solution, or else City A was going to fall, and it would be all his fault.

    "Any word from the teams?" asked Wu Bai Hee from where she sat across the desk from him. The nausea had finally stopped, and she wanted to take advantage of the situation. She also needed to reel Zhao Jun Jie back into her web.

    After he found out that she was lying to him about her periods, he had be quiet and withdrawn. The problem with her powers was that when it came to some people, they needed daily doses to remain under her power. Without those reminders, they would quickly snap back to normal, and then her cushy life was over.

    "Nothing," he sighed again and leaned forward, going back to the paperwork just in case he missed something the first time.

    "Then maybe we should get people to start nting food. It''s not like the earth has be contaminated; we can still grow crops. That would also keep them busy and not rioting," pointed out Wu Bai Hee, trying to remember what cities had done in her first life to stay ahead of the riots.

    Zhao Jun Jie snorted in disbelief. "You think that the people of City A would be willing to work? Most of them didn''t even lift a finger before the world ended; it is not likely to change after it did."

    "Then you make them work," she replied. "If they want to eat, they need to grow the food. It is really that simple."

    "Simple? Ha! Forcing people to do something against their will like that would make me no better than a tyrant in their minds," sneered Zhao Jun Jie, looking his partner in her eyes.

    "You say that like it is a bad thing. Tyranny is government for people who want results. I mean, when you were a CEO, you didn''t ask people what should be done, and if they were okay doing it, you told them," pointed out Wu Bai Hee, returning Zhao Jun Jie''s stare and pushing just the tiniest of bit.

    Luckily for her, everyone and anyone could be a tyrant if given enough incentive. And how else was she to look like the savior of the people if she didn''t have anyone visible to save them from? The majority of people in the city had neverid eyes on a zombie, let alone needed to be saved from one.

    Yes, she would turn Zhao Jun Jie into a feared dictator, and once there was enough food for the poption and everything had turned around, she would step forward and save the masses. Who knows, the average citizen might even decide to rise up and save her from her cruel partner.

    Oh, the possibilities were endless if she really thought things through.

    But the first thing that needed to be handled was the food storage.

    "What do you think we should do?" asked Zhao Jun Jie suddenly. "It''s not like there is a bunch of farms in the middle of the city that we just never noticed before."

    "No," admitted Wu Bai Hee, quickly thinking of possible solutions. "But there are rooftops that we could use to grow crops of some kind. And the parks. If we rip up the grass, we could nt there too."

    "And how do we find people willing to farm in the first ce?"

    "You divide the poption up and assign them all tasks," said Wu Bai Hee. "They clearly have too much time on their hands if all they do is riot, so give them all something to do."

    "They will hate me for that," replied Zhao Jun Jie, looking across his desk at the woman he loved more than anything else in the world.

    "Maybe at first," conceded Wu Bai Hee, her head starting to hurt from all the ''suggestions'' she was giving. "But once they have food in their bellies, they will be thankful."

    "Do you really believe that?" he scoffed. There was no way that the elite of the elite would be willing to follow his orders and start farming.

    "If they don''t want to work, that is fine. They can always go outside and fight the zombies to bring back supplies," shrugged Wu Bai Hee. She had hit a brick wall and wasn''t in the mood to deal with the moron anymore. How was it that someone so spinless managed to run such a big organization before?

    She would not have this problem with Liu Wei in charge. He would have put everyone in their ces without them even realizing that they were obeying him. Yeah, she would have to hurry up and find Liu Wei and the others. Even if it was just to cement her own position as the most influential woman of City A.

    ----

    "Is one of you Liu Wei?" asked Mao Jing as he returned to the main floor after locking Gong Ling Xin up in one of the basement cells. They were originally put in there to keep the fighters separated, but once Lin Song had managed to capture some zombies, they were housed there away from everyone else.

    Now, the zombies were free to roam the ce as they wanted while the humans were once again locked up. It was amazing how things seemed toe full circle.

    "I am," said a man stepping forward. He pushed his gold-rimmed sses up his nose and stared down at Mao Jing. "May I ask why you are looking for me?"

    "Liu Yu Zeng thought that you would be the best person to help me. The new head of the club found someone on the roof and has decided to try and ransom him back to his parents. If that doesn''t work, she has said to just feed him to the zombies," exined Mao Jing as he approached the three men standing side by side.

    They shared the same otherworldly air that his new boss and Liu Yu Zeng shared, so they must all be part of the same group.

    "How did his father make his money?" asked the man standing in the center of the others.

    "He split it 50/50 between a legitimate business that was involved innd development and real estate as well as in the shadier side of it all," exined Mao Jing, not too sure how much in-depth he should go.

    "What is his name?" asked the one in the middle. He seemed to be the spokesperson for the three men. The other two, including Liu Wei, seemed happy to remain silent.

    "Gong Hao Zhi," answered Mao Jing. He didn''t want to insult someone that he didn''t know, just in case it came back to bite him on the ass. But at the same time, he needed to get a move on if he wanted to make it back before the cub opened for the night.

    The man in the center looked at Liu Wei, seeking an answer to an unasked question.

    "He is the CEO of Greener Pastures Realty," exined Liu Wei, once again adjusting his sses. "Aged 45. He was divorced almost ten years ago, and his oldest son, Gong Ling Xin, was the product of that marriage. He has since remarried to a much younger woman who was 22 when they first met. She has given him two sons and a daughter in their time together."

    "Percentage of him willing to pay a ransom?" asked the middleman. Mao Jing simply stared at the interaction between the two men.

    "It will depend on what we ask for," replied Liu Wei with a shrug. "He is currently using his first son as a shield while raising his second son to take over the business. His third son, who would be eight years old right now, was being trained to take over his less legitimate ie. Of course, all of this information was gathered before the end of the world, so I am not sure as to the uracy of my intel."

    "What should we ask for?" asked the talkative one, and the remaining man, who hadn''t said anything up to this point, finally opened his mouth.

    "That would depend on Princess and her ns," he said, his low voice causing the hair on the back of Mao Jing''s neck to rise up.

    "We know her ns," pointed out the middle one.

    "I don''t think that even she knows her ns if she has taken over a fight club instead of just sending Liu Yu Zeng inside to fight," replied the quieter one. "She might want to use him as food more than anything else, seeing as humans would be the only type of supplies she hasn''t gathered. I think that we would push for the moon and see if we get it."

    "And if we do? What are we asking for?" asked Liu Wei. Mao Jing was starting to feel invisible. But amongst those three men, he didn''t think that it was that bad of a thing.

 Chapter 470 Ransom Demand

    ?

    "Bodies?" asked Mao Jing, cringing. He looked at the three men who just seemed to have realized that he was standing in front of them.

    "Exin," snarled the quiet one. Mao Jing looked up at the man, realizing for the first time just how huge he was.

    "The zombies are ours," stuttered Mao Jing, looking everywhere but at the three men. "I mean, the Boss is now iming them as hers. She has said that she was going to set them free once she dealt with something outside, but until then, she needs to feed them. Maybe we should ask for bodies so that we have a food supply for them."

    "Good thing," nodded Liu Wei. "But you are missing a few important factors in that suggestion."

    Mao Jing looked nkly at the man, not sure what he was talking about.

    "First, by stating bodies during the negotiation, you are offering to dispose of any already dead bodies for him. This is more of a benefit for him than it is for you. Zombies also will not eat things that are already dead, so you just gave the man you were trying to negotiate with all the benefits," exined Liu Wei, once again adjusting his sses.

    "But the zombies have always been eating dead bodies. I think today is the first time I have ever seen them eating something that was still alive," interjected Mao Jing with a shake of his head. He was normally the one who had to feed the zombies, so he was highly qualified to know just how dead their food was.

    "And they didn''t revolt?" asked the man in the middle, a look of confusion passing his face.

    "Why would they revolt? They were fed," answered Mao Jing. This conversation seemed to have taken on a really confusing spin to it. All zombies ate the dead. It wasn''t like they were overly picky eaters or anything like that.

    "You have a lot to learn," muttered Liu Wei with a shake of his head. "Depending on how long Sweetheart is nning on taking control for, we will do our best to help you. But I would like to point out more than just getting dead bodies out of the deal; we also don''t know what kind of bodies they are offering. It would kill our Queen if an innocent was killed just to meet a quota for her."

    "It has to be something other than dead bodies," muttered the quiet one.

    "Money," said a woman''s voice, and the sound of footsteps could be hearding across the main lounge. "The father will pay through his teeth for his oldest son, or he will no longer have one."

    "You doing okay?" asked Liu Wei,ing up quickly beside Mao Jing''s new boss.

    "Come, sit down," added the quiet one as he approached her other side, and the two of them escorted the woman who could control zombies to one of the booths like she was a fragile piece of ss.

    Mao Jing just blinked as the three men who had made him want to piss himself bent over backward for his boss. He could only hope that if she had that much power, he hadn''t inadvertently pissed her off and signed his own death warrant.

    "You need to get going," said Li Dai Lu as she turned to look at him. Straightening up, he nodded his head. "Of course," he responded.

    "Take Wang Chao and Liu Wei with you. Watch what they do and remember it. Next time, you might not have them around," she continued. Two men stood up from where they were crouched around her and walked over to him.

    Wait¡ª

    "Wang Chao? As in the most influential man in the country and head of Phoenix Conglomerate?" demanded Mao Jing, turning to the only man in front of him whose name he didn''t know. If he had the opportunity to study under Wang Chao, there would be no reason why he couldn''t crush his father.

    Wang Chao nodded before he and Liu Wei started to walk toward the door and the stairs to the outside.

    Man Jing turned around to look at Li Dai Lu for a moment, and once he received her permission, he bolted after the other two men.

    He caught up to them just as they stepped out into the light of day. There were three bikes parked over to one side, and Mao Jing watched as they approached them. Confused, he followed silently behind.

    "I would like it noted that I am protesting this bullshit," came a voice, and Mao Jing looked around to see where it could being from. He didn''t recognize the ent, so the person could be from around here.

    "So noted, but we aren''t walking, and the Queen wants us to keep him with us," said Wang Chao as he got onto one of the motorcycles. "Are you going to be the one to tell the Queen that you didn''t do as she requested?"

    There was silence after that, and Mao Jing realized that Wang Chao was actually talking to the motorcycle beside him. Had the prince of City A gone insane at the end of days? It wouldn''t surprise Mao Jing if that was the case. A lot of people couldn''t adapt to their new reality and had lost it; he just couldn''t picture that happening to Wang Chao.

    "He isn''t even one of us," came the voice again. Mao Jing spun around in a circle, looking for the person, but no one was around. "See?!?"

    "Bin An Sha wasn''t one of us either, and you still let him ride you," pointed out Liu Wei as he got his helmet on. "Now, we are wasting time. If you aren''t going to take him, I will ask Cerberus to do so. You can deal with the consequences on your own."

    "Fine," grumbled the voice. "What are you waiting for? A fucking invitation? Get on!"

    "You serve the Queen," said Wang Chao, looking at Mao Jing. "Sit on the bike and show us where we need to go. If he gives you attitude, remind him that you serve the Queen."

    "Who is the Queen?" asked Mao Jing, more than a little confused. Was the bike really talking? He shook his head as he swung his leg over the seat and gotfortable. He put on the helmet and reached for the handlebars.

    "Don''t do anything stupid. Just tell me where we need to go and then sit there," grumbled a voice echoing in the helmet.

    "Shut up, Murder," growled a new voice. "You either take him, or you go back home, and Cerberus will take him. You heard W¡ªWang Chao. He serves the Queen."

    "Fine," sneered the bike¡­ Murder? What kind of name was that for a bike?

    Mao Jing took in a deep breath. He could either fight what was right in front of his face, or he could ept it, just like he epted all of the other changes in his life. If he wanted to prove his father wrong, if he wanted to live the life that he was destined to live, then he needed to ept things, no matter how improbable.

    Giving the directions, he held onto the handlebars tightly as the bike under him took off in the direction of Gong Ling Xin''s home.

    "You''ll get used to it," said Liu Wei, his voiceing through his helmet just like Murder''s had. "They are a bit of a pain in the ass until they get used to you."

    "He will not be on me long enough to ''get used to'' me," grumbled Murder, and Mao Jing could feel the bike revving the engine under him like he was trying to drive in neutral.

    "I appreciate the ride," he said, hoping that a bit of politeness would smooth things over.

    "Of course you do," said Murder, a sneer in his voice, but the ride itself smoothed out.

    Letting out a sigh of relief, Mao Jing kept his mouth shut the rest of the way, sending up a quick prayer that he wouldn''t have to walk back to the club once the errand wasplete.

    ---

    "What do you want?" asked a middle-aged man when Mao Jing knocked on the door of the Gong residence.

    "Mr. Gong," he said confidently, "I am Mao Jing; I am here to talk to you about your son."

    "I know exactly who you are," sneered the man, getting ready to close the door in the faces of the three men standing at his door. "But you are not going to use me and my son to get back into your father''s good graces."

    He was about to m the door when a hand shot out the block the way. "That''s too bad; I guess we can just feed him to the zombies, then, since you don''t seem to care about what we have to say."

    Gong Hao Zhi sneered at the man whose arm was blocking the way. "Are you threatening me? Do you have any idea who I am?"

    "No," replied the third man, drawing Gong Hao Zhi''s attention to him for the first time. "You are not worth knowing. However, I am here to offer you a deal in exchange for your firstborn."

    "Are you ckmailing me?" growled the older man, looking at the three men before him.

    "No," scoffed the one still holding the door open. "This isn''t ckmail. This is a ransom demand."

 Chapter 471 The One With All The Control

    ?

    "You know, you would think that with how much he tries to ckmail people, he would be familiar with the difference," mused Liu Wei, and he held the front door open.

    "Maybe if he had been sessful in ckmailing people, he would," grunted Wang Chao, looking at the man that had tried on more than a few asions to ckmail him. Too bad it never worked out well in the end¡­ for him.

    "I don''t know who you think you are¡ª" started Gong Hao Zhi, only to be once again interrupted by Liu Wei.

    "See, I find that absolutely ludicrous, given how many times you personally called me before the end of the world," sighed the man in frustration. It had gotten to the point where every time he had blocked Gong Hao Zhi''s number, he would just call again from another one.

    Desperation was really not an attractive trait in anyone, especially not in a CEO.

    "Who are you?" asked Gong Hao Zhi, pausing for the first time since he opened the door to look at the two men in front of him.

    "Ah! He finally remembers his manners. And yet, still so forgetful," sneered Wang Chao, looking at the man. "But let me introduce myself, I am Wang Chao, formally CEO of Phoenix Conglomerate."

    "W- Wang Chao?" sputtered Gong Hai Zhi. "How could that be? I thought you died not long after the start of the apocalypse. No one has seen you since then¡­"

    "I can assure you; the reports of my demise have been greatly exaggerated," said Wang Chao, flicking off a piece of dust from his leather jacket.

    "So it would seem," answered Gong Hai Zhi, visibly trying to pull himself together. "Pleasee in. I am sorry for how rude I was before. I hope that you can excuse my behavior. However, if you would ept a bit of advice from an old man like me, ''water seeks its own level.'' Maybe I didn''t recognize you because of thepany you keep."

    Mao Jing went pale at the other man''s words. There was no question about who he was referring to by that statement. He had never hidden the fact that he hated Mao Jing with a passion. And the fact that he was willing to insult Wang Chao in the same breath was simply mind-blowing.

    Maybe if water did seek its own level, then it was a good thing he was never on the same level as that man and his son.

    "Or maybe because it is because you have always been senile," shrugged Wang Chao as he pushed past his host to go sit down in the living room.

    "You are in my seat," said Gong Hao Zhi, blinking a few times at where Wang Chao had decided to sit.

    "That''s nice," chuckled the other man. "Unfortunately for you, you have no seat until I decide to grant you one."

    Gong Hao Zhi snorted at that and went to sit down on the couch just to the right of Wang Chao but looked up when he heard a gun cocking.

    "You have not been granted permission to sit," said Liu Wei in a dead tone voice as he looked down at their host from the barrel of his gun.

    "I guess you have been away from things for too long," shrugged Gong Hao Zhi as he stared at the man who was holding a gun to him. "But the world has changed."

    That remark caused Mao Jing to burst outughing, bringing the attention of the men to him. "Sorry," he said with a wave of his hand. "But someone told my boss that just over an hour ago. It didn''t seem to go over well, seeing as she killed him as a result."

    "Yeah, my wife doesn''t suffer fools dly," nodded Wang Chao sagely. "What was the phrase she was trying to teach us? ''Les nouilles ne sont pas toutes dans soupe''?"

    "The noodles aren''t all in the soup?" tranted Mao Jing with a confused look on his face. "That makes no sense."

    Liu Wei grunted in approval and nodded his head. "That is the literal trantion, but it is simr to the expression, ''He is one card short of a full deck''."

    "Oh!" said Mao Jing. "You are essentially saying that they are stupid."

    "Exactly," smiled Wang Chao, his eyes never leaving his host.

    "I''ll be sure to use that in the future,"ughed Mao Jing. Yes, he picked the right side when he decided to follow his boss. He would need to remember that in the future.

    Once again, Gong Hao Zhi snorted. "Now that the y is over, can I sit down? It''s not like you are going to shoot me in my own house."

    "How much are you willing to bet on that?" asked Liu Wei, adjusting his sses with his left hand as his hand holding the gun remained steady. "From the research I managed to get on you, it looked like you were trying to break into the more illegal side of the real estate industry. How did that work out for you?"

    "You¡ª" sputtered Gong Hao Zhi, looking around the room.

    "I thought he was a big-time gangster," interjected Mao Jing, confused. "Or at least that was what Gong Ling Xin kept saying. Every time we didn''t do what he wanted or pay for his share, he said that his father would send his men after us and kill us."

    "Ha!"ughed Wang Chao, and even Liu Wei was having a hard time getting his shoulders to stop shaking.

    "No one actually talks like that. You should always be more scared of the hit you didn''t seeing than the one announced way in advance. But no, the Red Dragons took issue with him and kept blocking him."

    "Red Dragons? Liu Yu Zeng mentioned that he was the head of them," said Mao Jing, putting all the pieces together. "Are you guys Red Dragons too?"

    "He is," said Wang Chao, pointing to Liu Wei. "He is Liu Yu Zeng''s older brother. I had enough on my te; there was no point in dabbling into the underbelly of society at the same time."

    Hearing the conversation going on around him, Gong Hao Zhi turned pale. He needed to hurry up and get these men out of his home and fast. Fuck his son. He made his bed; he could lie in it.

    "Oh! We havepany," said a beautiful woman gliding into the living room. She was wearing a soft white dress that didn''t have a spec of dirt on it, and her long ck hair hung in curls down her back. This had to be Gong Hao Zhi''s second wife, who was now 35 years old but looked much younger than Wang Chao and the others.

    "I am sorry I wasn''t here to greet you; I was just trying to get a loaf of bread in the oven," she continued with a small, polite smile on her face. She went to stand beside her husband, ignoring the gun pointed at him, and smiled at Wang Chao. "May we sit down?"

    Wang Chao studied the woman for a moment. Living with Li Dai Lu for as long as he had, he had learned one very important lesson¡ªwomen were always the deadliest of any species. And the woman in front of him was not to be underestimated.

    "Of course," he said with a nod of his head. Gong Hao Zhi carefully sat down, his back straight. He looked decidedly a lot lessfortable now that his wife was in the room.

    "Thank you," the woman in question said with a nod of her head. "My name is Hao Jing Ya," she continued, her eyes narrowing on the gun. "It is not polite behavior to hold a gun on your host. You will never find a wife if you behave that way."

    Liu Wei looked over at Wang Chao, and when his friend nodded, he returned his gun to his shoulder holster. "I am already married," he said, taking his own seat across from the couple. Mao Jing, not sure what was going on, decided to walk over to stand just behind Wang Chao.

    "And you decided not to bring her here on this visit? I am sure that she is very disappointed," tisked Hao Jing Ya, and Gong Hao Zhi cringed at the sound.

    "I doubt it," smiled Liu Wei. "She is probably plotting world domination or something," he continued with a shrug.

    "Hardly," chuckled Wang Chao. "Taking over the world would take too much effort. It is so much easier to just kill everyone and deal with the consequences afterward."

    "Ah," nodded Gong Hao Zhi''s wife. "I have a very simr perspective as your wife then. May I ask why you are in my city, let alone my house?"

    "Your city?" asked Wang Chao, raising his eyebrow at her statement. "I am sorry; I was unaware that you had imed it as yours."

    Hao Jing Ya studied the man across from her, trying to see what angle he wasing at her from. "You took that statement better than anyone else has," she said softly, straightening out her skirt over her knees. "That makes me wonder if you are being honest or sarcastic."

 Chapter 472 The Exception To The Rule

    "Our wife has a city of her own, Elysian City, back in City J, a ranch that is controlled by her up by City A and has recently taken over an underground fight club. I don''t think it is that unbelievable that you have imed City I for yourself," shrugged Liu Wei.

    "A fight club? Was that the one previously owned by Lin Song?" Hao Jing Ya asked as the air around her changed. When she first came in, she seemed to be every bit of the submissive wife that most would assume her to be, especially with such arge age gap between her and her husband. But now, now it was easy to see that she had the power and ability to control an entire city.

    Wang Chao and Liu Wei turned to look at Mao Jing for confirmation. All that they had been told was that Li Dai Lu had taken over the club where Liu Yu Zeng was supposed to fight at. She wanted everyone together, so they dropped what they were doing and went to her.

    "It is," confirmed Mao Jing, not actually sure what was going on, but not willing to contradict Wang Chao without knowing all the facts first.

    "I would like to meet her," said Hao Jing Ya, leaning back against the couch. Once again, her husband flinched at her sudden movement. It was easy to see who actually wore the pants in that rtionship. "Bring her here."

    Wang Chao dropped his chin and started to chuckle. "Not happening," he said with a smile as he raised his head and looked at the woman.

    "Excuse me?" said Hao Jing Ya, taken back. She thought that the men in front of her were intelligent enough to know when to bow their heads. But it looked like Wang Chao''s wife was the leader in name only.

    "Our wife doesn''t dance to anyone''s tune. You want to meet her, you can go to her," exined Liu Wei with a smile of his own.

    "Our wife? You two share a wife?" sneered Hao Jing Ya, no longer as impressed with the other woman as she originally was. No self-respecting woman would ever be willing to be passed back and forth between two men. They probably had all the control, and she just barked when they told her to.

    "I would be very careful with those lines of thoughts," growled Wang Chao,ing to his feet and looming over the woman. "I will not allow that type of disrespect when ites to my wife. Do I make myself perfectly clear?"

    Hao Jing Ya didn''t bother to respond and only raised her chin. "What?" demanded Wang Chao, pushing his way through the woman''s weak mental barriers. "You want to bark like a dog? Then bark!" hemanded, and Hao Jing Ya tried to keep her mouth closed, her teeth clenching so hard that she was scared that she might break them. But as soon as she loosened her muscles a fraction, she found herself letting out two sharp barks.

    "Our wife is our Queen. No one will be disrespecting her and living long. Do I make myself clear?" pushed Wang Chao, forcing his will even further onto Hao Jing Zhi.

    "Sorry," she got out through gritted teeth. She hadn''t realized just how strong the man in front of her was. She had assumed that because they imed that their wife was in charge, they would be around the same lines as her husband. Strong in front of other people but knowing where the true powery.

    She had made a mistake, but she would not make it again. However, she still needed to get their wife out of her territory¡ª

    But the second the thought entered her head, there was a sharp, stabbing pain in her temples.

    "You don''t learn, do you?" chuckled Wang Chao, causing another bolt of pain inside her head. She refused to shout out in pain, instead choosing to clench her hands on top of hisp. Pain was nothing. Itsted no more than a second or moment in time. Humiliation of having to submit to a man because of pain, however,sted a lifetime.

    "What are you?" she asked as soon as the pain let up and she could open her mouth without a scream escaping.

    "The technical term is a Spirit User," smiled Wang Chao turning around and going back to his chair. "Just consider me a mind reader with the ability to cause pain on a spiritual level instead of a physical one."

    "It felt pretty physical to me," replied Hao Jing Ya, a tight smile on her face.

    "Then show me the cuts, the bruises, the blood," shot back Wang Chao, gettingfortable.

    The woman couldn''t respond. She knew as well as everyone else in that room that Wang Chao hadn''t put a single finger on her.

    "She wants us back," said Liu Wei all of a sudden. He stood up and looked at Wang Chao. "What is your decision about his son?"

    Gong Hao Zhi perked up as Liu Wei mentioned their entire reason foring. He had forgotten about his son, so happy that there was finally a man who could put his wife in her ce. The worst decision he had ever made was marrying for a second time. His life was so much better with his first wife, but he had been seduced by a much younger woman.

    But there is no medicine for regret.

    "We are going to return him," said Wang Chao, looking straight at Hao Jing Ya. "Without anypensation what. So. Ever."

    "What about what the boss said?" asked Mao Jing concerned. This was the first mission that his new boss had given him, and he didn''t want to fuck it up.

    Wang Chao turned away from the woman in front of him to look at Mao Jing. Nodding his head in approval, he exined his decision. "The thing she wants most is for Gong Ling Xin to die a horrible death. After her thoughts about my wife, how could I consider myself a good husband if I give her what she wants?"

    "You want my son to die?" gasped Gong Hao Zhi in shock, turning to the woman he shared a bed with every night.

    "Is that really that big of a surprise?" demanded Hao Jing Ya. "I have given you three children. You have more than enough to rece one son that is more useless than tits on a bull."

    Gong Hao Zhi opened his mouth to protest, but when his wife raised her eyebrow at him, he was quick to close it again. Thest thing he needed was another beating so bad that he wasn''t able to get out of bed for a few weeks. Even if he didn''t have the actual power anymore, he couldn''t let any outsiders know.

    "I will go with you to meet your wife," said Hao Jing Ya as her husband was lost in his thoughts. "I''ll be ready in ten minutes."

    "You can go whenever you want," shrugged Liu Wei, looking at the woman. "You know where to find us. But we will be leaving now."

    "And just how do you expect me to get to the club?" she asked, raising her eyebrow in challenge.

    Liu Weiughed at her attempt at intimidation. "I suggest you walk. Unless you have a bicycle at your disposal?"

    Hao Jing Ya took in a deep breath and nodded her head. She knew the type of pain that one of the men could inflict; she was not going to push the second one to give her a demonstration.

    No, maybe it would be best if they left first. Then, she could get some of her men to apany her to the club for a little discussion, one woman to another.

    "I wish you the best of luck with that n," smiled Wang Chao as he stood up and started to walk toward the door. Liu Wei and Mao Jing followed close behind. "We will be waiting for you. And if you think that we are scary, well, you better hope that when you finally meet our wife, she is in a good mood."

    The three men were escorted out of the house by Hao Jing Ya. Manners had been beaten into her since a young age to the point where they were apulsion. "Thank you foring," she said, not meaning a single word.

    "Of course," nodded Wang Chao as he walked down the stairs. It was at that moment that Hao Jing Ya saw three motorcycles parked in front of her house.

    "How?" she asked, unconsciously taking a step forward. She wanted those bikes.

    "Possessed demons from Hell whose sole purpose is to get us around. I highly suggest that you forget about those thoughts of yours. No one that has sat on them without permission has lived to talk about it," said Liu Wei as he swung his leg over Reaper and sat downfortably. "But who knows, maybe you are the exception to the rule. Right?"

 Chapter 473 But First... Sleep

    ?

    "You''rete," came the very irritated voice as soon as Mao Jing and the others entered the club.

    "There was an issue," replied Wang Chao, walking up to Li Dai Lu and giving her a gentle kiss on her forehead. "How much time do we have before the club opens?"

    "It will open when I say that it opens," snapped Li Dai Lu, clearly not happy. Mao Jing was worried about how she was going to react when she learned that they hadn''t actuallypleted their mission. "And what issue? Are you okay? Do I need to kill someone?"

    "No, no. Nothing like that. But we are going to return the kid back to his family," answered Wang Chao as he wrapped an arm around her waist. He brought her over to one of the booths in the back and sat her down.

    "What are we getting in return?" she asked, turning her attention to Mao Jing. He swallowed hard, trying to figure out how to spin it so that it came out better than, ''We were getting nothing back.''

    "Potentially an enemy, potentially someone that you can get along with," shrugged Wang Chao, sliding into the booth beside her. "I guess it depends on how well you get along with the head of City I."

    "Gong Hao Zhi is the head of City I?" she asked, confused.

    "No," said Liu Wei, getting in on the conversation. "His wife is."

    "Huh, that''s unusual."

    "Yeah, and apparently, the kid is from the first marriage, so she isn''t all that happy with him. I figured that since she pissed me off, I would return him to herpletely unharmed. I don''t want to be anyone''s knife," exined Wang Chao.

    "You keep calling him a kid, but he is probably around your age, you know that right?" chuckled Li Dai Lu, and the warning bells that were going on in Mao Jing''s head since they had left the Gong Family residence were finally silenced.

    "Please, I can''t remember a time when I hung out at fight clubs for the fun of it," scoffed Wang Chao.

    ------

    "No, you were probably the one running the betting ring. I can see it now. If you had to be amongst your peers, you were at least going to take them for every dime that you could," I said with augh. Having all four of my men around was making me feel a lot better and much more rxed.

    "She knows you so well," smiled Liu Wei, looking at me but talking to Wang Chao.

    "How could she not?" answered Wang Chao. "But I should point out that Mao Jing handled himself well. I don''t think that there is going to be an issue leaving him in charge of the fight club."

    I turned to look at Mao Jing, biting my tongue at the shocked look on his face. "Perfect, because I have no idea what I am doing," I said with a nod. "Go do what needs to be done before the doors open."

    "Of course, Boss," he said before he turned around and walked over to the bar.

    "He was worried that you were going to take away his manager''s position if he returned without a ransom for you," chuckled Wang Chao.

    "You made the call; why should I take it out on him?" I asked, confused.

    "Because he didn''t actually know who we were when he took us with him to the Gong Family," answered Liu Wei. "That pain in the ass, brother of mine, only told him to take me with him and didn''t exin anything."

    "Ah, no big. It got sorted out in the end," I smile, trying to suppress my yawn. "But when are you going to tell me about this wife of his?"

    Liu Wei and Wang Chao looked at me as I yawned again, my jaw making a popping sound with how big it was.

    "You okay, little one?" asked Wang Chao, pulling me into his arms.

    "Yeah, it is just one of those days that it is hard to wake up," I shrugged. I didn''t consider it that big of a deal. I had always assumed that in at least one of my lives, I was a house cat because if left to my own devices, I would be sleeping 20 hours a day.

    "Why don''t you pop into your space and get a good night''s sleep?" asked Liu Wei, looking at me with concern as he wiped a stray tear from my cheek.

    "I''m fine, really," I assured them. "Just need a cup of coffee or something."

    "How about instead of a coffee, you have a cup of hot chocte? That should pick you up," smiled Wang Chao.

    I wrinkled my nose at that idea. "No, a cup of coffee will be just fine," I said with a shake. "But quit stalling. Tell me what is going on with this wife."

    "She ims that she is the head of the City, and as far as I can tell, she is. Well, it''s either that or she ispletely delusional; it really could go either way," chuckled Wand Chao, pulling me deeper into his arms. I rested my head on his shoulder and stared off into space.

    "Does she have a power?" I asked, once again holding back a yawn. I really should go into my space to sleep, but there was always some psychological barrier keeping me from leaving my men, even for a moment. It was almost like if I turned my back for a second, they would disappear.

    Stupid, I know, but that''s where my mind was at this moment.

    "Fighting," replied Wang Chao after a moment''s pause. "She has the same power as Liu Wei. How about we all go into your space?"

    "What?" I asked, confused, my brain not able to follow the jump in conversation.

    "I know Liu Wei is exhausted, even if he would never really admit it out loud, and Chen Zi Han could also use a nap. Why don''t the five of us go into your space, and we can all take a nap together? We will be back before anyone could even blink," continued Wang Chao.

    I turned to look at Liu Wei with narrowed eyes. "Are you really that tired?"

    "It is annoying to have someone that can read your mind around all the time," grumbled Liu Wei. "But yes, unfortunately for me, he is right. I am exhausted. I feel like we haven''t had a good sleep since we left the cabin. I am practically counting the days until we can go back."

    "If we are talking about nap time, I volunteer!" called out Liu Yu Zeng as he and Chen Zi Han approached the booth. I looked at the two men who looked bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. I couldn''t see where they were tired, but maybe they could just hide it better than I did.

    "Fine, four against one isn''t fair, you know," I grumbled out loud, but there was no way that the guys didn''t know just how happy I was that I could have the best of both worlds. Blinking my eyes, the five of us appeared inside the kitchen of my space. "But you talked me into it. Let''s go to bed."

    I climbed out of Wang Chao''sp and started to make my way upstairs and into the master bedroom. Over the past few years, the guys and I had changed a few things around in my space, including installing an skan king-sized bed in the master bedroom.

    Luckily for all of us, the house itself in my space shifted to amodate the extremelyrge piece of furniture. The guys had also changed their rooms into nothing more than an office with a closet, preferring instead to spend their nights in my bed when we were in my space.

    And let''s face it, I wasn''tining.

    With our cabin in the mountains, there wasn''t much need for my space, but the five of us all agreed that we needed to have it prepared for when we left our sanctuary and returned to the real world.

    "We''ll be right now," called Chen Zi Han from still in the kitchen. "I am iming the spot under you."

    "Oh no," I chuckled, not bothering to slow down my pace. That bed was calling my name, and there was nothing keeping me from answering. "You know that is a firste, first served position."

    "Wait for me, Princess; I will make sure that I am there first," answered Chen Zi Han with a chuckle of his own.

    I waved my hand as I stepped onto thending of the second floor and walked straight into the master bedroom.

    I knew that there was something that they wanted to talk about, but I also knew that they didn''t want me to worry about whatever it was. I would give them their time alone before I smacked them upside the head for trying to keep something from me.

    But first¡­ Sleep.

 Chapter 474 No Longer Hoping

    ?

    Apparently, I had slept so soundly that I missed the guysing to bed and most of them leaving it the next morning. I opened my eyes slowly as the bright sun shone through the white curtains of my room. I could feel the soft breeze gently tease my hair, the perfect temperature of not too hot and not too cold.

    "Good morning, Princess," rasped Chen Zi Han from under me. "Did you have a good sleep?"

    "Yeah," I moaned as I closed my eyes and snuggled back down onto him. "But that doesn''t mean that I want to leave the bed right now."

    "No one is making you," he assured me as he gently brushed his fingers through my unbound hair. "That is one of the benefits of this space; everything outside freezes. You can do everything on your own time."

    I hummed, practically purring as he continued to y with my hair. "There are some days I wish I could just live here for the rest of my life."

    "Then why don''t you?" he asked, cocking his head to the side and looking at me.

    "Because it feels like the easy way out," I admitted. I loved my space, but I never wanted to be dependent on it. It needed to stay my short-term sanctuary, not my long-term escape.

    "What do you mean?" asked Liu Yu Zeng, walking into the room, a tray of food in his hands. I rolled over and sat up as Chen Zi Han propped up the pillows behind me. cing the tray down in myp, Liu Yu Zeng went to sit down at the bottom of the bed.

    I looked over the pancakes with maple syrup, crispy bacon, and a ss of orange juice in suspicion. "Where''s my coffee?" I asked, ring at the man.

    "You can have it as soon as you have eaten something," he assured me. "I just think that coffee on an empty stomach isn''t good for you."

    "Is that what you were talking aboutst night?" I asked, confused. I had never gotten sick drinking coffee on an empty stomach. Sometimes, it would even rece the need to eat.

    "Yup," said Chen Zi Han. "We have all agreed that we haven''t been taking as good of care of you as we should be. That changes now."

    "I don''t understand?" I said around a big bite of pancakes. They definitely weren''t as sweet as I would have made them, but they were still tasty.

    "And I don''t understand why you don''t want to rely on your space," shot back Liu Yu Zeng with a smile. "So, an answer for an answer. You go first."

    "I think that any life worth living needs to be lived," I said, dipping my bacon into my maple syrup. "If I start to rely on my space because everything in it is easy, am I really living? Or am I just repeating the same day over and over again until I go crazy?"

    "You want conflict?" asked Wang Chao, and he and Liu Wei walked in with coffees for everyone, including myself.

    "I want conflict," I agreed with a nod. "I am not saying that I want my life to be in danger every day like it was in myst life, but I want to know that I can face obstacles and ovee them."

    I shoved the bacon into my mouth as Liu Wei handed me my cup of coffee. I turned it around and chuckled at the mug he chose. On it was a red jar, and in the jar, it said, "Canning is my Jam". Well, he wasn''t wrong. I do love canning. I just really miss my mason jars¡­

    I took a sip and thought about what I wanted to say. "I want to be able to look back on my deathbed and smile at the memories I made and the things that I aplished. I don''t want to look back and realize that there was nothing really to remember. Does that make sense?"

    "It does," said Wang Chao reassuringly. "And it is a smart way of thinking. Most wouldn''t want conflict in their life. They would choose to just live forever in their space, never leaving."

    I smiled and took another sip of coffee. As I brought down my mug, Chen Zi Han cleared his throat. Turning to look at him, I saw that he had a forkful of pancakes ready to feed me. "Not just coffee anymore, remember?"

    "Okay," I nodded my head and took the offering of food. "But I gave you my answer; now, you give me yours."

    "We are worried," said Liu Wei as he adjusted his sses. "The assassin would have been beneficial to keep around just as a live-in doctor, but without him, we don''t know how you are doing, health-wise."

    "If he was still around, I would have already been dead from a mushroom allergy," I retorted with a roll of my eyes. I wasn''t missing him at all, but I would admit that he had his uses.

    "And we are worried now because you are going into a Reaver encampment where you will be pushed mentally and physically. We don''t want something to happen to you," added Wang Chao, looking at me seriously.

    I wasn''t so dumb as to not realize that they were concerned that I was pregnant; it had been a few months since myst period. But I was also realistic to know that in thest few months, I have been training harder, losing a lot of weight, and stressed beyond all belief.

    I closed my eyes and took another sip of coffee, reminding myself that no matter how much I might wish otherwise, it was always best to be realistic instead of getting your hopes up only to have them dashed a few weekster.

    That had happened to me a lot in the first year of the cabin. Every month, I would wait and pray, only to have my hopes dashed. I figured that it was because I was sleeping with the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse that I couldn''t get pregnant.

    After twelve months of high hopes and crashes, I was no longer going to hope for anything.

    I would save the healer and then go back to my cabin. When I wanted adventure, I could always walk down the hill and kill a few humans.

    But otherwise¡­ I would stop hoping.

    I knew that Wang Chao could hear my thoughts, but the smart man that he was, didn''tment.

    "Now that both of our questions have been answered, onto thetest issue. Who the Hell is Gong Hao Zhi''s wife, and why is she looking for me?"

    -----

    We popped back into the fight club without anyone being any the wiser about our disappearing act. If I had been a bit more of an extrovert, I might have lost my mind. But the idea that I could go days away from everyone only toe back to no one even noticing I was gone was the best feeling ever.

    "We should be ready to open on time in 30 minutes," said Mao Jing, turning around from the bar and looking at us. Liu Yu Zeng waved his hand in acknowledgment but otherwise said nothing.

    "Is it bad that I have no idea what is going on?" I asked, looking around the ce. I mean, I didn''t know if there were any fights lined up or if we should be expecting a full crowd or be mostly empty. I didn''t even know how to run a ce like this.

    Good thing I didn''t have to. The sess or failure of this club was firmly on Mao Jing''s shoulders. All I would do was make sure that there was enough food to keep everyone going long after I left.

    There was amotion at the door, and I could hear men yelling. I narrowed my eyes and looked at Liu Yu Zeng and Chen Zi Han. They nodded their heads and stood up, walking around the booth and to the front door where the noise wasing from.

    The noise died down as soon as my two men approached the group of men trying to force their way into the club. Raising an eyebrow, I looked at Wang Chao. Was this the wife?

    He nodded his head and rolled his eyes. "Sorry about that. I thought she would have been smarter."

    "She has her eyes on Reaper, Ares, and Murder. How smart could she really be?" scoffed Liu Wei. Lifting up his hand, a waiter scurried over to him. Whispering into the other man''s ear, Liu Wei jerked his head to the side, and once again, the waiter rushed away.

    "She wants the bikes?" I asked, my head cocked to the side. "Why not just give them to her?"

    "An excellent question," smiled an innocent woman as she walked toward me. She was wearing a light blue A-line dress that would not have looked out of ce in the 1950s. I would have wondered what she could have been doing in a ce like this if it weren''t for the 15 men following behind her.

 Chapter 475 This Is Me Being Nice

    ?

    "You must be the wife," I said with a smile on my face, matching her own. "Such a pleasure. Which one of these men is your husband?"

    "Unfortunately, after your¡­ husbands¡­ visited mine, he wasn''t feeling well and decided not toe. He sent his men instead," she answered, the corners of her eyes tightening. It had been a while since I could y this particr game with another woman. I wondered how she was with Southern sayings.

    "That''s fine. Spare the rod and spoil the child, right?" I said with a shrug. "Then again, that is the benefit of having four husbands. I never have to go anywhere alone. And I don''t even have to beat them to ensure that they stay by my side."

    "Well, it was two of your¡­ husbands¡­ that beat mine to the point where he could barely walk," she said quickly like she wanted to make sure that everyone around knew who she was cing the me for her husband''s misery on.

    I saw Mao Jinge storming up, an angry look on his face. Holding up my hand, I waited for him topose himself before pointing to where he could stand.

    "nning on adding a fifth one to your harem?" she couldn''t help but sneer.

    "No," I said, shaking my head. "But he is staff and should learn the best way to deal with a difficult customer. Not to mention, I thought you would be asking for a manager at any time, so I thought I would have him handy for you."

    I looked at the men behind her, shifting from side to side as they took in their surroundings. It was clear that they were used to fighting, but this was a fight that they would never win. Then again, I do have zombies in the basement that need to be fed.

    "Now, let''s restart this conversation like civilized women," I said, indicating to the chair across from me. "Would you like to have a seat?"

    I saw her visibly pulling herself back together as her shoulders went back and her chin rose a fraction of an inch. Narrowing my eyes, I continued to watch as she pulled out her own chair and sat down.

    "You did that wrong," I said, studying her. "You should have let one of them do it for you."

    "Why?" she scoffed, setting her purse beside her on the table. "I can do it just fine yourself."

    "That''s the problem. You are doing everything yourself, showing that you have ack of confidence in the men behind you," I exined.

    "I don''t understand what you are saying. If you are trying to turn them against me, that will never happen," she retorted. I watched as she gently ced the soft curls of her hair down either side of her neck.

    " ''Stupidity in a woman is unfeminine,''" I quoted, not at all impressed with her acting. We might actually get along if she would just be smart enough to work with me instead of against me.

    "Excuse me?" she gasped as if I had just called her child ugly. My eyes scanned the men behind her andnded on one who had yet to look away from her.

    "Power, strength, and control are not shown by doing everything yourself," I said, willing for the moment to exin myself. "It is shown by having others do what you can easily do yourself."

    "Well, I beg to differ," she snorted.

    "And that is your prerogative. But I assume that you came here for a reason. What is it?" I asked, wishing I had something to drink. Before I could even finish my thoughts, the waiter from before came back with a bottle of water and a champagne ss filled with something sparkly. He first set the two sses in front of me before cing a ss of amber liquor in front of each one of my guys.

    "Thank you," I said to the waiter, nodding my head in appreciation. I couldn''t drink the alcohol, but I was at least appreciative that he gave me a bottle of water.

    "It''s sparkling apple juice," said Liu Wei as he bent forward to whisper in my ear. "No alcohol, I promise."

    Nodding my head and smiling, I took a small sip of the drink in the tall ss. Realizing that it was, in fact, apple juice, my smile got bigger.

    "You are the best," I said, giving him a quick kiss on his cheek before turning my attention back to the woman. "You were saying?"

    "Aren''t you going to offer us a drink?" she asked, raising her eyebrow at my ss.

    "Well, this is a bar. I thought that if you wanted something to drink, you would have gotten it yourself," I responded with a shrug. If she thought I was going to foot the bill for 16 people, she was batshit crazy.

    "We are your guest," said the woman, whose name I still couldn''t remember.

    "No, you barged into an establishment before it even opened. That makes you a customer. And while a customer might always be right, that doesn''t mean that they don''t have to pay," I pointed out with a smile. "Now, before Ipletely forget what I was going to say¡­ here is a short list. If it were my men who ''beat'' your husband, he would be dead. It is aplete waste of time and energy to beat someone when it is much easier to kill."

    "Next," I said quickly before the second thought could escape my mind. "Who are you?!?"

    There was silence as everyone turned to look at me. I returned their look, not really caring if I had offended any of them. It was not my fault she never introduced herself.

    "I am sure that your husbands have told you," she sneered, her fingers grazing her corbone and the ne sitting there.

    "Nope," I answered with a shake of my head. "They couldn''t remember your name either. But don''t take offense. They never remember another woman''s name."

    "Or at least, that is why they would like you to think," she said, still not telling me her name. I might have toe up with a nickname for her or something. Nah, that involved thinking too much, and I was in a mood today.

    "Name," I blurted out, not caring about her reaction.

    "Hao Jing Ya," she replied, her chin tilting up a bit higher like that name should have rung a bell. Unfortunately, it didn''t.

    "Then, Hao Jing Ya," I started, "Why are you here?" The cushions on the booths would need to be reced. They were really ufortable to sit on after a few minutes.

    Wang Chao, like always, read my mind and picked me up to put me sideways on hisp. I grunted my appreciation. He was a lot morefortable than the cushions, and the way the woman in front of me turned bright red at his actions made it all that much more worth it.

    "You are opening a club in my city," Hao Jing Ya said, straightening up. "And I don''t think I like you enough to let that happen."

    Awe, now there was that bitch I was waiting for. Funny, they never could hide for long.

    And I had a sneaking suspicion as to why she was pulling this crap now rather than before.

    "First, I would like to point out that I am not opening a club. I inherited it from¡ª" I looked at Mao Jing,pletely pulling a nk on the boss'' name before me.

    "Lin Song," he said.

    "I inherited the club from Lin Song," I repeated, turning my attention back to the other woman.

    "And where is he? I need to confirm your story, of course," answered Hao Jing Ya, the smile on her face a little bit strained.

    "I am not sure," I said, looking around. "I think the zombie that ate most of him is in the basement, but I am not sure which one it was. They were pretty good about sharing him."

    "He was eaten by zombies?!?" she screeched. "How is that possible?"

    "Well," I said with a sigh, leaning my head against Wang Chao''s shoulder. "When a zombie gets hungry, her tummy starts to rumble¡­"

    "Shut up!" Hao Jing Ya snapped, the smilepletely gone from her face. I would have to admit that I was a little upset, but that was because I thought that was a superb joke. No one appreciated my sense of humor.

    "This club is not yours. As the head of City I, I see no point in trying toe to a working arrangement between the two of us," she continued, looking in my direction but not at me.

    "I don''t think that you understand exactly what is going on here," I exined with a sigh. "This is me being nice and trying to work with you," I continued, the smile long gone from my face too. "I have no problem with you at this moment. Don''t make me change my mind."

 Chapter 476 Interesting...

    ?

    "I can assure you, I am terrified," said Hao Jing Ya with a sarcastic smile on her face. She stared at me from across the booth''s table at the flight club that I had just taken over like I was nothing but an ant beneath her boot. Ready to be crushed.

    Unfortunately for her, I was not that harmless.

    "It''s okay," I answered, taking a sip of the sparkling apple juice that Liu Wei had ordered for me. "I understand that you are a bit too slow to be terrified, but I will give you a chance to catch up."

    "I don''t understand," she shot back, looking between me and the guys. Her eyes lingered on Wang Chao for a few moments too long. Maybe I should rip out her eyes and add them to our mantle back at the cabin. I am sure that they would make a lovely addition.

    I blinked a couple of times at my thoughts, not overly sure where they hade from. But they weren''t wrong.

    "I know you don''t understand," I said with a sigh as I caught her eyes and stared at her. "But ignorance is not a valid excuse anymore," I continued, raising my eyebrow. "What is mine will always be mine. If you try to take it from me, I will be more than happy to teach you the error of your ways. Hopefully, you will learn for your next life."

    "Ha! Teach me a lesson? Do you know who I am?" demanded Hao Jing Ya softly. She adjusted her skirt, dusting off an invisible piece of lint.

    "I do," I assured her. "You are the head of the city. That should make you the strongest out of everyone who has challenged you so far."

    "Then, if you know that much, then you know that I control everything inside this city. Including your club," she said with a nod, her voice never rising past a pleasant sound. She reminded me of a psychopath. Her emotions were always under her control, and even when she did react to me pressing her buttons and a quick brush of her skirt. Just like that, she was back under control.

    Interesting.

    "The city is yours," I agreed, but my agreement seemed to have set her off again because there was a brief flick of her wrist over her skirt. Wang Chao said that she was a fighting power user, but I was wondering if there wasn''t more to it than that. "But that is only because I am toozy to make it mine."

    "Do you really think that it is that easy? To take my city from me?" she asked softly, a single, perfectly plucked eyebrow raised at me. "Is that because I am a woman and not a man? Because I can assure you¡­ I have managed to defeat everyst man that thought I was too weak to hold it."

    "Which brings me back to my previous point. If you were truly strong, you would not have had to fight the others to keep control of the city. To prove your strength, it is enough to control those that are strong. It would be child''s y for me to take this city from you, and I wouldn''t even have to lift a finger to do it," I replied.

    No one could rule alone. Even those who thought they could quickly learned that they neededpetent people at their side to help them. I had my men to act as my hands and feet. I had zombies obeying my everymand. And if I had to step in even after all that, well, my opponent wouldn''t live long without their me.

    "Impossible," replied Hao Jing Ya, looking at me with apletely different look on her face. Did she now find me as intriguing as I did her?

    "You don''t use your men to the best of their ability. That is going to create resentment¡­ and let''s face it, a man is only as loyal as his options," I said, my gaze once again turning to the man beside Hao Jing Ya. As if he realized that I was watching him, he turned his eyes away from the object of his obsession and to me. "Or his obsessions."

    He slowly blinked and nodded his head, acknowledging what I had said. Yes, he would cheerfully kill for Hao Jing Ya, and yet, she either doesn''t notice him or appreciate his dedication.

    "

    Are you saying that your men are only loyal because they have had no other options presented to them?" purred Hao Jing Ya, staring at Wang Chao. I watched as a ck look descended on the face of the man I had been watching. Yeah¡­ you can lead a horse to water, but you can''t make them drink.

    "Not at all," Iughed, turning my attention back to the woman in front of me. "In fact, there have been more women than I can count throwing themselves at them. And did you know what happened?"

    "You got jealous and killed them?" came the smirking response.

    "Some of them, in the beginning," I admitted,pletelyfortable about admitting my jealousy. I mean, looking back, it was stupid of me to be jealous of strangers, but I was also insecure. Now that I am a bit older and have spent a lot more time with my men, I know that there is nothing to be insecure about.

    "But for the most part, we killed the women that attempted to overstep their bounds," growled Chen Zi Han. I watched as Hao Jing Ya jumped in her chair, startled by his sudden appearance. However, I had known that he and Liu Yu Zeng were just behind her group, waiting and watching for my order.

    "There is no one that could take them away from me," I continued, bringing her attention back to me and not the fact that she was surrounded by my men in my territory. "Not even Death."

    "Not like he would try," smirked Liu Wei as he took a sip of his whiskey. "Not even he is that dumb."

    "What do you want?" asked Hao Jing Ya, leaning back in her chair, the perfect woman slipping away to reveal the true ruler of City I.

    "That is the million-dor question, isn''t it? What do I want," I mused with a smile. Laying my head back down on Wang Chao''s shoulder, I let my mind drift to what I really wanted. But I was also smart enough to know that everything that I wanted could not be given to me by someone else.

    "I want this fight club to be a separate entity inside of City I. The people in here are not under your control; they cane and go as they please, and they can add anyone to the ''employees'' here that they want," I said, telling her in no uncertain terms what I was expecting for my fight club. "And most importantly, no one can take them away without permission from the head."

    "And I assume that this head, is you?" scoffed Hao Jing Ya as she looked down her nose at me.

    "No. I am not nning on staying here any longer than is needed," I replied. "Mao Jing will be the head of this small sanctuary."

    "I won''t share my supplies with them. They will starve in a matter of days," she said, her intentions perfectly clear. She was more than willing to let people starve if it meant keeping them in line. It was a smart strategy. Hungry people were less likely to fight against authority. They had much bigger things to worry about¡­ like food.

    "I will take care of their food," I answered with a wave of my hand. "But only their food."

    "And when you leave? Who is going to enforce your rules?" Hao Jing Ya looked at Mao Jing with narrowed eyes, clearly trying to intimidate the man. However, he still stood tall under her onught,pletely unaffected by her. He was impressing me more every minute.

    "I will have my own security," I answered with a shrug. I could hear my tummy let out a low growl, and I looked up at Wang Chao, a little guilty. They had asked me to take care of myself better, but I kept forgetting to eat.

    "Security? Are you sure that they would be loyal to you? I mean, they are only human, too," chuckled Hao Jin Ya, her eyes on me and Wang Chao. She really needed to stop looking at my man. I took a cookies and cream chocte bar out of my space and started munching on it.

    It wasn''t the healthiest thing to eat, but it was one of the yummier ones.

    "Who said anything about the security being humans?" I asked, confused as I took another bite of sweet, sweet bliss. Swallowing the chocte inside of my mouth, I let out a roar.

    The answering one was enough to cause the woman in front of me to go pale.

    Interesting.

 Chapter 477 Was It You?

    ?

    "You are scared of zombies," I said, staring at Hao Jing Ya as if she were some type of unknown specimen in front of me. The fact that I had spent ten years being terrified of zombies to the point that in my third life, I had nned on being locked away from everything just to avoid zombies never once entered my mind.

    "Any sane person is scared of zombies," she snapped back, never turning her attention away from the basement door where the sound of roaring zombies wasing from.

    "Are you scared of zombies?" I asked, turning to look at Mao Jing. I would fully admit that I might not count as the sanest of beings, so I decided to ask someone else for their opinion.

    "Originally?" asked Mao Jing, standing just on the other side of Liu Wei. "Yes, I was scared of them. However, I am not anymore."

    "Then you are an idiot," snapped Hao Jing Ya. Taking her eyes away from the door, she turned her re back on Mao Jing. The poor man, there was no way he was ever getting into her good graces again. If he was ever there in the first ce.

    "How do you expect to control a city when you don''t control the zombies inside of it?" I asked, cocking my head to the side.

    Hao Jing Ya looked at me as if I was an idiot for even asking that question. "I control the humans, so I control the city."

    "No, you control the humans, so you control only a fraction of the city," I answered quickly. "And let''s face it, the zombies probably take up more than half of the poption as it stands. Alright. Let''s go," I continued, getting off Wang Chao''sp and heading toward the front door.

    "Where are you going. We haven''t settled anything yet," said the woman,ing to her feet. "I demand that you sit back down and discuss this like an adult."

    I was feet from the door, my men following behind me. Even Mao Jing was standing next to the guys, supporting my decision without question. "I am settling this like an adult. You are going to get your ass out there, fight the zombie, and I will make a deal with whoever wins."

    It made the most sense in my head. There was no point in making a deal with someone who only had a fraction of the power. It was like putting out a small campfire when there was a forest fireing up behind you.

    Besides, I promised Daisy that I would deal with the male Alpha so that she and the others could go outside without fear.

    Might as well kill two birds with one stone.

    "I''m sorry¡­ what did you say?!?" demanded Hao Jin Ya,ing to her feet.

    "I said, you and the Alpha are going to fight. Then, I will deal with the winner. I am tired of wasting my time, and this made the most sense," I answered with a shrug of my shoulders. I didn''t want to throw her over my shoulder to get her out of the club, but I would if I had to.

    I was on a tight schedule and she was definitely not helping.

    "You can''t be serious!" she screeched¡­pletely losing her calm.

    "I can, and I am. Now, do you want to walk out of this building like the proper head of the human city, or am I going to have to carry your ass out of here? Because either way, you are leaving and fighting a zombie."

    Her follower stepped in front of me, ready to defend the object of his obsession. While I could appreciate that gesture, my men really couldn''t.

    Chen Zi Han slid forward between me and the unknown man, a knife already in his hand. "If you value your life, you will take a few steps back and not go near my wife again," he growled, his voice low.

    "Liao Shun Yuan," snapped Hao Jing Ya, bringing her minion back to heel. Without a word, Liao Shun Yuan turned around and went back to her side withoutint. It really was a sin that the woman didn''t understand the power that she wielded over that man.

    I watched Hao Jing Ya thinking for a few moments, surrounded by her men. I could practically read her mind as she thought about the pros and cons of following me. Hell, I could even see her smirk when she thought about throwing me to the zombie and saving herself the headache of dealing with me.

    I should be insulted, but instead, I just found it funny.

    "Are youing?" I asked once I saw that she had reached a decision. She nodded her head in response, and I turned around and headed out the door and down the Joker hallway until we reached the outside. It took me a moment, but I quickly realized that this was the first time I had been out of the club since the blowup with the original boss.

    For me, it felt like days had passed, but when I actually thought about it, I realized that it had only been a matter of hours in the real world.

    Stepping past the entrance, I ignored the long lineup of people waiting for the club to open. At least, that was one less thing to worry about. However, in my annoyance andck of understanding of how time worked, I realized that I had sent everything in motion at night, in the pitch ck.

    Yeah, I was an idiot.

    I turned to Mao Jing, who was walking beside Liu Wei. "If you want to go and supervise the club, that is fine," I said, giving him an out. I was not in the habit of making life difficult for one of my people. Just the frustrating ones.

    "Oh, so now you know to be scared," sneered Hao Jing Ya as she came to a stop beside me. "Trying to save your favorite one?"

    "No," I said with a sigh. "But I do know how to read lines, and that one is telling me that the club is going to be busy tonight," I continued with a tight smile, pointing to the lineup that was now around the block. I really should start charging admission.

    "He stays," she snapped, brushing past me and walking down the street. I raised my eyebrow at her back and let out a bark ofughter. No one was going to tell me what I could or could not do with one of my people.

    "Do you want to stay ore with us? The choice is yours," I said, looking over my shoulder at Mao Jing.

    "I stay with you," he replied with a stead nod of his head.

    "Understood. Stay between Wang Chao and Liu Wei, and you will be fine," I advised him before leisurely following the head of the city down a darkened street lit only by the full moon. I had no idea where she was going, but I could only assume that she did.

    We continued walking down the street for another ten minutes before we got to an area that waspletely deserted. There were row upon row of warehouses on either side of the street, their chain link gates firmly closed.

    "This is where they stay," said Hao Jing Ya as she waved her hand to show off the buildings. "If you take one more step forward, it will call them to you, and you will not get out alive."

    "I have a better way of calling them," I said with a smile. But first things first.

    "Chen Zi Han, some light, please," I said, not looking at the man. All of a sudden, the bright glow of a mini sun shone down upon us, lighting up the area. Hao Jing Ya looked startled at the strength and power that it took to be able to pull off something like that, as if it was nothing.

    "Now that I can actually see," I said right before I tipped back my head and let out a roar of challenge.

    Hao Jing Ya''s men shifted back and forth as streams of zombies filed out of the doors of the warehouses around us. There must have been hundreds, if not thousands, of zombies in front of us. No wonder it was so easy for Hao Jing Ya to take over the city. There was probably no human left. Or at least very few.

    "What the fuck do you think you are doing?" demanded Hao Jing Ya as she spun around and confronted me. "Are you trying to get us all killed? Is that your master n? You are sick of your life, so you want to end ours too?"

    "Oh, get over yourself," I grumbled, not at all impressed with her exaggeration. "If anyone was going to die, I can promise you, it wouldn''t be on my side."

    "Who challenges me?" came a low grumble as a giant of a zombie cut through the horde to approach us. "Was it you?"

 Chapter 478 Not Her. You

    ?

    He stared at Hao Jing Ya as he asked his question,ing to a stop a hand''s width away from us. "Did you challenge me?"

    I watched as Hao Jing Ya''s eyes widened in fear, her face turning white. Frantically shaking her head, she turned toward me and pointed a shaking finger in my direction.

    "It wasn''t me¡­ it was her," she said,pletely throwing me under the bus before retreating back into the line of her men.

    I scoffed at that. The fact that she thought she was going to reap the benefits of a fight between me and the Alpha wasughable.

    "She powerful," said the zombie Alpha, turning to look at me. "But you. You, I no tell."

    "You can tell the power levels of someone?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. I wondered if that was a survival tactic that he developed. Kind of like animals instinctively knowing who was higher on the food chain. Or under them.

    "Not you," answered the zombie, shaking his head. "Not them," he continued, nodding to my men. He paused for a second, hisrge head cocked to the side as if it was going to fall off. "Him strong too."

    "I am not a power user," denied Mao Jing, raising his hands to protest his innocence.

    "That doesn''t mean that you can''t be one," I said with a shrug of my shoulders. Unless he was Asymptomatic, then he had to have a power of some kind buried deep down inside of him.

    "Why challenge?" asked the zombie before Mao Jing could respond to myment.

    "Because she is iming that she is the head of the city," I answered him with a shrug of my shoulders. He snorted in disbelief and turned his full attention to Hao Jing Ya. It was probably a good thing that she was not an Earth power user because she might have been swallowed up by it, never to be seen again.

    "This no yours," growled the Alpha as he took a step toward the terrified woman.

    "No, it''s not hers," I agreed with him. "However, it''s not yours either. At least not until we have reached an understanding."

    At my statement, the Alpha swung his attention back to me, giving Hao Jing Ya a chance to get herself back together and make sure she didn''t just pee herself just then.

    "City mine. I control zombies. More zombies than humans. City mine," he said, almost enunciating each word just so that there could be no misunderstandings on my part. Sweet of him.

    "No," I said, just as slowly and precisely as him. "I have zombies at my club that are too terrified of you to step foot outside its doors. You do not control all zombies. I, on the other hand, control both zombies and humans."

    "You have zombies locked up? I kill you," growled the Alpha, this time trying his best to intimidate me. Unfortunately for him, none of my men were having it. As if one, the four of them stood between me and the Alpha.

    "Why are the females so scared of you?" I demanded, not caring about city rights, Hao Jing Ya, or even the Alpha himself at this moment. My deal with Daisy was to make it safe for her to go out and hunt, and I would make damn sure that that happened.

    "No should be scared. I protect females inside of homes," answered the Alpha, swinging his arm to indicate the warehouses behind him. This was the first time that I had noticed that everyst zombie in front of me was male. Looking up at the buildings, I could see more zombies in the window, probably the females.

    "Protect from what?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at the zombie that towered over me.

    "Humans," he hissed, his gaze darting to the men in Hao Jing Ya''s group. "Humans try to kill us. Females not safe. Need females safe."

    "All right," I said, getting a glimpse of the bigger picture. "I understand where you areing from, but not all of the females want to be locked up. You cannot do that and have them be happy."

    "I Alpha, I make decision. Happy or sad. More important to be alive."

    You know, it was really hard to argue with someone, or something, that just wanted what was best for their family. However, there was a very fine line between protector and tyrant. "What can I do for you to let the females out? Or at least not force the ones that are out toe back?"

    The zombie cocked his head to the side, his wide, gaping mouth open as he thought about my statement. "Get rid of all humans."

    "Then what would you eat?" Iughed. I could hear the men around Hao Jing Ya shift their weight. Unfortunately, if I could hear it, so could the zombies.

    As if one, the entire horde turned their attention on the men that seemed to present a threat.

    With all the attention on them, the men got ever more agitated, some reaching for the guns at their waists while others pulled out knives. It was no wonder that there were so few humans in the city when they were this stupid.

    "I am not saving you," I pointed out, not bothering to look at them anymore. "If you decide to do something stupid, that is on you."

    "Excuse me?" hissed Hao Jing Ya, her fearpletely gone. "My men have the right to defend themselves."

    "And yet, no one is attacking them," I pointed out. There was a big difference between being ufortable and being attacked. If they wanted to start a fight between the two groups, well, that was a big part of me being here, now wasn''t it?

    "They are zombies," she shot back, her eyes scanning the sea of blue and purple monsters in front of her.

    "And you are humans," I pointed out. "As far as I am concerned, you pose the much bigger threat. At least you know where you stand with a zombie."

    "Food," shrugged the Alpha, interjecting into the conversation. As soon as he spoke, Hao Jing Ya turned pale and stepped back into the protection of her men.

    "And yet, your food is running out," I pointed out the biggest issue.

    The Alpha grunted, his pin-prick eyes narrowing in displeasure.

    "So how do we fix this?" I asked, looking between the human and the zombie. "At the end of the day, all I care about is my girls being about to leave the club and being able to hunt without you trying to lock them up."

    "You are human too; you are supposed to be on my side," snapped Hao Jing Ya, full of piss and vinegar, until the zombies turned to look at her.

    "And that is your biggest mistake," I told her. "I am not on your side. I am not on his side, either. I only care about me and mine. And that doesn''t include either one of you." I sighed, raising my hand to try and rub the pain in my forehead away.

    "You," I said, turning my full attention to the woman that was trying to disappear. "If you want to be the head of the city. You need to fight him. This city will either be a human sanctuary or a zombie-run city based on the oue."

    "You," I continued, this time turning to the zombie. "You can make this a zombie-run city all you want. But if you mess with my humans or zombies, I will kill you and take your position as Alpha. Have I made myself clear? If you do not like that idea, I suggest that you make your way to the water. The others of your kind seem to thrive there, and the humans stay away."

    "Water?" asked the Alpha, cocking his head to the side. "Enough territory?"

    "No idea," I answered with a shrug. I haven''t talked to Beta for years now, so I had no idea what was actually happening underwater. But seeing as the link between us was alive and well, I could only assume that he was, too. "But I have a Beta in the waters who might let you join."

    "Alpha under Beta?" he sneered, clearly not impressed.

    "I am his Alpha," I responded, my lip curling up into a sneer of my own. Beta was mine, and I would not let some Alpha think less of him because of that. If it wasn''t for me, Beta would have been one of the strongest Alpha. Unfortunately for him, he met me.

    And so did this one.

    "Human Alpha to zombie?" asked the zombie, once again cocking his head to the side.

    "Yeah," I answered, not too sure how many zombies were under me right now. But one more or less wouldn''t matter much. "But I am on a time limit. So what is it going to be?"

    "We fight," said the zombie, pulling his shoulders back and holding his head up. I swept my arm to the side, indicating Hao Jing Ya, but the Alpha only shook his head.

    "Not her. You."

 Chapter 479 Time For A Demonstration

    ?

    "Me?" I asked, feeling my men stiffen from where they stood behind me. "I don''t think that you want to do that," I continued with a sigh.

    "Why? Sacred that...it¡­ might win?" sneered Hao Jing Ya, the smirk on her face just begging for me to p it off.

    "It has been years since a zombie managed to take its chunk of flesh from my body, and even then, it didn''t live long enough to enjoy it," I assured her, a sneer of my own on my face. My mind went through all of the different solutions to this problem until Inded on one perfect one.

    "Mao Jing. You will need to find someone else to be the manager of the fight club," I said to him, never taking my attention away from the zombie Alpha in front of me.

    "But¡ª" he stuttered, looking between me and my men, not knowing what was going on.

    "You are going to be the Alpha of City I for both the human and the zombie poption," I exined. It was the only conclusion that I coulde up with on such a short notice. I was not hanging around here to look after yet another city. Not when I had a Reaver camp to deal with.

    And, let''s face it, Hao Jing Ya was not worthy of controlling the entire city. In fact, she would be lucky to make it out of here alive if my men had any say in the matter.

    At my words, both the Alpha and Hao Jing Ya looked at me, startled. "I think you are getting a bit ahead of yourself right now," said Hao Jing Ya. The Alpha grunted in amusement.

    "Why? Do you really think that this is my first dominance battle? Hardly," I scoffed. "And you are the weakest zombie I have faced yet. Now. Are you going to submit or die?"

    "I no submit," growled the zombie as he rotated his giant head around his stick-thin neck. I wondered how much force it would take to snap something like that. Maybe I should do an experiment. After all, it''s not like he wouldn''t heal in seconds.

    "Understood," I said right before I tilted back my head and issued a formal Alpha challenge.

    "Sweetheart," said Liu Wei, holding out his hand to the Alpha to not answer me. "I understand that you will kick his ass and probably feast on his soul. However, I would like to maybe suggest that you step back and let one of us handle the challenge."

    "I am not pregnant," I responded with a sigh. I didn''t want to say the words outright, but this was getting ridiculous.

    Don''t get me wrong¡­ their worry meant everything to me and made me realize just how much they wanted me to be pregnant, but if wishes were horses and all that.

    "Did you start today?" asked Liu Yu Zeng,ing up to my other side. Everything else around us was ignored.

    "It is hard to say. Her period could technically start at any point in time; however, she has not asked for chocte once. She hasn''t started," chimed in Chen Zi Han.

    I would like to take this time to say that I really love my men. I love how much of a priority that they make me. I love how much they care about me, not because they have to, but because they want to¡­ however, there was a time and a ce for this conversation, and this was not it.

    "No, I have not started¡ª" I began, only to be cut off by Liu Wei again.

    "And since that is the case, let''s err on the side of caution and not have you fighting irrelevant battles," he said, cing a hand on my arm and around my waist, trying to gently turn me around.

    "Irrelevant battles?" screeched Hao Jing Ya. "She was the one that wanted this fight in the first ce."

    "No, she wanted you two to fight to determine who would be the ultimate ruler of the city, making things easier for everyone all around. You are the one that was too much of a pussy to actually fight the zombie Alpha and threw my wife under the bus instead," snarled Liu Yu Zeng, turning his rage to the woman that deserved it.

    He was stressed and more than a little anxious. I could understand where they wereing from. It wasn''t like we could just go to a corner store and confirm things one way or the other. And none of us were doctors or had ess to ultrasounds. But¡ª

    "I would like it noted that I take offense with the fact that you called her a pussy as a term of insult," I pointed out, leaning against Liu Wei, enjoying the show. This wasn''t where I saw myself when I woke up this morning, but that was one of the benefits of the end of the world. Every day was a surprise.

    "I am sorry. You know that I worship at the altar of your pussy. But you are right. I shouldn''t have insulted it byparing it to her," smirked Liu Yu Zeng, briefly looking over his shoulder at me before turning his attention to the woman in front of him.

    Wang Chao walked up beside him and patted his shoulder before turning his attention to the zombie Alpha in front. "Personally speaking, none of us really care what you guys do when we leave. And we will be leaving soon. However, our wife has decided that there needs to be a small sanctuary in the middle of this city for her people. We are willing to do whatever it takes to make that happen, including leveling this city to the ground so that the only beings to survive belong to her."

    He turned to Hao Jing Ya, who was practically panting under his attention. Yeah, she was going to have to die.

    "What is your choice?" asked Wang Chao, his mouth twisted into a snarl as he turned away from the other woman and back to the Alpha.

    "I no understand," answered the Alpha looking between me and Wang Chao. I shrugged my shoulders, notmenting. My men were taking the lead, and I was not going to p them down in public because of it. Besides, it''s not like he was wrong. The club is going to be a test of sorts about how the country as a whole will be run.

    If humans and zombies could learn to live side by side, then once my goal has beenpleted, I will ensure that happens before I go back to the mountain.

    If they can''t¡­ well then, I''ll have to pick a side.

    "Will you submit and work with Mao Jing, or will we kill all of your horde?" spelled out Wang Chao. Hao Jing Ya let out a low giggle of happiness, probably thinking that Wang Chao was taking her side.

    "If he chooses death, you and your men will die with him, and we will just reset the city," finished Wang Chao with a snort. "So, choose."

    "I choose challenge," growled the zombie, sprinting toward Wang Chao in a surprise attack. However, not much ever seemed to surprise that man anymore. Reaching out his hand in a very Jedi move, he froze the Alpha mid-step. The zombie looked around frantically as Wang Chao lifted up his arm, causing the zombie to lift up from the ground.

    "I have discovered that people think in a very one-dimensional way when ites to the powers that we develop," mused Wang Chao, twisting his hand around, causing the zombie to spin slowly like a top. "Most think that if you are a spirit user, it is all about the mind¡­ mental maniption, mind reading, that sort of thing."

    He started to rotate his hand in the other direction, and the zombie,plexly powerless, moved with him. I think that this is the first time I have ever seen a zombie that petrified. Not even Liu Yu Zeng has managed to scare a zombie like this before.

    "But my oh-so-smart wife once pointed out that our powers were like a muscle. And that got me thinking. If you use the muscle just enough to maintain it, then, of course, you are going to maintain your power exactly as it was. But if we use a bodybuilder''s analogy and keep exercising and exercising the connecting muscles, then who knows just what kind of power you will have at the end of the day."

    "Kind of like if you want to work out your legs, you need to work out each muscle separately in order to have a more well-rounded development in your legs?" asked Mao Jing,pletely entranced by what he was hearing.

    He had watched fire users show off their powers, more often than not, to intimidate the people around them, but even the best one could only create a me the size of their hand. It was nothing like the me currently overhead, lighting up the night as if it were daytime.

    "Exactly," nodded Wang Chao, pleased that someone was smart enough to understand what he was saying.

 Chapter 480 Circle Of Life

    ?

    Wu Bai Hee stared out past her balcony window, watching the people scurrying around like rats in a sewer. It was already evening, and yet the streets were lined with lit fires, illuminating the shadows. It gave her the perfect lighting to watch the people trying to get home before curfew.

    More than a few people looked up to the darkness of her balcony. She knew that she was practically invisible, blending in with the night. However, that didn''t stop them from bowing in her direction, grateful for her very existence.

    It amazed her just how easy it was to manipte people as a whole, even without her powers.

    Each and every one of those¡­ people¡­ wanted only one thing. They wanted someone toe along and tell them that they had the answer to all of their problems, that if they just did as they were told, all of their hardships would go away, and life would be happy and easy.

    In short, people needed to be ruled, and she was the perfect one to do it.

    "You are thinking so hard that I could hear you from my ce," smirked Demeter, appearing behind Wu Bai He.

    "Hardly. What do I have to think about?" replied Wu Bai Hee, unconsciously rubbing her belly. She hadn''t popped yet, but she couldn''t seem to help herself.

    "World domination perhaps?" joked the Goddess, looking down on the mere mortals. They had no idea that there was a goddess amongst them. She wondered what their reaction would be if they realized that all of their myths and legends were true.

    "I am supposed to be the kind and gentle female main character that everyone either wants or wants to be. How could I possibly think about world domination?" asked Wu Bai Hee, an innocent look on her face.

    Demeter let out a bark ofughter as she looked at the woman she had chosen. "Do you know the difference between being the heroine or the viin?"

    "The viin is hated by all?"

    "No," smirked Demeter with a shake of her head. A crisp breeze gently kissed her skin, weing her. This was her season, spring. When everything was given a second chance at life to make of it what they could before they died away in the harshness of winter. "Perspective," she continued, letting out a gentle breath and watching as buds on a nearby nt started to grow.

    "I don''t understand," said Wu Bai Hee, turning to look at the woman beside her in confusion.

    "A heroine is loved by all because everyone wants to love her. Even when she fucks up, people will always be quick to offer her an excuse. ''She''s stressed, under pressure, that is why she yelled at us like she did. We should be more considerate and help take some of that stress from her.'' Sound familiar?"ughed Demeter as she turned her attention back to the people huddled around a dying fire, trying to get everyst bit of warmth from it.

    "In contrast, a viin is a viin because people hate her. No matter what she does, she will always be hated for her actions or herck of them. She could be the nicest person in the world, and people will still treat her like a viin just because they just don''t like her. Think about it. How many times has a sweet, gentle heroinee and steal a man away from another woman? And in each case, she is in the right, and the one that lost everything is the viin because she objected."

    "Why are you telling me this?" demanded Wu Bai Hee as she felt a headache start behind her temple. She hated everything about this ce. The smell, the food, the people, everything. She had assumed that because she was in City A, the best city in the whole country, that the apocalypse would be different.

    But it wasn''t. It was just¡­ polished.

    Instead of dark, dirty streets, they were cleaned. But there were still people dying on them. She watched an older man lying helpless in front of a doorway. Even from her height, she could see his trembling as he fought to take one breath after another. He pulled his threadbare nket up over his thin shoulder, trying to keep out the cold breeze.

    "If he looks familiar, he should," said Demeter, following Wu Bai Hee''s line of sight. She chose not to answer the other woman''s question. She would understand fast enough if she kept along this path.

    The mortal raised her brow, not recognizing the man at all.

    "He is your ''father''. The one that brought you here and kept you alive on your journey," continued Demeter, not at all upset with the fact that she was watching someone die. It was the circle of life, and everyone and everything went through it. "Do you want to know what he is thinking?"

    "Something tells me that even if I didn''t, you would be telling it to me anyways," tisked Wu Bai Hee, turning her gaze away from the man and continuing to look around.

    "You know me so well," smirked the Goddess. "He is happy that you are doing so well here. He doesn''t even care that he is dying and you are nowhere to be found. In fact, that is what is making him the happiest. That you are so well off that you don''t need him to protect you anymore."

    Wu Bai Hee let out a bark ofughter and turned her attention back to the old man. "He served his purpose. There is no point in extending his pathetic existence."

    "And that, my dear, is perspective," said Demeter as she disappeared just as suddenly as she appeared, leaving the other woman alone on the balcony as the man breathed hisst breath.

    "Well, fuck. Now I am going to have to pretend to be sad," grumbled Wu Bai Hee, spinning around on her heels and going back into her condo. Faking tears always left her with a headache, and she was not in the mood to deal with that right now.

    -------

    Wang Tian Mu fought back the scream as she was pulled out of her cage by her hair. She knew it was pointless to fight back or try to get them to let go of her; experience taught her to just let her body go rx so that it wouldn''t hurt as much.

    "Heal him," growled the Reaver who was pulling her. He flung her toward a being thaty unconscious in the middle of the pit. The darkness prevented her from knowing who it was that she was supposed to heal, but that didn''t matter to her. Everyone deserved to be healed, or at the very least, not in pain.

    After all these months, she was well aware that not all wounds could be healed. Sometimes, it was all she could do to take away the pain and hold them in her arms so they would know that they weren''t alone when they took theirst breath.

    She heard the Reaver walk away, but he was not the one she was focused on. "Oh, Rip," she gasped softly as she ran her hands all over the giant''s body. She could feel the wetness on her fingers, the sticky consistency of blood. Sharp bones protruded from his arm, leg, and chest from where they were snapped in two.

    "Don''t," Rip gasped, trying to move to prevent her from healing him. "You''ll hurt."

    "You don''t think I am not hurting seeing you like this?" she demanded, a harsh bark ofughter squeezed out of her.

    "You need your strength for yourself. I will heal on my own in a few hours," argued Rip as he finally seeded in rolling over onto his back. "Come cuddle," he continued, holding out his unbroken arm so that she couldy down beside him.

    She wormed her way over until she was pressed up against his side, her hand over his heart, reassuring herself that it still beat. After her fianc¨¦ died, she thought she could never love again, but then she met Rip. He was the reason why she woke up every day, the light in her very dark world.

    She felt his body moving under her as it started to put itself back together, his bones snapping back into ce.

    "Are you going to tell me what happened?" she asked, resting her head against his chest as she pushed a bit of healing energy into his heart.

    "Same old, same old," said Rip, looking up into the night sky. He bit his tongue, refusing to admit to the fact that he thought that this was going to be the end. Hisst thought before he lost consciousness was what was she going to do if he didn''t wake up.

    Luckily for him, the scientists managed to keep what worked in him, and his ability to regenerate was as good as any zombie''s. It just took longer.

    "Rip," warned Wang Tian Mu, gently pping his chest.

    "It was a ten-on-one fight," he answered her. He would always give her everything that he could, even if he didn''t like it. "And unfortunately for me, the odds were not in my favor."

 Chapter 481 Submission

    ?

    Wang Chao studied the zombie Alpha in his grasp. He hadn''t expected this to work as well as it had. He had been practicing his telepathic abilities one day in the mountains and identally discovered that he could levitate things just by thinking about it.

    He lightly snorted when he remembered the outraged mountain goat when it realized that it was suspended in the air. That was the moment that Li Dai Lu''s words from a long time ago echoed in his mind. She had told him that there was a wide range of powers under the umbre of a spirit power user.

    She said that she had known some users to have control over telepathy, mind control, telekinesis, hypnosis, teleportation, levitation, vocalmands, and the ability to read minds. However, she also pointed out that she had never met a spirit user who could manipte more than one aspect of their power.

    Wang Chao was happy to be proof that people just stopped pushing themselves after realizing that they could do one thing. He was able to do all eight.

    "I used to consider myself one of the weakest," said Wang Chao out loud as he pulled the zombie closer to him. He studied the being, his light purple skin with darker veins just underneath the surface. He could even see the serrated edges on his teeth as his mouth hung open, trying to bite anything that he could.

    "And I will fully admit that I am," he continued, seeming to have a one-on-one conversation with his captive audience. "See, one of them can poison anyone or anything in his way."

    The Alpha opened his mouth but simply ended up gasping for air. Wang Chao nodded his head in agreement. "I know it seems impossible, but he is just that good. Which really bothers me because, in my mind, that makes him the strongest. There is no limit to his gift."

    Letting out a tired sigh, Wang Chao twisted his wrist, and once again, the zombie started spinning like a ballet dancer. "There is another one that just has to think about it, and people drop down dead. Like the first one, he doesn''t even have to be near them, and they just die. If you can''t tell, those two are bothers."

    Wang Chao stopped the zombie from spinning and raised him up higher into the air. "The third one is able to leech the vitality out of a group of people, just like sipping a drink up through a straw. One moment, they are whole and healthy; the next moment, they are a shriveled husk. He controls three different elements, lucky bastard. Now, don''t get me wrong, each of us has three different powers, but we tend to gravitate to only one while the other two are more of a backup."

    Flicking his wrist to the right, he watched the zombie go flying in that direction, almost crashing into a warehouse before Wang Chao stopped his momentum. A quick gesture to the left and the zombie was back in front of him, still helpless.

    "Now, I am sure that this is all impressive to you, everything that I can do. However, for the most part, I can''t kill people as effectively as the other three. This is what makes me weak, in my opinion. I can suggest that you fight amongst yourselves," said Wang Chao, rotating the Alpha so he could watch his horde start to fight each other with everything that they had.

    "But when ites to zombies, all this does is cause you to multiply. I can stop time," continued Wang Chao, and the horde froze. Even the limbs that were casually tossed into the air froze at hismand. "But at some point in time, it goes back to the way it was."

    The zombies regained their movement and continued to fight each other. "Like I said, I am weak. I can cause war and chaos, but not death," Wang Chao shook his head. He took a quick internal nce to see if keeping the zombie suspended was draining his powers too much. This was the first time he had really had ess to a ''subject'' as big as the zombies to test out his skills.

    "And if I am the weakest link, then would my Queen still want me around? I mean, I fucked up a lot, I am still making up for all of that, but maybe if I had a different power, I could be more useful. What do you think? Do you have any suggestions?" joked Wang Chao, but only he knew how much it was killing him inside to be the weakest.

    It was no wonder War had such a massive chip on his shoulder, constantly trying to prove himself. And it was no wonder why he had to drag the other three with him. Death followed him. He was not Death.

    The zombie opened his mouth, but he was still unable to say anything.

    However, Wang Chao understood. "You surrender? Yes, that is probably for the best," nodded the second Horseman. Slowly putting the zombie down, he waited for him to collect his bearings beforepletely letting him go. "Mao Jing will be the one in charge of the city from now on. If you have any issues orints, you can go talk to him."

    The Alpha nodded his head and took a few slow, unsteady steps toward Mao Jing.

    "Need food," he gasped, finally finding his voice again. "Hungry."

    Mao Jing nodded his head in understanding. "I will see what I can do," he grunted, his mind now racing to see what he coulde up with. It wasn''t that he was squeamish about throwing humans to the zombies; God knows that there are enough of them more than willing to do it in exchange, but he needed to find something sustainable.

    "We are about an hour and a half to the coast," interjected Li Dai Lu, one man on each side, as she approached the zombie and human. "Send half of your horde there to eat. The water feeds you better than humans can."

    "Not our territory," growled the Alpha, not happy with that response. Wang Chao watched as his wife closed her eyes and sighed. There was a brief moment of silence before she opened her eyes again.

    "It is now. You fall under mymand. Beta will be waiting for your horde at the shore and show them how to hunt underwater. Maybe they can even bring something back," she continued like it was not a big deal, but Wang Chao knew otherwise.

    How much power did she wield that she couldmand zombies on a whim? Then again, she was Hades reborn, so that would make sense. And she wasn''t even at full power yet.

    "No!" growled Hao Jing Ya, storming over to where everyone else stood, no longer as fearful of the zombies as she first was. Or maybe she was so pissed that she forgot to be scared.

    "Excuse me?" asked Li Dai Lu softly, and Wang Chao joined his brothers in standing behind her.

    "Mao Jing is nothing more than some rich brat that was kicked out by his father. He will never be in control of this city. This city is mine," continued Hao Jing Ya, the harmless mask on her face long crumbling away.

    "No, it''s not," argued Li Dai Lu, not at all concerned about the other woman''s temper tantrum. "This fight was to determine who would gain control of the city, or did you forget that small fact?"

    "If that is the case, then Wang Chao needs to be the one to run it," smirked Hao Jing Ya as if Li Dai Lu fell into her trap. The poor woman had no idea who she was messing with.

    "I see," nodded Li Dai Lu, taking a step toward the other woman. It took all of Wang Chao''s control not to reach out and bring her back into the safety of her men. Looking beside him, he noticed that Liu Wei was having the same issue. "You want him to stay and takeplete control of the city."

    "He was the one that won the fight," pointed out Hao Jing Ya. She turned to look at the zombie in question as if he would back her up. Luckily for him, he was smart enough to keep his mouth shut. If it was the weak one that he was dealing with before, there was no way he wanted to see the powers of the other three men. Let alone the woman who held their leash.

    "You are right," nodded Li Dai Lu. "ording to the challenge rules, Wang Chao is the new Alpha. Do you submit to him?" she continued a smile that was not a smile on her face. In fact, every male there could feel just how pissed off she was getting.

    Hao Jing Ya, on the other hand, didn''t seem to understand what was going on.

    "And he will need me by his side to learn the ropes. City I is not like the rest of them; it will take him a while to understand the differences."

 Chapter 482 Bad Times Donâ€™t Last, But Bad Guys Do

    ?

    I stared at the woman in front of me, who seemed to have a death wish. Was it really too hard for her to understand that Wang Chao was mine? That he was not someone that could be coveted by someone like her?

    I took in a deep breath. I was trying not to kill so many people, but they were really making it really hard to justify keeping them alive.

    "Wang Chao, I challenge you for the head of City A. Fight or submit?" I asked, not bothering to turn and look at the man behind me. Instead, my gaze stayed fixed on the woman smirking in front of me.

    The man in question left his ce and walked in front of me. Standing beside the other woman, he dropped to his knee and bowed his head. "I submit," he said, not even hesitating for a second. I could hear movement off to the side as the horde of hundreds of zombies dropped to their knees, their heads bowed as they looked at me.

    "Submit," growled the Alpha, his posture the same as the others. I nodded my head in approval.

    "Hao Jing Ya, I challenge you as head of the human faction of City I. Fight or submit?" I continued; it was getting well past my bedtime, and I wanted to get some sleep. Not to mention, I needed to get back to the club to see what happened there, too. If the recruiter had been there while I was dealing with this bullshit, I was going to be¡­ unhappy.

    "Fight!" she yelled just as she lunged at me. With a flick of my wrist, I surrounded her in a vortex of purple mes. They weren''t close enough to hurt her, but she could definitely feel their heat. She looked around in wide-eyed panic as it quickly sunk in that I was not going to be fighting her blow for blow.

    Anyone stupid enough to take on a fighting power user on their own terms deserved the beating they got.

    "I submit!" she screamed as a few of the mes licked her tender skin. She was no longer looking as put together as she did when she first entered my club. In fact, she looked like Hell warmed over right about now.

    "Alpha," I called out to the zombie, not sure what else I should call him. "Your horde can have her men," I continued, my eyes ncing over to where Wang Chao was literally holding one of the men by his neck, snarling at him. "You are wee to her."

    Never suffer a fool to live.

    I watched as the zombies descended upon the few men that were brought with her. They would still need to go to the water to feed, but at least it was enough to take the edge off. I felt Alpha approach me and stop in front of the purple mes, not daring to go any further. And this was proof that zombies were much smarter than humans were any day of the week.

    I dropped the mes, and the zombie Alpha descended upon Hao Jing Ya like a starving man. Or zombie. She didn''t even have a chance to catch her breath before the zombie ripped a massive chunk out of her throat. The poor thing must have been starving if he wasn''t even bothering to y with his food.

    "You will follow Mao Jing as if it was me, do you understand?" I demanded as I watched the defeated Alpha gulping down his food. He stopped long enough to turn and look at me, a piece of intestines hanging from between his teeth. Quickly wiping the blood and flesh from his mouth, he stood up, leaving Hao Jing Ya to slowly bleed out.

    "I serve you," he said with a bow of his head. "Mao Jing serves you. We serve together for humans and zombies."

    Well, I guess I really couldn''t ask for anything more than that.

    I nodded my head, content with the resolution. "If you need to speak to me quickly, find Beta in the water, and he can pass on the message."

    The Alpha paused for a moment before shaking his head. "No want. Want link," he said as he stepped on Hao Jing Ya''s extended hand. I wasn''t sure if she was trying to reach out for help or was trying to escape, but either way, she was shit out of luck.

    "Are you sure about that?" I asked, raising my eyebrows in surprise. I forced the link on Beta because I couldn''t trust him in the water, but now Alpha wanted it. Even asked for it.

    "I want link," he assured me, staring straight into my eyes with his own. "Need link."

    "Understood," I said with a shrug of my shoulders. Pulling out a small purple me from within my center, I quickly found his own me. Merging the two mes was much simpler now that I had done it before, and very soon, I had an eggnt purple zombie standing in front of me.

    "Thank you," he breathed out, and I could hear the smoothness of his words. "I will represent the zombies of City I and make sure that theyply with all of your orders." He continued, standing up straighter.

    Cracking his monstrous head back and forth, he smiled at me. "Don''t fuck this up," I warned him. "Don''t get killed, and for fuck sake, don''t let anything happen to my people."

    "Your humans?" he asked, raising an eyebrow and looking at Mao Jing. "There is more than one?" I watched as the bond between us strengthened, allowing Alpha to be able to stand still as he spoke to me.

    "I have more than one," I assured him. "And more than a few zombies, too."

    "Females," he grunted, remembering what brought all this about. "I remember."

    "Nothing is to happen to them," I stressed, staring down the zombie that was at least a foot taller than me. Chen Zi Han''s fire still continued to burn brightly, lighting up the area.

    "Understood," grunted the zombie as he raised his foot and stomped down on Hao Jing Ya''s back, preventing her from moving another inch. "I need to meet with them," he continued as he leaned down and ripped off the arm that had been reaching toward me.

    I nodded my head, not at all concerned with the fact that he was eating a severed limb in front of me. I mean, people eat turkey legs out in public all the time. Was this really that much different? "Fine," I agreed, thinking about when the best time would be to do that. "Tomorrow morning," I continued. I didn''t want to deal with humans freaking out over an Alpha in the club. It might affect the profits.

    "Done," he grunted, picking a piece of flesh from between his front teeth.

    Letting out a sharp whistle, my men and Mao Jing came over. "Let''s head back to the club," I said, stifling a yawn. "I want to know if the recruiter was by tonight."

    "He won''t be," said Mao Jing out of the blue, causing the rest of us to turn around and look at him. The man blinked at us, his eyes widened like an owl. "What? Are you looking for him?"

    "We are," answered Wang Chao. "And how do you know him?"

    "I told you, I was originally in charge of the fighters," shrugged Mao Jing as if it wasn''t that big of a deal. "Hees thest Friday of every month."

    I blinked rapidly, only now realizing that I had no idea what today was, let alone when thest Friday of the month would be. Did people still use calendars and schedules at the end of the world? Learn something new every day, I tell you.

    "And when will that be?" asked Liu Wei, taking the news that there was still a schedule to be had quite well. I am sure that he was dying to pull out a paper nner just to be able to write something down on it.

    Mao Jing stared at us like we were crazy for not knowing what day of the week it was. "Today is Wednesday, April 25th, 2124. He wille to the club in two days," he said slowly, looking between all of us. It was almost like he was preparing to have to tell us when April was.

    Liu Yu Zeng reached up and clipped him upside the head. "Leave it to humans that even when the worldes to an end, and the poption is going extinct, we still need to schedule every hour of our day."

    Mao Jing shrugged his shoulders. "Bad times don''tst forever. There wille a time when we no longer have to worry about zombies and get back to living our lives. And when we do, it is important that we remember and record what happened and when. Only by understanding our past can we make sure that something like this never happens again."

    I thought about his words and grunted my agreement.

    "Bad times don''tst, but bad guys do," I quoted with a smile.

 Chapter 483 Do You Believe In The Gods?

    ?

    Bin An Sha leaned his head against the back of his couch and let out a long sigh. He had juste back from a 12-hour shift at the hospital, and he was absolutely exhausted. If he hadn''t been outside of City A for the past two years and seen what the real world was like, he never would have thought that there was a zombie apocalypse happening just on the other side of the ten-foot fence.

    Rubbing his forehead, he sighed again, debating whether or not it was a good thing toe back. He understood why the others had left him alone in that apartment and knew that it was his fault. Trying to force her to drink mushrooms was probably the stupidest idea he had evere up with, but for the life of him, he couldn''t figure out why he feltpelled to make her do it.

    He had tried to leave a few days ago to go back into the world that actually needed doctors and healers for legitimate reasons but was refused at the gate. Apparently, he was too important to the city to be allowed to go.

    He snorted at that as he got up to pour himself a ss of whisky. Right. Because it was more important to consult with women who wanted ''just a little touch up'' on their faces or to have some stubborn fat removed from around their stomachs.

    Maybe if they would just eat a bit less, then they wouldn''t need to worry about that. There were literally people starving to death just outside of their homes, and yet, they didn''t even notice. This city was the perfect example of two extremes in one ce.

    And he hated every moment of it.

    He was once considered to be one of the world''s best surgeons, specializing in cases that others wouldn''t take because of how tricky they were. He has repaired the hearts of infants so that they could live a long, healthy life¡­ only to see that same child begging on the streets for a scrap of moldy vegetables.

    He looked down at his ss of alcohol that he had barely even touched. Swirling around the amber liquid, he stared at the drink, wondering where his life went wrong.

    Coming back to City A. That was the moment his life went wrong. He never should have bothered.

    Lifting up his arm, he chucked the ss at the nearest wall, watching it shatter into a million pieces, just like his life. He needed to leave, and he needed to go now.

    Standing up, he went in search of the broom. As satisfying as it was to break something, there was no one around but him to clean it up.

    Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.

    Bin An Sha looked at the offending portal, trying to figure out if he actually needed to answer that or if it was something that could be ignored. Once again snorting at his own thoughts, he ignored the knocking and went to clean up his mess. The clinking of the ss echoed in his head as he swept it up into the dustpan.

    "Doctor," came a voice from his doorway. Turning around from where he was crouched down, Bin An Sha looked at the man who had entered his apartment.

    "I didn''t realize I had left the door unlocked," he said calmly before rising up. Walking over to the garbage can, he deposited the shattered ss into the bin. That was what happened when you broke; you were thrown out like garbage with no chance to even try to put yourself back together again.

    "You didn''t. It''s a perk of my position to have keys for every door in this city. Fantastic, isn''t it?"ughed the man, swinging a ring of keys around his finger.

    Bin An Sha''s upper lip curled into a sneer as the intruder made himselffortable on the couch.

    "So, is it everything that it is cracked up to being?" he asked, letting out a low whistle as he looked around the ce.

    Bin An Sha didn''t bother to respond. Instead, he wet a rag and went over to clean up the rest of the mess against the wall.

    "You know, throwing a temper tantrum isn''t going to help your situation," continued the man, not at all caring that the other was ignoring him.

    "And I suppose that you have the answer to everything, don''t you?" asked Bin An Sha, turning to look at the man. Throwing the rag back into the sink, he went to go sit down in the chair opposite. He studied the man that he had grown up with. If that was what you could call it.

    Mei Shi Zhe. The Messenger.

    The one person in the organization that you never wanted to pay you a visit.

    "I do have an answer to your problem, but honestly, I don''t know if I should pass it on," mused the man, stretching his arms along the back of the couch.

    "Just spit it out. You know that you have no choice in the matter," sneered Bin An Sha. At this point in time, all he wanted to do was get rid of his uninvited guest and get some sleep before his next shift.

    "Do you believe in Gods?" asked Mei Shi Zhe suddenly, leaning forward and staring at the man in front of him.

    That question caused Bin An Sha to let out a bark ofughter. "Do I believe in Gods?" he repeated, the scorn in his voice evident to all. "No, I really don''t."

    "Too bad. Because they believe in you," shrugged the Messenger as he once again gotfortable.

    "Just spit it out," growled Bin An Sha, his eyes narrowing on the clerk in front of him. Yes, he knew exactly the role Mei Shi Zhe yed in this city. He was the one who assigned apartments and homes to all neers. That was why he had the keys to every door in the city.

    "You need to stay here and make nice with Wu Bai Hee," said Mei Shi Zhe seriously. "You need to get yourself in a position of power. And to do that, you need to make her think that her maniption is working on you."

    "I would rather take a bath in acid than allow that woman to touch me," growled the assassin, staring at the Messenger. He pulled out a short, unassuming scalpel and started to twirl in between his thumb and forefinger.

    "I never said anything about letting her touch you," replied the Messenger with a growl of his own. "But you need to make nice. The one that you are waiting for will being soon. But she will need your help. You have to be in a position to help her, and the only way to do that is to be friends with Wu Bai Hee. What you do with the bitch after ispletely up to you."

    "How do you know these things?" demanded Bin An Sha, not trusting the other man''s words for even a moment. There was no one that he was waiting for. Let alone one that would be important enough to make him be willing to be nice to a viper.

    "I don''t know anything," shrugged the other man, once again taking control of his emotions. He wanted to be the one to rid the world of the disease known as Wu Bai Hee. s, that was not his job. Sometimes it really sucked to be a messenger.

    Bin An Sha let out a snort ofughter. "And yet you know enough to give me that cryptic statement. Are you trying to be an oracle or something?"

    Now it was Mei She Zhe''s turn tough. "Fuck that. Those women are some of the craziest fuckers I have ever had the misfortune of knowing. All those visions inside their head of every possible oue for every possible decision. It''s no surprise that they have all gone crazy."

    Leaning forward, knowing that his job was done now that he had delivered the message, he smiled at the man he had grown up with. He truly wished that he would listen to him. If anyone deserved a happy ending for all the shit they had to put up with, it was him.

    "You never asked me the most obvious question," he said, staring at Bin An Sha, a serious expression on his face. "Whose messenger am I?"

    Bin An Sha forced his mouth to remain closed as the other man stood up and saw himself out of the condo.

    ------

    "I delivered your message," said Mei Shi Zhe, bending down on one knee, his head bowed. He stared at the ground, refusing to look up for even a moment.

    He could hear the sound of shoes echoing against the marble floors as they came to a stop right in front of him.

    "Do you think he will listen?" came the most beautiful voice he had ever heard. Mei Shi Zhe squeezed his eyes shut, refusing to look up at the owner of the voice.

    "I don''t know."

 Chapter 484 The Recruiter

    ?

    Mei Shi Zhe remained in his position, refusing to move a muscle. He kept his eyes closed, refusing to even look at the shoes of the woman in front of him.

    No, not woman; Goddess.

    There was a deep sigh, and the Messenger shuddered as he felt her breath brushing his ear. She must have crouched down beside him.

    "Do you want to know your happily ever after?" she whispered in his ear, causing goosebumps to appear on his skin.

    "I don''t," he assured her. Never once had he wanted to know who his fated mate was. He already had someone in his heart, and that was enough to make him happy. Even if she never knew it.

    "She might not know it, but that doesn''t mean she isn''t thinking it either," came the voice again, startling Mei Shi Zhe enough that he broke his own rules and looked up, his eyes wide.

    He found himself staring into the most beautiful blue eyes that he had ever seen. Her long blond hair fell inrge waves down to the floor, so close to his fingers that if he moved them a fraction of an inch, he would be able to touch them.

    Swallowing hard, he continued to stare into the most beautiful woman he had ever seen in his life.

    "But nothing will happen if you don''t make the first move," she continued,ing to her feet and breaking the spell. Mei Shi Zhe rose to his feet unsteadily, bowing his head.

    "Hopefully, my nephew is smarter than you and will not let his one opportunity at happiness pass him by," said the Goddess as she turned around and walked away. Mei Shi Zhe was still frozen in ce long after she had left. To say that she was the embodiment of love and beauty was really an understatement. And yet, she married the ugliest of all Gods and lived with him inside a volcano.

    "I love him because he is the only man that looks past my looks to who I am inside. And he loves me for the same reason,'' said aughing voice inside of his head.

    Closing his eyes in embarrassment, Mei Shi Zhe let out a sigh. It was more than a little frustrating that the Gods could read your mind whenever they wanted to. Some things should remain private.

    "Good luck with that," came theughing voice again. "If we didn''t y with you mortals every so often, we would be very bored beings."

    Mei Shi Zhe smirked and shook his head. Opening his eyes, he found himself in the middle of his apartment in City A. Unlike Bin An Sha''s, his only held the bare minimum. A bed, a couch, a little bit of food in the cupboards, and only two sets of tes, cups, and cutlery.

    He never knew when the Gods would call him away to deliver a message, so it was better to not be attached to anything.

    There was a soft knock on his door, and Mei Shi Zhe couldn''t help but smile. Well, almost anything. There was one exception to the rule.

    "Shi Zhe?" came a soft, tentative voice from the other side of the door. "Are you home?"

    -----

    I looked at the packed club and let out a big sigh.

    Lying in Liu Yu Zeng''s arms, my feet on top of Wang Chao''sp, I should have been rxed, but it was finally thest Friday of the month, and I had yet to meet the recruiter.

    Mao Jing had assured me that he would being today and that he would send the recruiter over as soon as possible, but I was still left in knots.

    I didn''t know if I wanted to meet the man who had utterly destroyed my life or hide in a deep, dark hole until he was gone.

    At this moment, surrounded by crowds of cheering people, I was leaning more toward the second option. This was the perfect opportunity for zombies to hunt, and I would not lie and say that I hadn''t pointed that fact out to Alpha. As long as he did it at the other clubs.

    But densely packed humans, making a loud noise, their concentration focused on the fight in front of them, were perfectly ripe to be picked off and taken. Just like little fishies packed together in a bait ball, the more there was, the easier they were to be taken.

    It was the number one reason why I preferred to go out by myself to find supplies. I stood a better chance at getting away on my own than if a whole team of us went out.

    I moaned as Wang Chao took off my slipper and started to rub one of my feet.

    "You are tense," chuckled Liu Yu Zeng, gently biting the shell of my ear. I tipped my head back until it was resting on his shoulder and moaned at the feeling. It felt like forever since my men had touched me like this. However, to be fair, sex was not a top priority at the end of days. And the worst thing to do was to be pregnant and vulnerable when you were being hunted.

    "You think?" I sneered at him sarcastically. I was willingly sending myself to the seventh circle of Hell. How could I not be tense?

    Chen Zi Han let out a soft snort, and I could see his smirk in the dim light of the booth. He and Liu Wei were acting as bodyguards, guarding the booth from any humans. "We are here for you," he said with a shrug of his massive shoulders. "And we will destroy this world to make you happy."

    Given who he was, I knew better than to assume he was just boasting. My men would bring Hell to the world if I asked them to. It was nice to be loved like that.

    Just as I was about to open my mouth to reply, I saw my men stiffen, and the smile on my face immediately disappeared. There was only one reason for them to be acting that way. The recruiter had arrived. Wang Chao gently ced my shoe back on and slid to the edge of the booth, ready to get out in an instant if needed.

    "Is the Boss there?" asked Mao Jing, knowing full well that I was. I could feel my body tense, an entirely conditioned response to knowing who was standing on the other side of my men.

    "She is," grunted Chen Zi Han as he took a step forward, making sure that I was out of sight. He knew that I needed this time to pull myself together. I had a n, and I was not going to fuck it up because I couldn''t deal with something that happened to me in a past life.

    "Sha Ling would like to have a word with the Boss if that is possible," continued Mao Jing in a formal manner. He didn''t know everything that was going on, but he knew enough to understand the importance of this meeting.

    I sat up and moved away from Liu Yu Zeng. Straightening my back, I lifted my head up. I was a badass bitch. I was not some weak, pathetic Cindere who needed Prince Charming toe and save her. I could do this. I could look into the eyes of my personal boogeyman and not break down.

    I hope.

    I was pretty sure.

    Fuck, what would happen if I saw him andpletely dissolved? Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

    I wasn''t ready for this.

    Taking in a deep breath, I fought back the panic.

    ''Do you trust me?'' asked Wang Chao from inside of my head. I let out a snort ofughter at that question.

    ''I trust you,'' I assured him. As soon as I had responded, he slid back over toward me and ced his arm around my shoulders. Pulling me in close to his side, he gestured for Liu Yu Zeng toe in close as well.

    ''There is no need to be nervous,'' he continued, the low tone in his voice immediately setting me at ease, just like the first time I had heard him on the phone. ''The reason why men in this situation have women all around them is to show off howfortable they are and how much the other man is not a threat. You are just going to do the same. Use us to make yourselffortable. Show the recruiter that he is nothing to worry about because you have all the power.''

    "And you do have all the power," he assured me out loud. With a sigh, I rxed into his embrace.

    "Let him in," called out Liu Yu Zeng after receiving my nod of approval.

    Liu Wei and Chen Zi Han parted to reveal Mao Jing and the recruiter, and I got my first view of the man who changed the course of my second life¡­ and my third. The first man I ever saw in this world, the one that I thought would be my savior, my one true love, ording to the novels.

    Looking at him now, I was utterly stunned.

 Chapter 485 A Definite Upgrade

    ?

    I stared at the man before me, the Recruiter. He was nothing like what I remembered in my past life. Oh sure, I knew that it was him. Same age, same name, same look, but I had to ask myself just how drunk I was in my past life ever to think that he was even remotely attractive.

    His short ck hair, styled impably, was clearly the result of a box die, and I could see just how soft his hands were. This man had clearly led an easy life before the end of the world and knew exactly how to ensure that he lived an easy life at the end of it, too.

    He was at least half a foot shorter than any of my guys, and his slim build, although attractive enough to some, was definitely not my cup of tea. Even dressed as immactely as he was in his three-piece suit and tie, he was nowhere near my men in terms of looks or presence. It looked like I upgraded in terms of men, too, not just power.

    "What do you want?" I demanded, no longer as fearful about the man as I was before.

    "I am looking to borrow a few of your fighters from you," he said, looking between me and Wang Chao, unsure who he should be addressing.

    "Borrow?" scoffed Wang Chao, staring down the man. "I think you mean take."

    "I understand that you are new to this club thing," smiled the recruiter, not at all put off by Wang Chao''s attitude. "However, if you would like to say in business, there are a few things that must be done. I am not sure if you have ever run a business before, and that is okay. But there is this idea of give and take."

    "I give, you take?" smirked the man holding me against him. I could feel Liu Yu Zeng''s body shaking as he tried to suppress hisughter.

    "Hardly," responded the Recruiter, the smile on his face never once wavering. "My employer gives you the opportunity to own and make money off of this club and the fighters. However, that is done with the understanding that once they are trained well enough, they are then¡­ drafted¡­ into the upper leagues. Of course, you will be rewarded since we understand that it is hard for you once your top fighters have left."

    "How kind," said Wang Chao, his eyes never leaving the recruiter. "But I am disinclined to agree to your request. If your employer has an issue, tell him toe find me. He knows where I am."

    "My employer is not the type of individual that you would like to invite over," chuckled the Recruiter, shaking his head.

    "I wouldn''t mind trying it," said Liu Yu Zeng with his signature smirk on his face.

    "Trying what?" blinked the other man, looking at Liu Yu Zeng for the first time.

    "Fighting for your employer. Unfortunately, no one here is at my level, and I have gotten a bit bored," continued Liu Yu Zeng.

    "I would have to watch your fight," came the response. It was clear that the Recruiter was used to dealing with men who thought they were better when they actually were.

    "No, you don''t," said Wang Chao. "He is one of our best fighters."

    "I would need to see him in the ring," stressed the Recruiter, the smile on his face slipping slightly.

    "Fine," grunted Wang Chao. "Find someone that wants to die and then put them in the right with Liu Yu Zeng." Mao Jing nodded his head and turned around. However, before he could leave, the Recruiter held up his hand to stop him.

    "I''m sorry, I didn''t catch your name. Could you say that again?" he asked cautiously, turning hisplete attention to Liu Yu Zeng. It was at that moment that I knew we had him¡ªhook, line, and sinker.

    "Liu Yu Zeng," said my man, enunciating every syble of his name.

    "I believe I have heard of you before," smiled the Recruiter, nowpletely ignoring Wang Chao and myself.

    "Most have," grunted Liu Yu Zeng, clearly not impressed.

    "ck Mountain Syndicate, if I am not mistaken," pushed the other man, and I could see him rubbing his hands in glee.

    "You very much are," sneered my husband. Iughed softly at how insulted he was at being mistaken for a member of another group. "I am the head of the Red Dragon Syndicate. Thank you very much."

    By this time, the Recruiter''s eyes were shining, and I could practically see the dor signs in them. It took him some effort, but he managed to bring himself back under control. Clearing his throat, he looked around to see if any of us had seen him.

    I smiled when his eyes met mine.

    "Well, then," he started, clearing his throat. "I should see his work in the ring just to make sure that he is what my employer is looking for."

    Wang Chao exchanged a look with Mao Jing, and the other man turned around again. "No need to find cannon fodder," growled Chen Zi Han, narrowing his eyes on the more petite man. "I''ll fight him."

    "And you are?" asked the Recruiter, looking up at the man beside him. I could trace the line of his Adam''s apple as he gulped at my giant.

    "Chen Zi Han," grunted my man, his face clearly showing how unimpressed he was with the question as if the Recruiter should have known who he was.

    "Chen- Chen Zi Han?" stuttered the man, now looking at all of the men around me. "And you are?"

    "Liu Wei," responded the man, adjusting his sses. "Liu Yu Zeng''s older brother."

    "I see. And you?" asked the man, finallying full circle to look at Wang Chao.

    "Wang Chao," he grunted, "I realize that I have only been in business for a few years, but I think you should recognize the name Phoenix Conglomerate, right?"

    The man looked at me, stunned. "Sorry," I shrugged. "But I am a nobody," I assured him, and the look of relief on his face was priceless. "Only the owner of the club. And the current head of the city."

    "Also, our wife," added in Liu Yu Zeng, taking my hand and bringing it up to his mouth for a kiss.

    "And also, their wife," I added, pleased with myself for how pale the man went. It was really something to behold.

    ---

    Chen Zi Han looked down at the man standing between him and Liu Wei. There was nothing he wanted to do more than to pop the man''s head off of his shoulders for the role he had yed in Li Dai Lu''s past life, but he held himself back.

    The sooner this guy got his ass in gear and took him to the Reaver encampment, the sooner they could all move back to the cabin in the mountains.

    He tilted his head back and forth, trying to work the tension from his shoulders.

    "Do you need to watch us fight?" he growled again. Why was this man just standing around with his thumb up his ass?

    "Nope! No," said the Recruiter, shaking his head vigorously. "I think you three will be perfect."

    "Three?" demanded Wang Chao, raising his eyebrow. It took a lot of effort to notugh at the look of fear in the Recruiter''s eyes when he spoke.

    "You would like to be included, too?" asked the other man, his voiceing out no more than a squeak.

    "Of course," sneered Wang Chao. "Or do you think that a General of this country''s army cannot fight?"

    "Nope! Not at all. I did not say that at all! The more, the merrier," nodded the little man so hard that Chen Zi Han wondered if his brain wasn''t rattling around inside of it. It would ount for his intelligence level, that was for sure.

    "When do we leave?" demanded Liu Wei, his voice causing the Recruiter to jump.

    "Now, we can leave now!" he said, continuing to nod.

    "Then let''s get going," smiled Liu Yu Zeng. He slid out of the booth and offered his hand to his wife. He took hers, gently helping her to her feet before he wrapped an arm around her waist. "Mao Jing. You''re in charge. Don''t fuck it up."

    "Of course, Sir," said Mao Jing, bowing his head. He didn''t know if their departure would make his life easier or more challenging, but they had warned him ahead of time that they would not be around forever. Now, with both the humans and the zombies under his control, he could have the chance to turn this city into somethingpletely new.

    "Wait, you''re taking her?" demanded the Recruiter, looking between Liu Yu Zeng and Li Dai Lu.

    "I am. Or did you miss the part about her being my wife?" replied Liu Yu Zeng, cocking his head to the side.

    "I just don''t think where you are going is¡­ conducive¡­ to her delicate sensibilities," said the smaller man, looking around at all the men who were towering over him.

    Li Dia Lu burst outughing at his words. Looking over her shoulder at the man, she smiled. "I lost my delicate sensibilities a long time ago."

 Chapter 486 Welcome To Camp Hell

    ?

    We piled into the Recruiter''s car, not bothering to mention that we could get there on our own. There was no point in showing too many of our cards all at once. I made a big deal over him having his own working car, and he seemed to have puffed up at thepliments.

    Wang Chao sat in the front seat, and I was spread out over theps of Liu Yu Zeng, Liu Wei, and Chen Zi Han in the back seat. I was pretty sure that this was considered to be illegal before the end of the world, but really, who was out giving tickets for too many passengers inside a vehicle?

    We drove for about an hour in rtive silence, only the low murmurings of the guys keeping me from going insane. I could feel my skin starting to crawl the closer we got to the Reavers. Taking in a deep breath, I looked out of Liu Wei''s window as we continued on our journey.

    "Almost there," came the Recruiter''s voice, startling me out of my thoughts. "Only about ten more minutes or so. However, there are some things that you are going to have to be aware of before we get there."

    Here we go, the same speech he gave me in my past life.

    "The camp is divided into several different sections, but you will only have ess to one of them," he started, getting into the heart of the matter now that he thought we had no way out. His kindly demeaner shifted into something a lot harder, crueler.

    "You are not to leave the fighter''s section. Your woman will be ced with the other females, and you will not be seeing her for a very long time. Even if you do, there is no guarantee that you will recognize her at the end of the day," the Recruiter snickered, not understanding how close to death he was getting.

    "You will fight until you can''t fight anymore," he continued, his eyes on the road in front of him, not bothering to look at any of the men. "If you win, there is a healer there to fix you up until your next fight. If you die, you''re dinner. Are there any questions?"

    "And just how long are you nning on living once you drop us off?" asked Liu Yu Zeng, and I watched as a small tendril of his smoke slowly made its way from his hand and up to the man driving us to our ''doom.'' Entering his ear, the Recruiter didn''t even flinch.

    He did, however,ugh. "You might have been big, powerful men in yourst life, but in this new world, you are nothing more than zombie food."

    "You seem so certain of that," mused Chen Zi Han. "And yet, you didn''t ask us any questions beyond what our names were."

    The Recruiter paused for a second, hisughter quickly cutting off. "No fighter has any power," he said with a shake of his head. I let out a soft sigh. What on Earth could I have been thinking in my past life, dreaming about his maning to save me in my hour of need? Well, I guess I dodged a bullet there.

    "You seem so certain," I said with a smile, looking at the Recruiter in the rearview mirror.

    "Those with power are attached to a city force; only those that are deste are willing to risk their lives fighting," he shrugged, no longer worried after talking himself into believing that no one in the car had a power.

    "Sure," I nodded, the smile on my face getting bigger as Liu Yu Zeng''s tuft of mist appeared from the Recruiter''s ear to almost wave at me. I wiggled my finger in return, noticing the veins around his ear starting to turn ck.

    I would bet money that he would seem in perfect health until he left us at the came and then die pletely unexpectantly.''

    "Another one bites the dust," I hummed under my breath as we took an offramp.

    "Did you say something?" asked the Recruiter. "Because I have to say, I am surprised at how well you are taking this."

    I shrugged my shoulders in response. "It''s a little toote now for regrets, isn''t it?" I asked, never taking my eyes off of the man.

    "Maybe I can put a good word in for you," said the Recruiter out of the blue. "That way, you will be passed around less."

    "Don''t worry about that," I assured him. "I can handle almost anything that they dish out." I was confident in that regard. I knew I was more than capable of handling whatever they threw my way because I had done it once before. And now that I had my men with me? Well, I was damn well unstoppable.

    He sneered at me, his eyes ncing between me and my men. "Well, at least you are used to being passed around."

    "That I am," I assured him. He had pulled up to a random gate in the middle of a forested area. There were no distinguishing signs, nothing to point to where we were or even how to leave. Hell, even the sign at the offramp was gone. But that didn''t bother me at all. After all, if I knew how to find my way here, I wouldn''t have bothered hunting down the Recruiter in the first ce.

    "Get out and open the gate," he said, gesturing for Wang Chao to get out and do his bidding. My man looked at me for confirmation, and I nodded my head. I was definitely not impressed at all about how the ''gentlemanly'' Recruiter was treating my men. Maybe I would kill him faster than whatever Liu Yu Zeng had nned.

    Wang Chao got out of the car and untied the rope keeping the fence closed. The Recruiter sneered at him the whole time, and I could tell that he was absolutely loving the fact that he got to order The Wang Chao around.

    Waiting for Wang Chao to get back into the car, our driver turned around to sneer at the four of us in the back seat. "Wee to Camp Hell," he grinned, blowing me a kiss. "I hope that you are around for a very long time."

    "Says the pussy who wouldn''t survive two seconds in a ring with me," responded Liu Yu Zeng with a grin of his own.

    "Why would I ever find myself in a ring with you? Unlike you, I know how to use the brains God gave me to make a better life for myself."

    "Because, at least in the ring, death would be a lot faster than what is waiting for you outside of it," I said as Wang Chao got back into the car.

    "Resorting to useless threats," tisked the Recruiter, looking at me with a smug smile before restarting the car and driving down the gravel road. "And here I thought you were better than that."

    "To issue useless threats? Oh, I promise you, we are much better than that," said Wang Chao, buckling his seatbelt.

    "Sure. Sure."

    ------

    Wang Chao stared out the front window as the car approached the Reaver encampment where the love of his life was held prisoner. He could hear the yells and cheers even at this distance.

    "Remember, do not speak until you are given permission to," said the Recruiter, bringing the car to a stop. Wang Chao and the others snorted as they got out of the vehicle, not saying a word. How stupid could the man be not to realize that not once since he encountered them was he in a position of power?

    Shaking his head in bemusement, Wang Chao stood still as a Reaver approached them. He looked up at the male, who had to be well over 7 feet tall and built like a brick wall. He was dressed as impably as the Recruiter was in a suit that had to be specially made for him. His ck hair wasbed to the side, and he even wore a pair of gold sses simr to what Liu Wei wore.

    Except his didn''t have any lenses in them.

    In fact, besides his height and build, there wasn''t much else that gave away his¡­ species. Well, except for the chunks of flesh missing from his cheek and neck.

    "What have you brought me this time?" asked the Alpha, looking over the five people in front of him. His eyes lingered too long on Li Dai Lu for Wang Chao''s liking. He watched as his wife turned pale under the gaze of the Reaver and started swaying. Liu Yu Zeng caught her before she could copse in a heap on the ground.

    "Four fighters and a woman," smiled the Recruiter as he took a step back so that the Alpha could inspect the goods. "The fighters are of extremely high quality. One was a general in the military, while the other three were part of one of the most feared Syndicates in this country. They should entertain your customers quite well."

    The Alpha nodded his head as he pushed his sses up a bit higher onto his nose, his gaze never leaving Li Dai Lu.

    "Send the males to the pit. I''ll talk the female to the cages myself."

 Chapter 487 The Carrot

    ?

    Trigger Warning: Violence, sexual assault (memories of a past life).

    I tried hard not to let my guys know how terrified I truly was. I knew it was a fruitless effort; their connection to me was so strong that they could easily feel exactly what I was going through. This¡­ man, Reaver, monster in front of me, was the one that took the most pleasure in hearing my screams.

    I could still feel his hand pinning both of mine above my head, holding me in ce while he did whatever he wanted to do. His rough voice beside my ear telling me in detail about his ns for me. His thoughts on whether or not that would be the night I died.

    But I needed to y my part. This was my n, my mission, and I would see it through to the end.

    So, I did exactly the same thing that I did to him the first time I ever saw him. Standing up straight, I pulled back my shoulders and sneered at him. "I promise you, there is nothing that you can do to break me. But by all means, give it your best shot,'' I said, repeating word for word my promise in myst life.

    I foolishly regretted that every moment I was here, but things would not be the same. Before, I had to run away like a coward, sacrificing the life of a woman who meant everything to me to ensure my own survival. But that would not be the case this time. Oh no. This time, I will pull his intestines out of his stomach while he was pinned down by my men and watch every minute of it.

    I would destroy him, body, mind, and soul before returning him to Hell.

    And I would smile while I was at it.

    But first, I needed to get to the cages and make sure that the Healer was still there.

    The beast of a Reaver in front of me simply smiled at my words, not at all concerned about my bravado. Reaching down, he threw me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, my stomachnding hard against his muscles.

    My men tried to get to me but were held back by four more Reavers who hade up from behind. A swift kick to the back of their knees, and they were on the gravel stones, forced to watch the Alpha carry me away.

    ''I''m good,'' I assured them through our bonds. The Recruiter simply watched while I was being carried away, the satisfied smirk on his face irritating me more than anything else. Calling on my pink me, the only one that I had in my second life, I sent out a small portion of it.

    It clung to the Recruiter''s pant leg, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. It wouldn''t do to let the Reavers here know that we were stronger than we let on, but I was not going to let my chance of retribution walk away. No, whatever the ck mist would do to that pathetic excuse of a human was too easy for him. I wanted him to burn from the inside out.

    The pink me, knowing my intention, flickered for a second before seeming to have died off.

    Both my blue me and my purple me were too strong, putting him out of his misery too fast, but my pink me was going to be just perfect.

    Wang Chao let out a roar as I was once again bounced on the shoulder of the Reaver. I grunted in pain but refused to give him the pleasure of actually knowing how badly he hurt me. With him, it was always a delicate bnce between not giving him a reaction and giving him too much of one. The first made him want to work harder at causing me pain, while the second would lead to more pain as he tried to get me to shut up.

    As I said, it was a delicate bnce.

    He strolled through the encampment, and I looked up from where I was hanging. This was the first time I have ever been in the right headspace to truly study it. There were a few log cabins lining one side of the path, their upkeep almost impable.

    That was where the VIPs stayed if they wanted to. I was pretty sure that they were fully furnished with everything that a VIP could ever possibly want, from food to women. I was inside one of them once.

    A feral grin appeared on my face, the screams of the VIP still ringing in my head as he pulled me away from him so hard that his tiny dick was removed at the same time. I spat out the useless piece of flesh just as he hit me hard enough to knock me unconscious.

    I had woken up beaten and bruised in my cage, but the pain had been more than worth it to spare another woman that indignity.

    Trees lined the other side of the path and continued, surrounding the entire camp. Once upon a time, it was probably an actual summer camp for kids. But that would have been a long time ago. Now, it was a year-round ce of death and debauchery.

    Soon, though, it will be nothing but a pile of ashes. And I, for one, couldn''t wait.

    The Alpha continued past the cabins and through a chain link fence. It was opened and closed behind him as soon as he stepped through. There was always a Reaver or two guarding it. More if there was arge number of VIPS around. It was there to both keep us in and keep us safe. The Alpha couldn''t take the chance of someone getting their greedy hands on one of the products without paying for it, now could he?

    The first set of cages were the giant ones. There were easily a hundred of them, and they stood maybe seven feet tall and at least ten feet wide. Each one contained a single fighter. They were the ones who had proven themselves worthy by winning the greatest number of fights. However, the Alpha couldn''t take the chance of putting them in the same cages.

    I had heard a rumor that he had done that only once, and the result was that both fighters killed each other. He had assumed it was because they couldn''t contain their rage and their need to fight. But most of us knew better. We knew that they killed each other because it was the only way to escape the Hell that we were in.

    But I digress. Each one of the fighter''s cages was big enough for a bed, a mattress, a table, and a chair. They were meant to improvise on how to train, but most of the men didn''t bother. I guess there used to be weights until the Alpha''s best fighter bludgeoned himself to death with them. But once again, that was attributed to his inability to control his rage and not how many men he had killed in the ring.

    That was the trick to these fights. They were promised money, freedom, and anything else that they wanted as long as they won a certain number of fights. However, they quickly learned that that number kept getting higher and higher the more fights they won. Freedom was the carrot held out in front of our noses, but we all quickly learned that it was nothing more than an illusion.

    Striding past the top fighter''s cages, we reached the neer''s cages. These ones were much smaller, only giving the man inside enough room to stand and maybe move a few feet to either side. However, there was no way that they could lie down to sleep¡ªthat was just wishful thinking.

    But the Alpha wasn''t dumb. No, he was far from that. By putting the smaller cages beside the muchrger ones, he was showing the men what they could get if they won¡ªa carrot of a different kind.

    But even those cages were preferable to the onesing up next. The ones that the women were housed in.

    Passing yet another guarded chain link fence, I entered the women''s area.

    I didn''t know if it was the fact that I had been bouncing up and down on his shoulder for so long that was making me want to puke or the fact that I was once again brought back here. I swallowed back the need to expel my stomach, knowing that I would have to clean it up afterward. The Alpha did not deal well with bodily fluids. A surprised considering that he was a fucking zombie. But I was not going to clean up my own vomit with my tongue. Once was more than enough for me.

    "We''re here," he grunted, throwing me down to the ground. I yelped out in pain, unable to control myself. He snorted, pleased to finally be getting the reaction of me that he wanted. "Get in," he continued, pointing to the open cage beside me.

    The same one that was my home for so long in myst life.

 Chapter 488 Iâ€™m Not Sureâ€¦ Maybe Congratulations?

    ?

    The kick to my ribs sent me flying into the cage as I tried to catch my breath. "Don''t worry, Sweetness, you won''t be in there long," said the Alpha as he crouched down to look at me. I said crouched down because this enclosure was maybe big enough to fit a medium torge size dog.

    Unlike therger ones for the men. I was only able to be on my hands and knees or curled up into a ball. There was no room to sit, to stand, or even to move. But that was fine. I wouldn''t be in here that long.

    Iy on my side, refusing to give the asshole even a molecule of a reaction. It hurt to breath, it hurt to move, and fuck it¡­ it just hurts. The Alpha, after getting what he wanted from me, rose to his feet and walked away, whistling a tune through the hole in his cheek.

    "Are you okay?" came the softest, sweetest voice I had ever heard in this lifetime or the past. "Turn around if you can and hold out your hand. I can make it all better," she continued, and I fought to hold back my tears. Rolling over carefully, I looked into the cage a foot away from me and saw the most beautiful woman in the world.

    Her long, ck hair was nothing more than a tangled mess, probably requiring at least three to four hours tob through¡­ or a sharp pair of scissors. Her light brown eyes stared back at me, the concern in them shattering the rest of my resolve, and I could no longer hold back.

    I let out the loudest wail, the tearsing so fast that if this were a cartoon, I would be quickly drowning in a river of them. But it wasn''t. She was there, in front of me.

    "Shh," she said softly,ying down on her side and using a hand as a cushion. The other one reached out through the bars, trying to touch me. "Everything is going to be okay," she continued, talking softly to me like I was a scared bunny and not a badass bitch. "I was a doctor before all this happened. Here, give me your hand. I will heal you."

    I slowly extended my hand through the bar and grasped hers. I couldn''t count the number of times I had fallen asleep just like this, my hand reaching out for hers. And just like before, I could feel the healing magic of her gift flowing into me, setting the broken rib and the bruised lungs.

    She gasped for a moment before the magic continued. I hadn''t felt this good since we were living in the cabin. I chuckled, clinging to her hand as if it was my only lifeline.

    "Don''t worry about a thing. The babies are okay now," she whispered to me, her voice so full ofpassion that, at first, I couldn''t make out what she was saying.

    "Babies?" I asked in a horrified whisper. I know that the guys suspected something, but besides missing my period, I had no other symptoms. There was no morning sickness, no headaches, fainting, or dizziness. Sure, I slept a lot, but that was pretty on par with how I was before. But babies¡­

    "You didn''t know?" she asked, her voice sounding horrified. "I thought you knew."

    "If I knew, beyond a doubt, that I was pregnant, I can tell you right now that there is no way I would be here," I assured her, cringing as Wang Chao''s voice echoed through my mind.

    I was in deep shit now, that''s for sure.

    "Well, if it is any constion, they are absolutely perfect. Not a thing wrong with them at all," she continued in a voice that I could only assume was her doctor''s voice. "They don''t feed us much here, but I have an in with someone. He can bring you more food if I ask him."

    "An in?" I asked, bemused. She didn''t have an inst time we found ourselves in this predicament. I heard the roaring of all four of my men as Wang Chao must have shared the good news. I almost felt sorry for whoever they were tossed into the ring with tonight. They would be ready to rip anyone to shreds.

    "Yes, Rip," she answered with a nod, and I nodded back. Yes, the guys were going to rip this ce to pieces¡­ wait.

    "You know Rip?" I asked, gripping her hand harder but not so hard that I hurt her. She was so tiny and skinny that it practically killed me.

    "Yes," she said with a giant smile on her face. I could see the happiness shining through the streaks of dirt on her face. "He is the one that makes life worth living right now."

    I let out a sigh of relief. As much as I was hoping and praying that he would be here, I also couldn''t guarantee it. But if he was here, could the others be close by, too? I sent out a quick message to my guys, asking them to keep their eyes open for any military people, especially ones that belonged to Bai Long Qiang.

    I shut down the bond as soon as I could, not wanting to listen to them freaking out over the good news.

    "It is always important to have someone that makes life worth living," I responded with a smile. Maybe that was why she looked so much better in this life than thest. Rip was here to protect her.

    "And now, with your twins, you will have something to keep you going, too."

    "TWINS!" I screeched, not bothering to keep my voice down. I know she said babies¡­ but I didn''t think she meant twins!! I could feel Wang Chao frantically beating on the wall that I had erected between the two of us, needing to know what set me off.

    ''I''m fine,'' I answered him with shaky breath. ''But we''re expecting twins¡­ so I''m not sure¡­ maybe¡­ congrattions are in order?'' I continued, my head no longer working. All that I could see was the word twin lit up in bright lights in my mind as horrible, tiny clowns circled around the word on their horrible, tiny bikes.

    ''Then we put an end to this right now,'' growled Wang Chao. I could feel his rage from here. ''Not only did I let you get taken by that fucker of an Alpha, but you were pregnant too?!? How could I not have known?''

    ''Well, you guys did know before me, so I guess there is that,'' I said sheepishly. I squeezed the Healer''s hand in mine, not wanting to let go for a single moment. I couldn''t believe that the guys had figured it out before me.

    ''I will rain war down on their armies and destroy their world. They hold my pregnant wife in a cage like she is some sort of animal while they drink and make merry,'' growled Wang Chao, and I could hear the exact moment that shit hit the fan, and War appeared. ''You want to fight, fight! You want to bathe in the blood of others, bathe! May you never have a moment''s rest until you cross the Phlegethon River, the river of blood and fire. May your blood feed into the river so you never know peace or happiness for all of eternity!''

    ''Okay, Sweetheart,'' I said, cringing at his rant. ''Let''s dial it back a bit, okay? War can go back for a while, and you can be less creepy, okay?'' I begged. It wasn''t like I was opposed to that notion. In fact, it was a bit of a turn-on that my husband loved me so much that he was going to rain Hellfire down on this camp. The problem was that he couldn''t do it while the Healer was in it.

    That would defeat the whole point of using to rescue her.

    I heard Liu Wei muttering to himself in the background, but I couldn''t make out what he was saying. ''Um¡­ what is Liu Wei doing?'' I asked, more than a bit worried about the mental well-being of my husbands. I guess that this is technically not the best time to get hit with the news that not only are they going to be a father, but fathers to twins.

    Meh, at least with five of us, we will outnumber the kids.

    "Death has taken out a piece of paper and is starting to write down all the names of the people he will take today. Liu Wei, on another sheet of paper, has started a list of supplies that we will need for the babies,'' answered Wang Chao, sounding much more like himself.

    However, now I was worried about Liu Wei. ''And Chen Zi Han?'' I asked, closing my eyes. I could feel the Healer rubbing my hand. She was no longer healing me, but sometimes, simply holding hands with someone is a type of magic in and of itself.

    There was a long pause before Wang Chao came back. ''Sorry, little one, I wasn''t paying attention,'' he said in a cheerful voice, and I couldn''t help but cringe. A happy Wang Chao was an unstable, unpredictable one.

 Chapter 489 Time Was Not On Their Side

    ?

    ''I asked how Chen Zi Han and Liu Yu Zeng were holding up,'' I said to Wang Chao through our link. I had been drifting in and out of sleep as the Healer held my hand through the cages we found ourselves in. The ns went to Hell as soon as I found out for sure that I was pregnant, and now all I could do was hope that my men remembered that I was here for a reason.

    ''Splendidly,'' Wang Chao announced right before a scream cut through the air. I heard the pounding of some Reavers as they went to check out whatever was going on; however, if my men were involved, then they didn''t stand a chance.

    More screams joined the first one, and I could hear Wang Chao chuckling in my head, the connection between us still going strong. ''Well, they are doing much better now.''

    ''You do know that I have a whole n, right?'' I asked hesitantly. I opened my eyes to see the Healer watching me intently.

    "Don''t worry about the screams," she whispered to me, stroking my knuckles with her thumb. "They won''t hurt you."

    I knew that she was just trying to keep me calm, but both of us knew that, screams aside, there was a good chance that I was going to be hurt, and quite badly.

    I nodded my head at her words, a small smile appearing on my face. The world could go to Hell for all I cared, I had my men, I had my Healer¡­ nothing else mattered.

    ''So, we can kill them all?'' asked Wang Chao, and I could feel the excitement and happiness inside of him practically bubbling out.

    It was right now that I had a moment of rity. My men were the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. They needed death and carnage to feelplete as much as I needed my solitude. To deny them this chance, the chance to do what they wanted and needed, I was denying them a whole part of themselves.

    It was selfish to keep them in the cabin because that was what I needed. They sacrificed so much of their happiness in order to make me happy that I needed to do the same for them.

    I finally understood everything.

    And there was nothing that I wouldn''t do to make my men happy.

    ''Go, have fun,'' I said, my lungs expanding as I took in a deep breath. ''Leave the humans in the cage alone, and don''t touch Rip. He is around here somewhere. Otherwise, kill the Reavers and kill the watchers.''

    ''We are yours tomand,'' came the four voices of my men, the same, yet different.

    And that was when all Hell broke loose.

    -----

    Wang Chao closed his eyes in frustration, trying to block out the thousands of voices that were whispering to him. Concentrating on the voice of the woman he loved, he heard the moment she found out that not only was she pregnant, but she was having twins.

    And she was stuck in a cage so small that she couldn''t do anything more than lie down.

    "It''s confirmed," he said softly, knowing that the guys around him could hear what he was saying. "She is pregnant, and it is twins."

    "Twins?" demanded Liu Wei, taking out a notebook and pen from God only knows where. He started to write down a bunch of things, only to scratch out half of the things, and then start writing again.

    "We''re going to be fathers?" asked Chen Zi Han, his voice soft as the words truly hit him. "We''re going to be fathers," he said again, this time stronger, his hands gripping the bars in front of them. There was one man who came up to him to talk, but Chen Zi Han no longer had time for him. His wife was pregnant. And they were in her literal definition of Hell.

    "Well, it looks like a lot of people are going to die," smiled Liu Yu Zeng, cracking his fingers before he, too, gripped the bars of his cage.

    "Hold on for right now," said Wang Chao, holding up his hand. The other three men looked at him, waiting for his next order. "She wants us to keep an eye out for any military men that might be wandering around thepound."

    Chen Zi Han''s eyes narrowed on the man standing in front of him. "I am guessing that would be you," he said with a smile on his face. However, there was more than a bit of madness to his words. "Are you the military men that she is talking about? The ones that belong to Bai Long Qiang?"

    He had remembered that name for a long time. The only man outside of their group that his Princess had really paid any attention to. She had said that he had a role to y. Maybe this is it.

    The man stiffened in response. "I am," he admitted, the easy-going smile on his face no longer there. "And just how do you know that name?"

    "Get back into your cage," snapped Wang Chao, and Chen Zi Han could feel the air around the other man shimmer with happiness and excitement. "Any human in their cage will be saved. Those that are not will be killed."

    "We have an inside man in the VIP area," he said softly, turning his back on Chen Zi Han and looking at Wang Chao. He didn''t know what was going on, but his gut said that these were not the type of men that you fuck with. And he had always trusted his gut.

    However, it bothered him that he couldn''t get a reading on him, no matter how hard he tried.

    "Then you might want to lock him in with you. And fast. Our Queen has given us amand. We dare not disobey," said Wang Chao, his eyes shing bright red. "And you will do well to stay out of my head. You won''t like what you find in it."

    The military man gulped and took off in a sprint, trying to find his teammate. Whatever was going on, it was going to be big. He could only hope and pray that they would not be caught in the crossfire. They still needed to find Wang Tian Mu.

    Making his way to the stands, he went onto his toes, trying to find the person he was looking for. "Qu Kuan Ji!" he shouted, waving his hand frantically. "Qu Kuan Ji!"

    The man whose attention he was trying to get finally turned around to look at him. His brows furled in concern as he weaved in and out of the people in the stands. "What?" he demanded, looking around. He couldn''t be caught talking to one of the fighters. Otherwise, it was death for both of them.

    "Hurry up!" said the first man, turning around and sprinting away from the pit. He didn''t know how much time they had, but he was willing to bet it wasn''t a lot.

    "Si Dang!" shouted Qu Kuan Ji, "What the fuck is going on?!"

    "There is no time to exin. Hurry up, we have to get going!" Si Dang turned around just to make sure that the other man was following him. As soon as he got confirmation, he took off in a sprint, hoping that they would have enough time.

    But it seemed like time was not on their side.

    There was a scream from one of the men beside him in the crowd, and Si Dong froze as he watched the man''s face practically melting off of his skull. The agonizing scream was quickly cut off, garbled as his lips and tongue fell off.

    "Are you two the military?" asked a man stepping out in front of Si Dang and Qu Kuan Ji. The former nodded his head, gripping the forearm of his teammate as he pulled him behind him. There were only five of them left out of the sixteen that had left that day; he would not lose another brother to this man with white eyes.

    "Who do you belong to?" he asked, cocking his head to the side as another scream was abruptly cut off.

    "Bai Long Qiang," stated Si Dang. The man in the cage mentioned that name; maybe that was what he was talking about.

    The dark figure with the glowing white eyes shook his head. "I don''t know that name. Is it on the list?"

    Si Dang swallowed hard, not knowing what else to say.

    "We belong to the Healer," answered Qu Kuan Ji, stepping out from behind his friend and staring the monster in the eyes. He had met her a few times before the world ended. Enough to develop an unhealthy crust of his Boss'' fianc¨¦. However, he didn''t know why he had just said that they belonged to her.

    "You belong to the Healer? You better hurry up and lock yourself up," said the white-eyed demon, looking at the two men. "The calvary ising, and they aren''t going to stop for anyone."

    "Understood. And thank you," grunted Si Dang as he and Qu Kuan Ji took off running for the cages. There was no hesitation this time, only a pressing need to get to safety.

 Chapter 490 Couldnâ€™t Be Happier

    ?

    The screams were not dying down. If anything, they seemed like they were getting louder. I could feel the Healer''s hand shaking, fear that she was desperately trying not to show getting the best of her.

    "It''s okay," I said softly. Now, it was my time tofort her. "My husbands are just celebrating the good news," I continued, the smile on my face growing bigger and bigger with every passing minute.

    "Husbands?" she asked, the shock of my statement pulling her out of wherever she was.

    "Husbands," I nodded in agreement. "Four of them, to be exact."

    I opened my mouth to keep going, but suddenly, a shadow fell over the two of us.

    "Where is the cat?" it asked, the disgruntled sound in its voice letting me know exactly who it was.

    "Rip!" breathed the healer, dropping my hand and holding it out instead to the monster in front of us. "You are safe."

    "They won''t hurt me," he assured her,ing to sit down in front of her cage. She maneuvered her body so she could be closer to him and gripped the back of his shirt like it was some type of safety nket. "Where is the cat?" he asked again, and it took me a minute to think about who he was talking about.

    Hades! How the Hell could I forget about Hades?!? That thing was going to kill me now; there was no doubt in my mind. shing into my space, I frantically called for the little demon. It really was my fault for forgetting about him all the time, but still. He chose me, not the other way around.

    But if I couldn''t remember a fucking cat, let alone properly take care of one, how the Hell was I going to make out being a mother?!?

    The thought sent me into an absolute panic as I continued to call for Hades. I was going topletely fuck up being a mom. There was no way I could do this. And in the middle of a zombie apocalypse?!? Who was so irresponsible to do such a thing?

    I copsed to my knees, all the ways that I was going to screw up shing through my head as it started to sink in that I was actually pregnant. With twins.

    I gasped for breath, trying to calm myself down. I had at least ten months before they came into the world; I could do a lot in ten months to make it safer for my kids.

    A meow startled me out of my thoughts as I stared at the ck cat in front of me. However, there was no way that could be Hades. The thing was the size of arge dog as he weaved around me, flicking his tail under my nose. Deep down, I knew that it was the cat, but his size was something else. I gripped him around the waist, almost staggering with his weight, and shed back into the Reaver encampment.

    Unfortunately for me, I was not really thinking things through, and Inded back inside my teeny tiny cage with a 50-pound cat on top of me. I gasped for air, the two of us stuck inside the cage with no way out.

    Rip let out a bark ofughter as the screams continued around us. Standing up, he walked over to the cage and ripped the opening off of its hinges, breaking the lock at the same time. Reaching in, he grabbed Hades with one hand and brought him out. Completely ignoring me, he went back to his position outside of the Healer''s cage.

    "Nice to see you too, Rip," I grunted, crawling out of the cage. There was no point in making myself ufortable anymore. Not if the guys were out there, ying.

    "Um," said the Healer, looking between the two of us. "You two know each other?"

    "She''s the one that sent me here to look after you," admitted Rip.

    "She is the one you talked about?"

    "Yup," he grunted, sounding a lot different from thest time I had talked to him. That was when it dawned on me.

    "You''re better," I said in shock.

    "Yup," he replied like it wasn''t the most important thing in the world. Then again, I guess to him, it wasn''t. "She healed me."

    And that was the crux of the matter. The Healer healed Rip, and now he was¡­ human again?

    I held out my arms to take Hades back, assuming that if he were back to normal, he wouldn''t have a childish fascination with cats, but he hit the top of my hand with a sharp p. "Mine," he grunted, his eyes fixated on Hades. I opened my mouth, only to be cut off by a bunch of humans running into this end of thepound.

    "You might want to move," I advised Rip, getting morefortable on top of my cage. No matter what happened, I knew I would be safe.

    "Nope," he replied, his eyes never leaving Hades as he continued to stroke him. The demon of a cat started to purr, making the Reaver smile.

    "Okay," I responded with a sigh. I looked up at the men rushing in; most of their faces melted away, and only the bones of their skulls were visible. It looked like one of those fake skeleton things or a Ghost Rider. I scoffed at that idea and threw out a few mes.

    My blue and purple mespletely engulfed the skeletons, causing them to burn to ashes before too long. Thest thing that I needed was to deal with over a hundred women traumatized, not only from the abuse they suffered but also from the nightmarish scene in front of them.

    ''How are they getting in here?'' I asked Wang Chao as I continued to burn the bodies. There was no way they could still be alive after having their face reduced to bones, and yet here they were. Running around like it was Halloween.

    ''Some fucker left the gate open,'' growled Wang Chao, and all of a sudden, the skeletons stopped dead, turned around, and walked back the way they hade. One of them even kindly closed the gate behind him, ensuring that it was locked. ''Sorry about that,'' he grunted before turning his attention back to whatever he and the others were doing.

    "Someone left the gate open," I exined, looking at the Healer. "The guys are sorry."

    "Oh no," she replied, a quick shake of her head. "That''s fine."

    I smiled and pulled out a few chocte bars that I had saved, especially for her. "Here, I think you like these."

    "How did you know?" she asked, twisting her head enough to look at me. Rip pulled his attention away from Hades long enough to grab the choctes from my hand and give it to the woman behind him.

    "We were friends in a past life," I answered with a smile. "In more than a few past lives, if I am to be honest."

    "She said the same thing to me when we first met. It''s confusing as fuck," growled Rip as Hades batted yfully at his hand. He wiggled his fingers over top of the cat''s stomach and let out a small chuckle when they were grabbed and attacked.

    The Healer smiled at his response and opened the bar. I had expected her to ask me to open her cage, but she did nothing of the kind. Instead, she justy inside of it, calm and peaceful as always.

    "Don''t you want out?" I asked, cocking my head to the side and studying the Healer. Was there something wrong with her? Was she injured in some way that I couldn''t see?

    "Nope," she answered, licking her fingers clean from the caramel and chocte. "If it were safe to let me out, Rip would have let me out. If he wants me in here until the screams stop, then that is what I am going to do."

    I blinked rapidly at her response, trying to figure out what she was saying. Rip was a scary ass mother fucker that was more than twice the size of her. She should be terrified of him, and yet¡­ she wasn''t.

    "My reason for living, remember?" she said as if understanding my confusion. I looked at Rip, really looked at him for the first time in two lifetimes.

    Despite his size, there was nothing really intimidating about the mountain of a man who was fixated on the cat in hisp. In fact, if I hadn''t known him in a previous life, I might not have ever been scared of him. Well, probably.

    I mean, he did rip both legs off of a man right before I met him in this life, too, so¡­ I might not be terrified, but I would definitely be wary.

    The Healer, however, was treating him like her own stuffed teddy bear. It was the cutest thing in the world, and honestly, I couldn''t be happier for either one of them.

    But I wonder how Bai Long Qiang would handle thepetition¡­

 Chapter 491 Who Do You Belong To?

    ?

    Bai Long Qiang gripped the bars of his cage as Si Dang and Qu Kuan Ji flew into the open cage beside them as if the hounds of Hell were on their heels.

    "What the fuck is going on?" he demanded as Si Dang pulled the door shut just as a stream of skeleton-like creatures flowed into the fighter''s area behind them. Maybe the hounds of Hell really were on their heels.

    The two of them bent over, their hands on their knees as they gasped for air. "Clearly, you haven''t been training hard enough," sneered Bai Long Qiang from his cage.

    "Yeah, sure, Boss, let''s go with that," muttered Qu Kuan Ji, ring at the other man.

    "Well, are you going to tell me what is happening?"

    "Would if I could, but I can''t," responded Si Dong as one of the skeletons tried to open his cage. Lao Tie had manipted the metal locks on all of their cages, preventing them from fully locking. And as great as that was when one of them needed to go around the camp, it wasn''t so good now that something was trying to get in.

    He and Qu Kuan Ji pulled hard on the cage door, struggling against the desperate skeleton. What the fuck could make them so scared?

    "You left the gate unlocked," growled a creatureing up behind the skeletons. Without turning around, they stiffened and froze, almost as if they thought that if they didn''t move, the creature with the red eyes wouldn''t notice them.

    "What?" asked Si Dang confused. He shook his head as the creature tried to get past his spirit powers and into his brain. The pain was excruciating, but then it stopped.

    "Who do you belong to?" it demanded, turning its attention to the three men.

    Bai Long Qiang opened his mouth to answer that they didn''t belong to anyone, but a quick look from Qu Kuan Ji made him close his mouth again.

    "We belong to the Healer," said his teammate, never taking his eyes off the creature. The skeletons let go of the bars and tried to slip away while the dark shadow was distracted, but it was useless.

    "You want to fight? Fight. And close the door behind you, for fuck''s sake. You are scaring the women, and the Queen is not happy," growled the creature, and the skeletons frantically nodded their heads as they turned around and left. One even stopped to lock the gate behind him.

    Letting out a sigh of relief, Si Dang and Qu Kuan Ji let go of their grip on the bars and stared at the creature. He looked so much like the one with white eyes, and yet, different.

    "You belong to the Healer?" asked the creature, turning his attention to Bai Long Qiang. The other man bit his tongue, refusing to say that he belonged to anyone other than Wang Tian Mu.

    "He belongs to the Healer, too," said Qu Kuan Ji, his eyes ring at his team leader.

    "He doesn''t seem to agree," smirked War,ing out of the darkness of his shadows and into the light of day.

    "Wang Chao?" asked Bia Long Qiang, more than a little confused about what was going on.

    "So, you remember me," smiled Wang Chao, having more than a little fun with everything that was going on. It was like a whole new side of him was released.

    "Li Dai Lu said that my woman was here. So where is she?" growled Bai Long Qiang. He had searched the area tirelessly, trying to find the woman who meant more to him than anything else in the world. But he couldn''t find her.

    "You double my Queen''s words?" asked a stunned Wang Chao, as if questioning Li Dai Lu was the most insane thing he had ever heard. "Then maybe you will be one of the ones to die when this is all over."

    "You can''t," said Qu Kuan Ji quickly, bringing the other man''s attention away from his Boss and back to him.

    "And why can''t I?" smirked Wang Chao, his eyes taking on a reddish glow.

    "Because whether or not he will admit it, he belongs to the Healer, and because of that, you cannot kill him," stated the other man, trying to suppress his trepidation. The only way they were going to make it through this carnage was to im they belonged to the Healer.

    He didn''t actually know who the Healer was, just stories passed around by the VIPs; however, everything inside of him screamed that he was owned by this woman he had never met.

    Wang Chao stared at him for a few minutes before a smile graced his face. "You are one of the few smart ones," he said, walking up to the cage. "Never be ashamed for belonging to a woman. Because in return, she will belong to you and that, that is the greatest thing in the universe."

    Qu Kuan Ji nodded his head, not fully understanding what the man was saying but still agreeing. There was nothing wrong with belonging to someone, body, mind, and soul. In fact, that was the type of connection he was looking for.

    He had found it once, with Wang Tian Mu, but knew that she belonged to his team leader. It killed him, seeing just how much she loved the other man. It became quickly apparent that if he wanted to stay by her side, he would have to push down his feelings, his obsession. He would have to be content just watching from the sidelines. As long as she was happy, that was all that mattered to him.

    Wang Chao grunted as a figure with silver eyes came up beside him. "What are we doing with the Alpha?" it asked. Bai Long Qiang, Si Dang, and Qu Kuan Ji inhaled sharply at that question, causing the creature with the silver eyes to turn its attention over to them instead.

    "Who do they belong to?" it asked. Bai Long Qiang wanted to swear at everyone for asking that question. He belonged to only one person, and that person was Wang Tian Mu. The only one that couldmand his loyalty. If only he had listened to her in the first ce.

    "The Healer," said Wang Chao with a smile as he looked over at Bai Long Qiang. "Otherwise known as Wang Tian Mu."

    The three men straightened and looked at Wang Chao, their eyes opened in disbelief. "Wang Tian Mu is the Healer?" demanded Bai Long Qiang, rattling the door to his cage in an attempt to get out.

    "I wouldn''t if I were you," said the silver-eyed creature as he watched the door to the cage swing open. "Anyone that is not inside of a cage is free game. Should I add your name to the list?"

    Bai Long Qiang swallowed and looked between the opened gate and the creature before him. He could probably get past him, but he had no idea where his fianc¨¦ was.

    "She is safe and happy," answered Wang Chao as if reading his mind. "In fact, she is eating chocte bars right now and telling my wife what she can and cannot eat."

    "I should be paying attention to that then," said a third creature,ing out of the shadows beside Wang Chao and the silver-eyed being. "You guys don''t need me anyway."

    "Are you sure, Famine?" asked Wang Chao, staring at the neer.

    "My ce is beside our Queen," he said before once again vanishing into mid-air.

    "Famine?" asked Si Dang, staring into the space where the being just was.

    "Yeah," grunted the silver-eyed one, looking off into the distance. "You know, if the Healer is talking about childcare, I should be paying attention, too."

    "Are you sure that is a wise idea?" chuckled Wang Chao, not at all intimidated by the creature beside him. Bai Long Qiang was impressed. He couldn''t guarantee that he would be acting the same way if he had a creature from Hell standing over his shoulder.

    "Yes," grunted the creature, raising his hand and touching a spot where his face would be if he had had one. Bai Long Qiang could have sworn it was like he was adjusting his sses, but that was impossible, right?

    "Then how are all these people going to die if Death simply walks away?" asked Wang Chao, his eyes studying the three men in the cage before him.

    The shadowy figure shrugged his shoulders like it wasn''t that big of a deal. "No point in making death easy for any of them. Besides, my brother still has yet to have his fun."

    "Nope," grunted a new figure, his white eyes a familiar sight to Si Dang and Qu Kuan Ji. The two men nodded their heads in greeting as thetest creature turned his attention to them. "I''m done."

    "So fast?" smirked Wang Chao, the connotation more than clear to the three human men in the cages. It was almost like the three of them were friends.

    "What can I say? When you are good, fast, or slow, the oue is the same." Si Dang could have sworn he heard a smirk in the creature''s voice. "I assume Famine is already with her?"

    "Yes," grunted the silver-eyed one. "And if everyone is done. I''ll reap them all and call it a day. There is no need to keep the Queen here longer than absolutely necessary."

    "Hold off for now," cut in Wang Chao, "We''ll have to see what she says about it."

    One second, Wang Chao and the two beings were there; the next, they were gone.

    "Famine and Death?" said Si Dang, turning to look at his friends. "As in two of the Four Horsemen?"

 Chapter 492 The Healer Was Free

    ?

    Liu Yu Zeng strolled out of the cage he was locked in without a care in the world. Who knew that poison was so good at destroying metal?

    One of the Reaver guards approached him, the flesh on his face and arms hanging off his body like an ill-fitting human suit. Then again, human has now be a bit of a subjective term to himtely.

    "Get the fuck back in your cage, bitch," hissed the Reaver, waving wound his bloody machete like it was something to be scared of. Here was the problem with his, though¡­ when you literally had poison running through your veins, not much scared you.

    Liu Yu Zeng''s upper lip curled into a sneer as he looked at the thing in front of him. "Make me."

    Now, he would fully admit that was not the most ingenious insult he had evere up with, but it served its purpose.

    The Reaver guard broke out into a sprint just as Liu Yu Zeng let out a soft breath of air¡­ nothing more than a sigh¡­ but it had a huge impact on the guard.

    Dropping his machete, he clutched at his face, his screams echoing throughout the encampment. Liu Yu Zeng stood back and watched impassively as the flesh and muscles on the Reaver''s face started to turn to liquid and melt off his face.

    It was almost like he had been thrown into a vault of acid, the effect the poison had on his skin.

    Expecting the Reaver to fall down dead, Liu Yu Zeng raised an eyebrow in surprise when the thing in front of him was still standing¡­ alive and screaming.

    The Reaver, not realizing what was going on besides the pain, turned around and ran back towards the exit and the fighting pits.

    "I assume you had something to do with that," smirked Liu Yu Zeng as his brother appeared beside him. He turned his head in surprise to see nothing but a human-sized ck shadow with silver eyes staring back at him. "And nice upgrade, Bro."

    A skeleton hand came out of the shadows to grip Liu Yu Zeng on the shoulder. "They do not deserve an easy death. Might as well let them truly experience wanting to die but not able to." The shadow took a step forward and followed the running skeleton into the crowded area of the pits.

    Liu Yu Zeng smiled at that idea. This ce was nothing more than a cesspool of the lowest of the low. Might as well have fun now that their Queen had let them off their leashes, so to speak.

    Liu Yu Zeng took a step back as even more Reavers arrived, their weapon of choice gripped in their hands. He wondered just how many times in her past life his queen had felt the blows of those weapons. His brother was right. Death should note easy to anyone who took their pleasure here.

    Unbeknownst to him, when Liu Yu Zeng had stepped back, he had concealed himself in the shadows, just like his brother had. But instead of making things darker or more blurry, his vision sharpened, and everything became clearer.

    Letting out another breath through pursed lips, he saw his ck mist float away on the wind, only to be sucked in by the Reavers. The mist itself was so fine that without his enhanced eyesight, he never would be able to see it.

    Their screams of fear and pain drowned out hisughter as he turned around and left the fighter''s side of thepound.

    So much to do, so little time to get it done.

    With every inhale, he took air into his lungs until they were full. With every exhale, thousands of tiny ck dots scattered out of him and into the people nearby.

    The screams were music to ears as people began to run away. But while the majority ran away, two ran toward him, the fear in one of them making Disease smile.

    Stepping out of the shadows, Liu Yu Zeng stepped into the path of the two men. "Are you two in the military?" he asked. The Queen had said that they were to be on the lookout for those in the military; she needed them alive.

    The one in front eyed him with suspicion, pulling the other one behind him as if to protect him. Cute¡­ useless¡­ but cute.

    When neither man spoke, Liu Yu Zeng sighed in frustration. He was not going to risk his wife''s rage by killing the wrong people: happy wife, happy life, and all that.

    "Who do you belong to?" he asked instead, thinking that this was a much easier question.

    "Bai Long Qiang," said the one in front. Liu Yu Zeng cooked his head to the side, trying to remember where he had heard that name before. Not remembering, he shook his head. "I don''t know that name. Is it on the list?"

    He knew that his brother had made a list of names of people who needed to die; maybe that was why the name was familiar; it was on Death''s list.

    "We belong to the Healer," said the second one,ing out from behind the first.

    Well, fuck, why didn''t they say that before? It would have saved a lot of time and effort.

    "You belong to the Healer? You better hurry up and lock yourself up. The calvary ising, and they aren''t going to stop for anyone," warned Liu Yu Zeng. War hadn''t even gotten started yet, and when he did, he wasn''t going to care who was who.

    The first one thanked him before the two of them took off for the fighter''s cages.

    Doing his good deed for the day, Liu Yu Zeng stepped back into the shadows and let Disease take over.

    He didn''t know how much time had passed; it could have been five minutes, it could have been an hour, but the next thing he knew, more skeletons were rushing out of the fighter''s area and attacking everyone around them.

    It seemed like War had finally made an appearance. Good, it was about time. He was wanting to get back to his Queen. Especially knowing that she was pregnant.

    She should consider herself lucky if they ever let her out of their eyesight again.

    -------

    The guys were never going to let me out of their eyesight again.

    I huffed as Chen Zi Han appeared out of nowhere, cloaked in shadows. The Healer let out a startled squeak, which caused Rip toe to his feet, dropping Hades out of hisp.

    The cat let out a very disgruntled hiss as he stood up and jumped on the cage beside me.

    Rip, the brave idiot that he was, crouched down, keeping his body between the Healer and the shadow Chen Zi Han. I wondered if he wasn''t as in love with her as she was with him.

    "Both of you, stand down," I said with a sigh, and the shadows melted away, revealing Chen Zi Han with pitch ck eyes. I stared at him, drinking in the sight. He turned to me and picked me off of the cage, not caring at all that Hades had just gotten himselffortable on myp.

    Once again, he tumbled to the ground,nding on all fours. He let out a very cranky hiss, looking between us and Rip before walking over to the cage with the Healer still inside of it. He started pawing at the door as if wanting someone to open it.

    It was as if he had decided to try his luck with the Healer, thinking that she wouldn''t push him away. And maybe his thinking was right because she stuck her fingers through the bars to scratch him under his chin.

    Unfortunately for him, the Healer, while a lot smaller than me due to her abuse here, was still too big to let the overlyrge cat into her cage with her.

    Realizing just that, Hades let out a low, intive meow. He continued to paw at the cage, only to turn to the three of us every so often to see if we were getting his point. He wanted attention; she was giving it, so she had to be out of the cage to give him more.

    I rolled my eyes and looked to Romeo. "Aren''t you going to open it?" I asked Rip with a raised eyebrow.

    "Will she be safe?" he asked in return, and I could feel the tension and uncertainty in him. The big, strong,rger than life Rip was actually worried about someone.

    "She is one of the safest people here," I assured him. The guys knew just how important she was to me, and they wouldn''t let anything happen to her.

    Not to mention, if something did happen to her¡­ they''d spend the next decade or two sleeping on the couch.

    Rip grunted at my answer, and I smiled as I snuggled into Chen Zi Han''s arms. Bending down, Rip picked up Hades and gently put him to the side so he could have ess to the door.

    With a sharp tug, the lock keeping the cage closed snapped. For the first time in God only knows how long, the Healer was free.

 Chapter 493 Second Chances

    ?

    Rip leaned forward and held out his hand. I watched as the giant helped the poor woman out of her cage and into his arms.

    "Is it really safe?" asked the Healer just as yet another shadow materialized beside me.

    "They''ll be dead soon," I said with a smile on my face. I could feel the shadow nod his head, and all of a sudden, the screams were cut off, leaving only peace and quiet in their wake. Well, that and the soft crying of the terrified girls around us. "They''re dead," I added, just in case she was too stunned to put two and two together.

    She stood still inside Rip''s arms, gripping onto him like a little kitten. He rubbed his cheek against the top of her head but otherwise said nothing. "Is it over?" she asked, looking at me like I had all the answers.

    "It is," I assured her. I had hoped to kill the Alpha myself, but I was more than willing to let the guys do it for me. I could only assume through the screaming that their deaths weren''t overly pleasant anyway.

    "What do I do now?" she asked, the stunned look never leaving. That was the problem when you were abused for as long as she had. There was freedom knowing that it would never happen again, and yet¡­ it was scary knowing that it would never happen again. It was like as soon as your body was no longer fighting for every breath, it didn''t know what to do.

    That was how I felt when I first reincarnated into this world. I couldn''t imagine it being much different for her, either.

    "What do you want to do?" asked Rip before I could even open my mouth. "I can take you wherever you want. We can do whatever you want. You don''t have to be scared anymore. No one will get through me to get to you, I promise."

    "You can get your fucking hands off of my wife," came a snarl from behind me. Still in Chen Zi Han''s arms, I turned around to see Wang Chao leading five men closer. I narrowed my eyes, not at all happy with any of them at this moment. Well, besides Wang Chao.

    "What?" gasped the Healer, swaying in Rip''s embrace. "Bai Long Qiang?" It was a good thing that Rip had such a firm hold on her, or she would have hurt herself when she passed out in shock.

    I tapped Chen Zi Han''s arm to have him put me down and turn my attention to the unknown men.

    "Really, Bai Long Qiang? That was how you were going to win her over? By yelling at her as soon as you see her? If you are incapable of looking after her and protecting her the way she deserves, then I have no problem taking her from you," I snarled, stalking toward the man. I understood where he wasing from, and I even felt a little bad about it. However, I would not stand for it.

    She was my best friend, my confidant in any and all of my lives. She was the only one who cared about me, who never tried to talk me out of anything but listened as I ranted and raved. She was the most important person in my life, next to my guys, and I would protect her.

    "You think you can take her from me?" demanded the man that I thought would have saved her long before I ever got here. But lo and behold¡­ she was still in a fucking cage. I could feel my rage starting to rise as I thought about it more and more. I told him where to find her. I was supposed to be the backup in case he got into trouble. But he was supposed to be the knight in shining armor.

    So where the Hell did he fuck up?

    "I would take a step away from my woman," growled Liu Yu Zeng, appearing beside me, his white eyes trained on the human. "Unless you want to die, of course. In that case, I will be more than happy to amodate you."

    "She is trying to keep me from mine!" shouted Bai Long Qiang. "And that fucking freak is holding her! Would you let another man hold your woman like that?"

    "If he was looking at her the way Rip does the Healer? Yes, I would. And I do," sneered Liu Yu Zeng, his eyes shing for a moment before returning back to normal. He wrapped his arms around my waist andid a gentle kiss on the side of my neck.

    "Bull shit," replied Bai Long Qiang, the disgust in his eyes as clear as day. "No man would be willing to share his woman¡­ not if he really loved her."

    "Are you questioning my love for my wife?" asked Liu Yu Zeng softly, his head tilted to the side. I didn''t know if I should let him kill the other man or not. I studied the men behind Bai Long Qiang and noticed that more than a few of them were not paying attention to their leader, their eyes only on the Healer.

    "Is she going to be okay?" asked one softly, his eyes pleading with me.

    "Time heals all wounds," I said, repeating the words that she said to me the first time I went to her crying because the guys had left me. "And sometimes, wounds are too big for even time to heal."

    "Then what do we need to do?" asked a second man,ing to stand beside the first. I could feel just how earnest he was toward the Healer.

    "Nothing," I said with a shake of my head. "Just being beside her will be enough," I continued, speaking through experience. Liu Yu Zeng tightened his hold around me, and I tilted my head back to look at him.

    "If he is not worthy, he dies now. We''ll just tell her that it was a dream when she wakes up," I said, turning my attention to the only one out of all of us who would know Bai Long Qiang''s true intentions. "She already thinks that he is dead. She won''t grieve too long, especially with Rip here."

    Wang Chao met my eyes, his shing red for a second before returning to normal. "Everyone deserves a second chance, my love," he said, his eyes saying so much more than words. I could feel the sadness in his heart as he realized that he might not have been in the same situation as Bai Long Qiang, but there was a time when his loyalty to me was questioned.

    "But not all deserve them," I shot back, refusing to back down on the matter. If my friend wanted a harem of her own, then she was damn well going to get one.

    "No, not all of them do," he replied with a sigh as he left the group of men standing in front of me and wrapped his arms around me. I was squished between him and Liu Yu Zeng, and I wouldn''t have it any other way. Especially not at this moment. "But he does."

    I snorted in disbelief as he gave me a kiss on my forehead before going to stand by Chen Zi Han and the shadow I knew to be Liu Wei.

    "Please don''t kill him," said the first man, cing a hand on Bai Long Qiang''s shoulder. "He is a good man and loves her."

    "As much as you do?" I asked, calling him out, all the while knowing that it was not appropriate.

    "What?!" roared Bai Long Qiang, a look of shock on his face. He was really going to have to get with the program if he was going to stand a chance in Hell with the Healer. "You bastard!" he continued, turning around and taking a swing at his teammate.

    Wang Chao held up his hand,pletely freezing the man. "You are an idiot," he sneered, stalking toward Bai Long Qiang. There was a brief look of fear on the other man''s face before a nk mask fell down over his face. "Do you really think that you are strong enough to look after and protect your woman by yourself? Have you not been paying attention to the world around youtely?" pressed Wang Chao, practically in the other man''s face.

    "Just because you are weak doesn''t mean that I am," answered Bai Long Qiang, raising his chin and staring my man in his eyes.

    "I''m sorry. Did I forget to introduce you two?" I asked, tapping Liu Yu Zeng''s arm. He let me go, and I walked toward Wang Chao. cing my hand on his back, I looked at the human in front of me.

    "We''ve met¡­ at the meeting in City Y," he sneered, his attention turning to me. I felt bad; I really did. I knew that the Healer would be upset over his death, but right now, he was too stupid to live. Talk about poking the bear.

    "No, you really didn''t," I said with a sigh. "Bai Long Qiang, allow me to introduce War, the second Horseman of the Apocalypse."

 Chapter 494 Taste Of Freedom

    ?

    Bai Long Qiang raised an eyebrow and looked at me. "And you seriously expect me to believe that?" he asked, letting out a snort of disbelief.

    "Nope," I said with a shake of my head. "Because that would be asinine, right?"

    "The Horsemen are nothing but a made-up myth from a long ago religion. They have no basis in reality or fact," he continued. And just like that, he failed my test. Good thing he wasn''t one of my men, or else I would have simply turned around and walked away.

    "Understood," I answered with a nod of my head. I wasn''t going to debate fact or fiction when he literally had a God standing in front of him. His journey would be a long one, that''s for sure.

    But luckily for me¡­ he was neither my circus nor my monkey.

    "How about we get out of here?" I suggested with a big smile on my face. The Healer was saved, met the love of her life, and everyone that once took pleasure here was now dead. I had gotten my revenge. There was nothing left for me now.

    "Let''s not be too hasty," said Liu Wei,ing out of the shadows. "I have one present left for you before we get going."

    I looked at the man walking toward me, never once noticing the body he was dragging behind me until he deposited it at my feet.

    Looking down, I stared into the eyes of Alpha. He looked back at me, a cute mixture of rage and confusion on his face. ck veins covered his skin as Liu Yu Zeng''s poison flowed through his veins. He waspletely unbound, and yet he didn''t move a muscle. I looked at Liu Wei with a bright smile on my face. "You shouldn''t have," I gushed. He simply shrugged his shoulders with an indulgent smile on his face.

    I crouched down so that I was closer to the Alpha''s head and whispered into his ear, "Now look at what Death dragged in." I rocked back onto my heels as I chuckled at my own joke. "But seriously, did you see thising? Because I certainly did. I even warned you. What were my words again? Ah yes¡­ you will never break me. Now, tell me, do I look broken to you? And if you didn''t break me, do you really think that I would turn around and walk away without some type of revenge?"

    The Alpha simply stared at me, never once bothering to speak. "Cat got your tongue?" I asked, turning to look at Hades, who was still trying to get the Healer''s attention. "Nope, apparently not. So why won''t you speak."

    "Because even though the cat didn''t get his tongue, Disease did," joked Liu Yu Zeng, smiling at me. "I am pretty sure that it is nothing more than a stump in his mouth right now."

    I paused at that. I was more than willing to let one of the guys take this kill from me, but knowing that they didn''t¡­ well, now I had all sorts of feels.

    Like the feeling of wanting to hear him scream, too bad that won''t happen now.

    Now that pretty much all of the joy had been taken out of the kill, I released my purple me. The Alpha''s mouth opened in pure anguish as the flickering fire started at his feet and made its way up the Reaver''s body.

    A strangled sound escaped him before it quickly turned into a whimper. Apparently, he could still scream after his tongue was removed. I would have to keep that in mind for the future.

    The twelve of us, including the cat, stood around the Alpha, quietly watching him burn until there was nothing left but ashes. The Healer still passed out in Rip''s arms. When the ashes blew away, I turned my attention to my men.

    "Ready?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

    "Not yet," grunted Rip, "She is going to want everyone released," he pointed out, tilting his head in the direction of the cages. My shoulders slumped at his words. Fucking Hell, he was right. She was going to want to save everyone. Oh well¡­ that is just one of the many reasons why I love her.

    "Fine," I whined, turning to look at Wang Chao. "You are a metal power user, right? Want to open the cages for me?" Wang Chao looked at me, startled, before slowly nodding his head. "You forgot, didn''t you?"

    "Sorry," he grunted. "It is not my go-to power." With a wave of his hand, he unlocked almost half of the women''s cages. I nodded my understanding. But I wonder how forgiving he was going to be once he and the others learned the truth about the matter. Oh well, that was going to be an exnation for another time.

    "I can help," said one of the soldiers behind Bai Long Qiang. "My name is Chen Bo Jing, but my teammates call me Lao Tie. Metal is my main power," he continued to exin as he came to stand beside me.

    I smiled up at him, and he started to go from cage to cage, dissolving the locks as soon as he touched them. I was so used to how the guys wielded their powers that I hadpletely forgotten what it looked like when an actual power user activated their powers. It was slow and painful to watch.

    "We are going to be here for hours," groaned Liu Yu Zeng, hunching his back and dropping his head. "And that is only if he doesn''t burn out before getting everyone out of their cage."

    "Yup," I answered with a sigh. Maybe I should just leave everyone here and let the Healer and her men deal with everything. This was really not my scene. Liu Yu Zeng picked me up and put me back on top of my cage so that I had afortable ce to sit down while I figured out my next move.

    I would have created my throne, but I wouldn''t want Bai Long Qiang to have to face the fact that reality was a lot different than he believed it was.

    Liu Yu Zeng leaned against the cage, watching Cheng Bo Jing move from cage to cage. The women took their newfound freedom in one of two ways. They were eitherughing uncontrobly as they stepped out of their prison, or they stayed insides, curling up into a ball as far away from the open door as they could.

    However, shit really didn''t hit the fan until the soldier started to open the fighter''s cages. Maybe there was something to the Alpha keeping them away from each other except when they were in the pit. As soon as more than one cage was open, the two fighters rushed each other, trading blows like their life depended on it.

    I let out a sigh and hung my head. This was really not going how I had it in my head. How the Hell had men be the rulers of the world when they were this stupid? They just got their freedom, and the first thing they did was not take off running but start fighting. What the fuck?

    "Stop!"manded Wang Chao as more and more men joined the fray. Even the dude who was setting them free was not spared a punch or two. At his words, all of the men stopped what they were doing, frozen. "You are free; go do what you want."

    He unfroze one man who was about to get punched in the face, but instead of listening to sound advice, he turned to the man in front of him and punched the frozen man in the face. I am pretty sure that that counted as a cheap shot, but what did I know?

    "Stop!" came another shout, this time by Bai Long Qiang. "Do you not understand what is going on?"

    The fighter turned to look at us, a small trickle of blood leaking from a cut in his lip. "I know," he sneered, stalking toward us. Clearly, this man was mentally unstable because even if you couldn''t count, a child would understand that they were outnumbered. And yet, he still approached.

    "What do you know?" asked the man in love with the Healer. I had no idea what his name was, but I was definitely on his team.

    "I know that the only way to make money in this fucking world for those of us without powers is in the rings. And you fuckers just destroyed the one that paid the most," sneered the man. He walked straight up to Liu Yu Zeng and me and started to get into my man''s face.

    I get that he was the smallest of the four, but the guy was a killer. Clearly, the human was not thinking things through.

    "Then where is all this money you earned?" asked Liu Wei, adjusting his sses anding out of the shadows to stand on my other side. The man jumped as if he never saw Liu Weiing and then looked frantically around.

    There were those brain cells kicking in.

    Too bad it wasn''t soon enough to save him.

 Chapter 495 Who Does That?!?

    ?

    The fighter opened his mouth and then closed it again. He looked at Liu Wei in confusion. "They have the money," he said slowly. He had been so blinded by the idea of wealth that he didn''t understand that he wasn''t going to be seeing any of it.

    "And where are they now?" pushed Liu Wei, wrapping his hand around me from behind.

    "Dead."

    "Exactly," nodded Liu Wei, pleased that the fighter was finally understanding things. "Which means that you aren''t getting your money."

    "Because of you fuckers!" growled the man, lunging himself at me with his hands outstretched as if he was nning on strangling me. Goodbye, lone brain cell. It was nice while yousted. With a wave of his hand, Liu Wei reaped the soul of the fighter, allowing his body to drop to the ground at my feet.

    Liu Yu Zeng let out a soft breath, and the body started to dpose until there was nothing left of it besides a ck smudge on the ground.

    "Didn''t see thating," I grumbled, and I really hadn''t. I had assumed, obviously incorrectly, that they would have been delirious being freed and would have taken the first chance they had to escape, like what most of the women had done.

    "If it is any constion, I don''t think that any of us did," said one of the soldiers. "That is just fucked up."

    "If they don''t want their freedom and would prefer just to kill each other, let them," said Rip in what was possibly the longest sentence that I had ever heard him speak. "But we have bigger problems," he continued, causing my head to snap around and look at him.

    "She isn''t waking up," he said, answering my unasked question.

    "What do you mean?" I demanded, not at all impressed with that statement. Was there something wrong with her? Was she destined to always die after meeting me? Was she allergic to something in the chocte bars? Someone answer me, for fucks sake.

    "It''s because you are holding her," snapped Bai Long Qiang. He walked over to Rip and held out his arms like the other man was simply going to hand her over. That was not happening, and anyone with a brain could see that. Maybe Bai Long Qiang got hit too many times in the head, just like the other fighters.

    Liu Yu Zeng studied the Healer, his eyes shing white for a moment, before turning back to look at me. "Not sick," he said concisely, knowing exactly what I needed to hear. I looked at Liu Wei for a moment, trying to see what he had to say.

    "Death is not calling," he assured me, adjusting his sses as the six men who were not mine turned to stare at him. He shrugged his shoulders, refusing to answer anything more.

    I turned my attention to Chen Zi Han and narrowed my eyes on him. If she wasn''t sick and wasn''t dying, could he have an idea what was wrong with her? He grunted and turned to study the woman in Rip''s arms, his ck eyes shing. He shook his head and turned to look at me.

    "She is malnourished and could use a lot of food when she wakes up, but that aside, everything inside of her is perfectly bnced," he grunted,ing to stand behind where I sat. The only one of my men not to be physically touching me right now was Wang Chao, and I wondered why that was.

    ''Because if I am to touch you right now, I am going to whisk you away to somece that nobody would ever be able to find us and keep you there until you had at least ten babies. I am doing this for you. Please don''t test my self-control. When ites to you, I find that I have none,'' he said inside of my mind, and I truly studied him.

    One of his hands was clenched into a fist so tight that his knuckles were starting to turn white. And while his other hand seemed to be ced casually inside of his pant''s pocket, I could see that he was anything but casual right now. In fact, he appeared to be a quivering ball of lightning, ready to explode at any moment.

    This was not the time to poke the beast.

    I nodded my head and turned my attention back to where Bai Long Qiang and Rip were fighting over who would be able to hold the Healer. Well, when I say fighting, I mean that Bai Long Qiang was jumping around like a monkey, and Rip was looking at him like he was nothing but shit on the ground to avoid.

    "Thank you," Rip grunted. He might not know exactly what the guys were, but at least he took them at their word. His eyes shed to mine for a second, and that was when I saw it. He knew exactly what the guys were, and their words had caused his shoulders to rx a fraction of an inch, knowing that she was not going to die.

    "Should we take her to City A?" asked one of the soldiers, looking around at the others. "I have heard that they have a healer at the base."

    "Yeah, but are they really going to let the healer take a look at Wang Tian Mu? I thought he was specifically reserved for Zhao Jun Jie''s fianc¨¦. She is the most important woman in that city. Nothing less than a Saint if the rumors are anything to go by," answered Cheng Bo Jing, walking back over to us, his face pale from using so much of his power.

    I looked around the clearing and saw that over three hundred cages were opened, allowing their inhabitants to escape. I nodded my head respectfully to him. He was strong for a human, I would give him that.

    "Did you just say that Zhao Jun Jie had a fianc¨¦?" asked Liu Wei, cocking his head to the side and staring at the man who spoke.

    "Yes, it is a well-known fact that she is everything perfect and that he is head over heels in love with her," answered the first man, and the rest of the soldiers grunted in agreement. "He brought in a healer specifically for her. And while he does work at the hospital at the same time, he is only allowed to use his powers on her."

    My eyes narrowed, trying to figure out where I had heard the name Zhao Jun Jie''s name before, but for the life of me, I couldn''t remember.

    "He is your fianc¨¦," said Wang Chao, his tone utterly devoid of emotion.

    "Hardly," I answered with a roll of my eyes. That was right. In myst life, Zhao Jun Jie was the head of City A, taking it over after Wang Chao had never returned from his mission to Country S. But I never heard that he had a fianc¨¦ in hisst life. I wonder who the unfortunate soul was that he was interested in. "And I have all my men. I am not adding any more. Especially not Zhao Jun Jie."

    The first thing I did when I escaped here in myst life was head to City A, hoping that I could find a safe ce to live and lick my wounds. Unfortunately, I never made it past the first gate. Zhao Jun Jie to burn in a pit of Hellfire for the rest of his life, and I would not be upset in the least.

    "You are Zhao Jun Jie''s fianc¨¦? You are Wu Bai Hee?" asked one of the soldiers, pipping up at the exact wrong time and with the exact wrong thing to say.

    "I''m sorry, who did you say Zhao Jun Jie''s fianc¨¦ is?" demanded Liu Wei in a very soft voice. The man went white as he received Death''s undivided attention.

    "Wu Bai Hee?" he responded tentatively, and I could see the sweat appearing on his forehead.

    "Not possible. She is dead. I killed her," said Liu Wei, shaking his head slowly. "Could someone else have taken her name?"

    "I don''t know. All that I have heard was that she moved to City A a few years ago with her father and his group of survivors. I know that she is so beautiful; it hurts to look at her, but that she doesn''t have any powers. Despite that, the leader of City A fell in love with her at first sight and has refused to let anyone else but a select group of people approach her. She is known as the Saint for feeding the hungry, looking after the sick, and donating her clothes to those in need."

    Liu Wei looked at Liu Yu Zeng for a moment, and I didn''t need to read their mind to know what they were thinking. Somehow, some way, Liu Wei''s soulmate had returned from the dead and was now engaged to the leader of City A.

    Wait¡­

    "Did you say that she was pregnant?!?" I screeched, not at all impressed with that fact. She cheated on her soulmate with someone else and got pregnant? Who does that?!

 Chapter 496 Anything For You

    ?

    My gaze swung to Liu Wei, worried that he might be upset that his soulmate was pregnant. I mean, I could understand it if she didn''t know who her soulmate was, but we all knew damn well that that was not the case.

    "I killed her," he said, looking me right in the eyes as he said it. "I didn''t injure her and walked away, hoping that she would die. I didn''t prolong her death nearly as much as I wanted to; I reaped her soul and sent it straight to Hell."

    "Then she must have been reborn," I answered with a shrug of my shoulders. I had an idea of the bitch that did that, but I wasn''t going to say anything yet. Demeter never liked it that her son had chosen another woman over her again and again. The only good thing about Bin An Sha taking it upon himself to move into the Underworld was that he brought Wang Tian Mu with him¡­ thus giving me my best friend.

    It was the only reason why I kept him around as long as I did.

    I often wondered why Demeter was so obsessed with her own son; it was like a reverse Oedipus Complex. Now, I knew that my brothers and sisters had no problems breaking more than a few taboos when it came to rtionships, but that was sick¡­ even by their standards. And, for the record, I never, ever slept with my nephew, no matter what the rumors said. That is just wrong on so many levels.

    "Then I need to kill her again," smiled Liu Wei, adjusting his sses on top of his nose. The smile on his face was enough to give mortals nightmares¡­ I know just by the way the soldiers nched when they saw it.

    "The baby is innocent," I pointed out with a sigh. I had no idea what we were going to do about this whole situation, but there was one thing I knew for sure. The baby would not be punished for the sins of its mother.

    Liu Wei looked at me from the corner of his eye, refusing to say anything. At the end of the day, it was his job to y judge, jury, and executioner; mine was just to give them peace at the end of it. Or torture the fuck out of them over and over for all of eternity. You know, whichever one they deserved.

    I looked at the woman in Rip''s arms, the one that sometimes helped me make those decision. Whether or not my fianc¨¦ was there hooking up with Liu Wei''s fianc¨¦, we were going to City A. She needed a healer, and I would damn well make sure that she was going to get it.

    "Get in bitches," I said, and with a flick of my wrist, one of the RVs and an SUV appeared in the middle of the clearing. "We''re going to City A."

    ----

    I would love to say that my well-time quote was enough to get the soldiers moving, but it really wasn''t. They stared at the vehicles like they were going to grow teeth and take a bit out of them.

    Rip huffed, no double remembering the chaos and death that the bikes reigned down on that secret facility before he looked at me. "Are they safe?" he demanded, ignoring the res from my men for questioning me.

    "You would prefer the bikes?" I asked as they, too, appeared beside the SUV. I watched as Rip stiffened as he saw the four of them just resting there like they were nothing more than harmless motorcycles.

    "I''ll take a bike," said Cheng Bo Jing as he approached Ares. I didn''t know why he was all of a sudden interested in death, but then I remembered that most people would not know what they were.

    "Only if you want to die," I told him with a sigh. "Rip, go into the RV and get the Healer into the bed so that she can rest. Then, divide up the men between the SUV and the RV. You have ten minutes, or else I am going to leave you here and just take her with me."

    "She has a name, you know, it''s Wang Tian Mu. Why do you keep calling her the Healer?" demanded Bai Long Qiang, turning his attention away from the vehicles and towards me.

    "Because to me, that is who she is. The one that heals everything," I answered him with a shrug, not at all surprised when Rip and a few of the other men rushed to the RV, one opening the door for Rip so that he didn''t have to jostle the woman they all seemed to be obsessed with. In fact, only two of the five soldiers stayed with Bai Long Qiang.

    I cocked my head and looked at them. "You aren''t going to go check on her too?" I asked Cheng Bo Jing, looking back and forth between him and the other one.

    "Someone needs to make sure that the Boss stays alive long enough to regret today," shrugged the metal user, and I burst outughing at his response.

    "Very true," I chuckled. The Healer was going to be in good hands. "But don''t make her suffer because he has a stick up his ass. People die on missions all the time these days. There is nothing to say that it can''t happen to him."

    "And here was me thinking that you liked me," sneered Bai Long Qiang, not at all aware of how his statement would sound to my men.

    "Hardly," I answered with a shrug of my shoulders. "You were important because of the fact that the Healer mourned for you for years. If I could save you for her, I would. But this was never about you."

    Bai Long Qiang froze for a moment at my words, more than likely remembering thest few years of his life, too. "I am sorry," he said, taking in a deep breath and slowly letting it out. "I have allowed my emotions to get the better of me, and for that, I am sorry."

    I nodded my head at his apology, but in all honesty, it meant jack shit to me. "Just make sure that you don''t fuck it up in the future," I said, turning away from him and to where Cerberus was, hiding in the trees. I think he was scared that some of the military guys would try to take him to City A, and he didn''t know how to handle that.

    "That''s it?" he asked bewildered. Looking around at my guys, he seemed startled that we weren''t making a bigger deal out of his temper tantrum.

    "Look," I said with a sigh, not sure how to say this politely. Fuck it. New leaf and all that. "I don''t give two flying shits about you and your men. You mean literally nothing to me. The only thing I am going to care about is how you treat that woman in Rip''s arms. And I highly suggest that you treat him the same as you treat your teammates. You are all ying for the same one, after all. Fuck it up, piss the Healer off, and I promise you. You will not know how you died."

    Turning around, not caring about his response, I made my way over to Cerberus. "You might want to hurry. Something tells me that you are going to want to follow us if you are hoping for an easy route to City A."

    ------

    "Are you okay?" asked Cerberus as soon as I got into the cab of his truck. It felt like forever since I hadst seen him.

    "Hello, Old friend," I said, rubbing my hand over the steering wheel. There was a long pause as my words sunk in.

    "You re¡ª" he started before I cut him off.

    "I do, but now is not the time," I answered, leaning back into thefy cushion of the driver''s seat and closed my eyes. There were so many memories ovepping, some good, some bad, but all me. "You are a lot morefortable this way. Now I can sleep without fear of falling off."

    "You never once fell off of me," chuckled Cerberus.

    "There were a few close calls," I reminded him, letting out a long sigh.

    "And yet, you never fell off. You are wee," he snarked back, and I chuckled at his response. "Where are we going now?"

    "City A. The Healer has been found but needs a healer. A bitch needs killing¡­ maybe¡­ and it is time to release Hell on Earth."

    "Cool, sounds like fun," grunted the truck as he started his engine. "You just get some sleep. Hell on Earth can wait until you wake up."

    "Sounds good," I grunted, taking out a pillow and nket from my space and making myself morefortable. "The RV is important; the Healer is inside of it. Please keep it in your eyes at all times."

    "Understood. I will make sure that nothing happens to her."

    "Thank you, Old Friend," I murmured before sleep dragged me under. I had been put through the wringer today and needed sleep more than I needed my next cup of coffee.

    "Anything for you, My Queen."

 Chapter 497 The Gates Of City A

    ?

    I woke up to the sound of explosions and Cerberus weaving back and forth. Grumbling under my breath that it wasn''t a road trip without Lin trying to blow someone up, I pulled the covers up to my chin and fell back asleep.

    Or at least, that was the n. When Cerberus mmed on his brakes and literally slid to a stop, I had had more than enough. "What now?" I groaned as I looked around. It must have been early morning because the sun was just peaking over the trees on either side of the highway.

    "Sorry, My Queen," said Cerberus, sounding truly sorry for waking me up. "Some Reavers have caught up to us, and the Horsemen were trying not to wake you up."

    "Sure, they were," I groaned, vanishing my nket and pillow into my space. Taking out a mug of coffee, I looked at it for a few minutes. "If idiots could fly, this ce would be an airport," I muttered, reading the mug. Taking a sip, I moaned out loud in happiness. Ah, freshly brewed coffee, how I loved you.

    Getting out of the truck, I walked over to where the SUV and the RV were parked. I saw five of them surrounding the RV with a wide variety of knives and swords in their hand but not a single gun. "Morning," I called out, trying to suppress a yawn. The men looked at me,pletely stunned, while I took a sip of my magical brew.

    "What?" I asked, turning to look at Chen Bo Jing. He was the only one I knew by name, other than Bai Long Qiang, and I wasn''t exactly talking to him this early.

    "We are surrounded by a bunch of Reavers," exined Chen Bo Jing slowly, "It might be best if you return to your vehicle where you will be safe."

    There was another explosion, causing the five men to startle before turning their attention away from me and to the surrounding area. It was quite cute, in a stupid kind of way. "You are safe," I assured them, wrapping my hands around my cup. The mornings still had more than a little bite to them. "The guys will protect you."

    "We don''t need protection," growled Bai Long Qiang. "What we need is a fucking way to defend ourselves."

    "Why?" I asked, confused. Do you know what I was craving? Carrot cake. There was no better breakfast than coffee and carrot cake in the morning. Not to mention, it had been years since I was able to get away with it. Back at the cabin, Chen Zi Han insisted on making ''healthy breakfasts'' in the morning. I tried to exin to him that carrot cake was incredibly healthy since it was made with carrots, but he just wouldn''t listen."

    "Isn''t it obvious?" demanded the human, a low growling from him. "We are surrounded by Reavers with only knives to protect ourselves with. We are literally sitting ducks, and there is no way to defend ourselves once the Reavers break through your men."

    Two of the men looked at each other before turning their attention to me, "We heard Wang Chao call one of them Famine and the other one Death. Were those just military nicknames?"

    "Yes and no," I answered, bringing out a piece of carrot cake. I handed my mug to the nearest guy and dug into the cake in front of me. "Liu Wei used to be called Death in the military. Now¡­ it''s a bit moreplicated than that."

    "Are you really trying to convince us that four men are able to hold off the Reavers? And even if they were able to, how long do you think that willst?" asked Bai Long Qiang. Looking around, I finally noticed that Rip was nowhere to be seen.

    "Where''s Rip?" I asked,pletely ignoring the question. I had told him everything once before, and he chose not to believe. I wasn''t going to waste my breath trying to calm him down now.

    "Inside the RV watching over Wang Tian Mu," answered Cheng Bo Jing as he approached me.

    "No wonder your Boss has a stick up his ass," I muttered, taking my coffee from its holder. Looking down to make sure that the man didn''t take a sip while I was distracted, I gulped down the rest. Sighing in contentment, I turned my attention to what was going on outside.

    "The guys have the Reavers handled," I promised Cheng Bo Jing. "And even if they didn''t, I would. So it would be best for you not to worry and get some more sleep. If the guys are having fun, this might take a while."

    "Fun?!??" shouted Bai Long Qiang. "My fianc¨¦ hasn''t woken up yet, and your guys are having fun?"

    I blinked at his statement and cocked my head to the side, not entirely understanding what he was saying. "What do you mean she hasn''t woken up yet?" I demanded, not at all impressed that they didn''t start their sentences with the important stuff first.

    "Exactly that. She hasn''t woken up yet, and that¡­ guy¡­ hasn''t left her side since," growled Bai Long Qiang. Staring at him, I could see the panic and worry in his features. I originally thought that it was because of the Reavers, but now I can see that it wasn''t.

    "I want them dead in two seconds," I said, raising my voice just a little. I wasn''t concerned that the guys wouldn''t be able to hear me. They could hear mymands even if we were half a away. "We are to make City A by the end of the day. Anyone that stands in our way: kill them."

    "What the fuck was that?" asked Bai Long Qiang. "That''s not going to work," he continued just as there was one final scream and then silence.

    "You were saying?" I asked, turning around. "Get into your vehicles, and let''s get going. We are burning daylight."

    "You know City A is at least two days away from here, right?" called out one of the men, the one originally holding my coffee. I turned around from where I was climbing into Cerberus'' cab and looked at the man.

    "It was. And now it''s one day. Sleep in shifts. We will not be stopping again until we are at their gates," I said, not at all caring about their thoughts. I would not let anything happen to the Healer while she was in my care. If I had to bend time and space to get us to a healer faster, then that was what I would do. However, I was still weak. I couldn''t shorten the entire distance, but I could make us go faster.

    "We leave now," I said, getting inside Cerby and buckling up. "Are the guys done?"

    "They are ready to leave on your orders," assured Cerberus as I gripped the steering wheel and looked out at the road in front of us. This was going to take a lot of effort, but it would be more than worth it.

    "Then let''s get this show on the road," I answered.

    -----

    "We are almost there," said Cerberus encouragingly, but I was so dizzy that I was ready to puke. "We can drive the rest normally. We will get there by tonight, I promise. Draining yourself like this can''t be good for the babies."

    I let out a tired sigh and grunted. I had done the best that I could do, and any more wouldnd me in the hospital bed beside the Healer. Taking out my favorite nket, I closed my eyes, feeling the pull of sleep calling to me.

    -----

    "We are here," said Cerberus softly, pulling me out of sleep. I let out a jaw-breaking yawn as I stretched my arms over the top of my head. Stretching my neck from side to side, I looked out the window.

    "Where are we?" I asked around, yet another yawn. I felt like I was supposed to know where we were, but at the same time, that nap was so freaking good that I was having a hard time getting my brain into gear.

    "Just outside the gates of City A," answered Cerberus softy, letting me get my bearings. "The Healer has yet to wake up, and all of the men are here, waiting for your next order."

    "Got it," I groaned, throwing aside my nket and getting out of the truck. My men were all lined up and facing off against five of the Healer''s men. I noticed that Rip was not around and can only assume that he was still in the RV with my sleeping friend.

    "We have to hurry up and get into line," growled Bai Long Qiang. "They only let in a certain number every day, and I have heard horror stories about those that were left outside at night."

    I had forgotten about that. However, he was much too old and grizzled to worry about those hunters. They preferred the young ones they sold for a higher price.

    Wang Chao remained silent, not bothering to address the other male.

    "That''s fine. We have an in," I said like it was the most obvious thing ever. And as far as I was concerned, it was.

    If Wang Chao couldn''t get us in, Liu Wei could.

 Chapter 498 Shes A Healer

    ?

    Wang Chao walked up to the first set of gates and looked up at the city. They hade full circle and then some, he mused a slight smile on his lips. His thoughts drifted off to their first meeting, the misunderstandings, and all the times she had gone with what they wanted simply to make them happy.

    He closed his eyes and stretched out his neck, trying to loosen the tense muscles in them. If something happened and they had to start all over from the beginning, he knew everyst thing that he would change, starting at the moment Liu Wei walked into his office, letting him know that the ranch had been sold to some prissy second-generation.

    He pictured how that would y out in his head. Would he get down on his hands and knees at that moment to beg for her forgiveness, or would he have gifted her the ranch and all the supplies she needed?

    He definitely wouldn''t have hung the need for weapons over her head or let Liu Wei get ahead of him by offering his own. He thought about what he would have done with his cousin if he woke up with all the memories of this life. Would he have killed him right off the bat? Completely ignoring the wants of his grandfather? Or would he have locked him in a dungeon so that Li Dai Lu would be able to have that final blow?

    He definitely wouldn''t have helped the military, dragging her around from ce to ce, never really letting her experience what home felt like. No, if there were such a thing as a reset button, he would make a lot of changes, but they would all be for her.

    ''You stupid man,'' came a frustrated voice inside of his head. ''I don''t want to keep repeating myself over and over again, so listen carefully. I do not regret a single thing in this life. If we hadn''t left right before the EMP hit, we never would have met Liu Yu Zeng and Chen Zi Han. And I would never be whole. If we hadn''t gone in search of the Rear Admiral, or whatever his name is, I wouldn''t know how strong I really was. Every step in the journey has served its purpose, and I am not upset about the oue at all. So do us all a favor and stop with the pity party. It is pathetic for a cold-blooded CEO like yourself.''

    ''Of course, My Queen,'' replied Wang Chao, letting out a sigh. There was no woman on this like Li Dai Lu, and she belonged to him.

    ''More like you all belong to me. Now, stop dawdling and get us into the city,'' came the immediate response, forcing Wang Chao to bite the inside of his mouth or risk bursting out into uncontrobleughter.

    But she was right. He and his brothers belonged to her¡­ body, mind, and soul. For all eternity.

    The guard, finally noticing him, quickly approached. "You are not supposed to be here. If you are looking to gain entrance, then you must go down the street. If you are a power user, you will be assigned to a team; if you are not, then you might as well go try one of the other sanctuaries. City A only takes the best of the best."

    Wang Chao smirked at the man standing in front of him. There was not much keeping him from destroying the entire city; in fact, knowing that they turned his Queen away in a past life was enough cause to create a war inside that would bring it down to its foundations.

    But right now, all his woman wanted was to get someone to look at the Healer, which meant that he couldn''t bring it down¡­ or at least¡­ not yet.

    "Do you know who I am?" he asked softly, staring at the man. It was clear that he was not military. He didn''t have the level of calm confidence that came from being trained and trained well.

    "Nope," responded the guard. "And if you are suffering from amnesia, I suggest that you go looking elsewhere for answers."

    "I assume you were aedian or maybe a clown before you rose to the rank of guard?" mused Wang Chao, the slight smile on his face never dropping.

    Before he could say anything else, another guard noticed the two of them talking and came over to investigate. "Is there a problem here?" he asked, not bothering to look at Wang Chao.

    "Yeah, he is refusing to move," sneered the first guard, nodding his head in Wang Chao''s direction. The second guard, understanding the situation better, turned his attention to the other man. He froze, his mouth dropping open for a fraction of a second before straightening up and saluting.

    "General," he said, his posture perfect. Inside his head, he was cursing out the idiot beside him for not recognizing Mount Tai. "I am d to see you alive and well. Please,e in."

    "I would love to," answered Wang Chao, looking down at his nails briefly before looking up at the soldier in front of him. "However, I have been told that I am only wee if I am a power user or have checked in down the road. So sorry for the misunderstanding."

    "Not at all, Sir," said the second guard, turning to re at the other man. "This is your home. There is no need to go through all those procedures. Please,e in."

    "And the rest of my team?" he asked, studying the second man. His heart was pure and in the right ce. It was too bad that he was connected to the taint of City A.

    "They cane in too," the guard assured him.

    "Thank you. Is Bin An Sha here by any chance? We have need of him," said Wang Chao. It was a shot in the dark, but Bin An Sha was too much a creature of habit. Bad for an assassin, great for a doctor. After they left City H, he should have made his way back here."

    "He is," assured the guard. "He is the private healer for the princess, but I am sure if you asked her, she would be willing to lend him to you. She is generous in all things; I am sure that it will be fine."

    "Princess?" asked Wang Chao, raising an eyebrow. "I didn''t know that we had any other royalty in the city."

    "Wu Bai Hee," blushed the guard. "She hates it when we call her princess, but that is what she is. She is the fianc¨¦ of the leader of the city, Zhao Jun Jie."

    "Ah yes, him," nodded Wang Chao slowly. It was nice to know that the information that Bai Long Qiang''s team managed to gather was still urate.

    "I assume you will be taking over now that you are here?" asked the guard, a hopeful expression on his face.

    "We''ll see." Wang Chao was not about tomit to anything without Li Dai Lu''s express approval. He doubted that she would want to stay here, but that was not his call to make.

    "Of course, Sir. If you want to call your team, I''ll escort you into the city."

    "Thank you," Wang Chao nodded, satisfied with the oue. With a quick message to Liu Wei, he waited at the gate with the guards while the rest of the team came up.

    "This isn''t right," said the first guard, his eyes widening as he saw the eleven people walking toward them. "They need to enter through the proper procedures. And what the fuck is wrong with her?" he continued, pointing his finger at the Healer.

    Rip let out a low growl, not at all impressed by the guard. If his arms weren''t full with his woman, then he would have ripped the other man in half without a second thought. As it stood, Wang Tain Mu was much more important, and he didn''t trust anyone else to hold her right now. He could wait and rip him apartter.

    He memorized the guard''s face, making sure that the next time they met, it would be a much different oue.

    "She was¡ª" started Bai Long Qiang before Li Dai Lu interrupted him.

    "She fainted from hunger. We just want someone to look over her to make sure that she doesn''t need anything more than rest and food," said his Queen, and Wang Chao turned to re at the other man. If the Healer wanted others to know her story, she would tell them, it wasn''t his ce to spill all of her secrets toplete strangers.

    Maybe Li Dai Lu was right; not everyone deserved a second chance.

    "And the blood?" demanded the first guard, pointing to the obviously dried blood on her clothes.

    Rip cursed himself for not thinking about that, but besides washing her face and hands while she was asleep, he didn''t dare do anything more. He could just imagine the panic she would feel to wake up with different clothes on, not knowing what happened, or, God forbid, waking up in the showerpletely naked.

    "She''s a healer."

 Chapter 499 Are You Sure Youre A Doctor?

    ?

    The growl that Rip let out was enough to cause the first soldier to almost piss his pants. That act of fear,bined with his words, left Rip wanting to kill the man more with every breath he took. How dare he talk like that to the most beautiful, angelic woman to ever grace this pit of a Hellhole. "The blood belongs to those that she healed." And he would know. A lot of that blood was his.

    "She''s a healer?" breathed the second guard, and this time, Rip growled for apletely different reason. The obsession in the guard''s eyes was not something that he wanted directed at his woman.

    "We are just going to keep that secret to ourselves," said Li Dai Lu, not answering the question but not denying it either. "Just until she is in a less vulnerable position. I am sure that you can understand."

    "Of course," nodded the second guard, looking briefly at the first one, wondering if he would be able to keep his mouth shut. To have two healers in their sanctuary would make them the strongest one anywhere. "Please, follow me. I''ll call ahead and see if Bin An Sha is avable."

    "Thank you," smiled Li Dai Lu with a smile on her face. "We appreciate it."

    The second guard nodded his head and went to the guard''s house to let them know to open the gate. The first guard remained where he was, staring at the amount of people in front of him. He needed to tell Wu Bai Hee what was going on; she needed to know that there was going to be a female healer in the city.

    Liu Yu Zeng walked up to the shorter man and leaned forward to whisper in his ear. "I would keep your mouth shut about things that you shouldn''t know. It will keep you alive longer," he breathed, and the guard straightened.

    "Are you threatening me?" he demanded, pushing Liu Yu Zeng back a bit. The other man just smiled. "Not at all. It was merely a warning. It is up to you if you heed it or not."

    The first guard pointed his gun at Liu Yu Zeng''s head, not at all impressed with what he said. "Your friend might be a big shot here, but you are nothing. Don''t be surprised if you find yourself waking up dead in a ditch somewhere for pissing off the wrong person."

    Liu Yu Zeng and the rest of the crew blinked a few times, trying to figure out how that would work. If he was dead, was he really waking up? Well, he might simply because he was a Horseman, but that aside, the guard made no sense whatsoever.

    "Whatever helps you sleep at night," muttered Liu Yu Zeng, patting the guard on the shoulder. He would be dead soon enough. There was no point in hurting his brain trying to figure out what he was trying to say.

    "Please, follow me. Bin An Sha is aware that you areing, and I am to escort you to his ce," said the second guard, returning to the gate. The chain link gate slowly opened as two men pulled it apart.

    Wang Chao nodded his thanks, and everyone filed into City A.

    ----

    Bin An Sha sat down on the couch in his living room, staring out the window at the city beyond. He wasn''t given a lot of information, only that a woman was ill and needed his help. Was this what the messenger was alluding to when he visited?

    Lost in his thoughts, he didn''t hear the knocking on his door until a very familiar voice growled his name.

    What the fuck was he doing here? Was she okay? Was she the one who was ill? Bolting to the door, he jerked it open to see Wang Chao standing in front of him. "Where is she?" he demanded, not even caring about pleasantries. He needed to make sure that Li Dai Lu was okay.

    "Here," grunted a voice from behind. The crowd parted, and a giant of a man stood in front of him with an unconscious woman in his arms.

    Thank god it wasn''t Li Dai Lu.

    Now that his heart rate was returning to normal, he invited everyone inside his apartment and led the monster to his guest room. He had converted it a year ago into a working exam room, just in case. However, this was the first time he had ever used it.

    "Put her on the bed," he said dispassionately, looking at the blood and dirt on her clothes. His nose wrinkled as he thought about all of the germs that were living on her and how much work he was going to have to put into cleaning the room after she had left.

    Oh well, it was better the exam table than his couch, that was for sure.

    "May I ask what happened?" he said, turning to the giant who refused to leave the room. It was clear that he had nominated himself her protector. A part of Bin An Sha was upset over that. That the other man needed to protect her from him.

    "She saw someone that she thought was dead and fainted. That was yesterday. She hasn''t woken up since," grunted the giant, his enting out the more frustrated he got.

    "Seriously?" asked Bin An Sha, raising an eyebrow. He was really getting annoyed with fainting princesses.

    "Fix her," growled the man, looming over the doctor. "Or I will wear your intestines as a ne."

    Bin An Sha snorted at the threat, not at all concerned about them. However, at least it was more inventive than some of the others he had heard.

    He put on a pair of medical gloves and brushed aside the tangled hair that covered the woman''s face.

    His breath caught in his throat as he stared down at the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. His fingers brushed her cheek, and he cursed the fact that there was a barrier between his skin and hers.

    "Tell me everything," he demanded, needing to know what happened to her as his gift flowed out of him, trying to heal whatever he could.

    He listened to the giant recount most of what had happened to her, although Bin An Sha was willing to bet that he was glossing over a lot of it. But that didn''t matter. He was here now; he would make sure that she was protected and cared for like she should be.

    "The ones that did this to her?" started the doctor, turning to look at Rip for the first time since seeing Wang Tian Mu''s face. "What happened to them?"

    "Dead," answered Rip, his lip twisting in a sneer. He wished that he could have ripped a few of the worst ones apart, but he was not leaving his woman alone long enough to hunt them down. The reapers took care of them, and from the screaming he heard, their deaths weren''t swift or easy.

    "I hope they suffered," growled the other man, and Rip looked at him, noticing the cold air of a killer filling the room.

    "They did. Are you sure that you are a doctor?" he asked. He had faith that Li Dai Lu wouldn''t let just anyone touch the Healer, but at the same time, the doctor didn''t have the air of one who took care of others.

    "Among other things," was the nonmittal response. "But I promise you, nothing will happen to her while she is in my care."

    Rip nodded his head, acknowledging the doctor''s words but not putting much faith in them. Nothing would happen to her because he was there, not because of some doctor.

    Bin An Sha ignored the man standing in the corner, choosing instead to concentrate his attention on the woman in front of him. If he was attracted to Li Dai Lu the moment he saw her, that was nothingpared to how he felt about her. She might not be stunning, but her beauty shone from inside of her; even unconscious, she pulled to him.

    She left so familiar as if he had known her before. But where?

    His magic healed her while his brain spun around in circles. One thing was for sure: he was never letting her out of his eyesight again.

    "Don''t worry, you are in good hands. You are safe," he murmured into her ear as he brushed a strand of hair back behind her ear. Closing his eyes, heid a gentle kiss on her forehead.

    The Messenger was right. It was a good thing he hadn''t left when he was nning to. Otherwise, he would have missed the most important thing in the world¡ªhis other half.

    Hours passed, and still, he fed his energy into the woman on his exam table. Refusing to give up or stop for even a moment, he ignored the giant that stood as a silent sentinel in the corner of the room or the other men who moved in and out of the room, constantly checking in on her.

    Nothing mattered but her.

 Chapter 500 The Assassination Of Yang Meng Yao

    ?

    It was around midnight when Wang Chao''s eyes shed open. Looking around, he saw that the five of them were tucked into the bed of his and Liu Wei''s condo in City A. Li Dai Lu was cuddled between Liu Yu Zeng and Chen Zi Han, enjoying some much needed sleep after they spent hours convincing her just how important she was to them.

    As soon as he moved, Chen Zi Han''s eyes shed in the darkness as he stared at Wang Chao, almost daring him to wake up their woman. Wang Chao shook his head, reassuring the other man that he had no such ns. She needed sleep. Even more so now that they knew she was pregnant with twins.

    However, there was something that Wang Chao needed to do while he was here, a loose end that needed to be tied up. And this was the perfect time to get it done.

    Quietly slipping out of bed, he saw Chen Zi Han nod his head in agreement and pull Li Dai Lu even further into his arms. Liu Yu Zeng let out a moan of disapproval as he wiggled his way forward until he was once again stered against his woman''s back, his eyes never once opening, even though both men knew that he was awake.

    ''Need help?'' asked Liu Wei from inside of his head. The man hadn''t moved an inch, but he was just as awake as the others. ''No,'' grunted Wang Chao. ''This is something that I need to deal with alone.''

    ''Call me when you want to end her misery,'' shrugged Liu Wei as if they weren''t talking about the death of a woman. Then again, there was only one person that was important, and she was in bed with them.

    Wang Chao grunted softly, just realizing that he might need Liu Wei after all.

    Taking a minute to appreciate the scene in front of him, Wang Chao sent up another prayer of thankfulness to whichever god was listening. This was his heaven on Earth, and he would do everything in his power to protect it.

    He blinked out of existence and reappeared in yet another darkened room. This one, however, only held two upants. He watched from the shadows, his red eyes glowing as he studied Yang Meng Yao and Li Shoi Ming. They were lying wrapped in each other''s arms, much like Li Dai Lu and Liu Yu Zeng, the naked flesh of his soulmate practically glowing in the night.

    Wang Chao cocked his head to the side. Why was it that both his and Liu Wei''s soulmates were so eager to crawl into the beds of someone else? It was not like he particrly cared, but it was more of the principle of the matter.

    She apparently had been reborn just to stand by her side, her love andmitment to him transcending time and space. And yet, she and her¡­ lover¡­ disappeared in the middle of the zombie tide of City Y, choosing their lives over anyone else.

    He understood the decision. It was the most logical one. But at the same time, he couldn''t see Li Dai Lu turning her back on any of them and running in the other direction simply because things got hard. She had proven over and over again that she was willing to stand beside theme Hell or high water.

    The more hepared the two women, the more he wondered what he had done in a past life to deserve a soulmate like the woman in front of him. Then again, given his past, maybe she was his punishment for not understanding or treasuring what he had before he destroyed it.

    It had taken countless lifetimes to learn his lesson, but now that he has, there was no turning back. And the best way that he could show his wife his love and devotion was to sever his link with the woman in front of him.

    He removed his handgun from its shoulder holster and screwed in the silencer. It didn''t matter much to him if he was caught or not. What was the worst that could happen? War never died, and now, neither could he.

    Walking up to the two sleeping figures, he waited for Yang Meng Yao to open her eyes. He wanted her to know who killed her so that when she stood before Hades to be judged, there would be no questions or misunderstandings.

    It took her longer than he expected to realize that there was someone else in the room. Her instincts for danger were practically non-existent, hercency in this day and age absolutely ridiculous.

    She let out a startled gasp before realizing who was standing in front of her. "Wang Chao?" she whispered, the smile on her face revealing all of her thoughts. She was actually happy to see him, thinking that even after finding her in someone else''s bed, he still wanted her.

    He smiled and nodded his head, watching the hope and excitement rising in her eyes. She hadpletely forgotten about the other person in the room, too excited at the idea of ruling the zombies. "You ran away before we could talk," whispered Wang Chao as he crouched down in front of her.

    "I''m sorry," she said, her eyes begging him for understanding. "Li Shoi Ming dragged me away kicking and screaming. If I had my way, I never would have left your side. You need to believe me. There is no one else for me but you."

    "Do you truly feel that way?" asked Wang Chao, his face seemingly softening at her words. "Is there no one else for you but me?"

    "Always," she promised, nodding her head. He might have even believed her heartfelt dedication to him if she wasn''t naked, wrapped in another man''s arms while she said it.

    "What about him?" he asked, knowing that the other man was awake and listening to everything she was saying. Based on the rageing off of him, Wang Chao needed to be worried that the other man would steal his kill.

    "He is nothing, simply a way to give you some more connections in your rise to controlling the world," she said, shaking her head.

    "And what happens if I don''t want to control the world? What happens if I want to live a quiet life somewhere away from zombies and humans? Would you still stand by my side then?" asked Wang Chao as he searched her face.

    "But why would you want to do that? Only you are good enough to stand at the top of the mountain, the king of the world, both zombies and humans. That is your destiny. And with me, you can achieve it," she said, not noticing Li Shoi Ming tightening his embrace.

    "Thank you," said Wang Chao out of the blue. He was truly thankful to the woman in front of him, but not for the reason she thought. "Thank you for helping me understand what a perfect, amazing woman I have. Thank you for making me understand the stupidity of putting anyone in front of her. If you hadn''t just spoken, I might not know what future I want. But now I do. So, thank you."

    Rising to his full height, he took onest look at the woman who was his future if he was too stupid to have kept going down the same path. Raising his gun, he smiled at the panicked look on her face as he quickly pulled the trigger once, twice.

    Turning his back on the two humans bleeding to death, still locked in their embrace, he was startled to see Li Dai Lu watching him from the same corner where he had stood. Maybe Yang Meng Yao was not the only one to have developed a sense ofcency.

    "Are you okay?" she asked, her voice little more than a soft sigh. Wang Chao dropped to his knees in front of her, his gun falling to the floor beside him. He crawled forward until he could wrap both of his arms around her waist, his cheek resting against her stomach where his children grew.

    "I don''t know," he admitted, closing his eyes and tightening his embrace. "There is a very big part of me that is scared that I am going to wake up tomorrow in my room here before the end of the world and without you in my life. I am scared that this is all a dream."

    "Would it really be that bad if this was all a dream?" she asked, running her fingers through his hair.

    "I think that that would be the worst thing to ever happen to me," said Wang Chao, taking in a shuddering breath. "To know that I had everything that I could ever want within my grasp, only for it to disappear¡­"

    "So, you wouldn''t go looking for me?" she said with a light chuckle.

    "I would search to the ends of the world for you. But deep down inside, I would be scared that the woman I found would be your body before you came. And I don''t want any woman other than you beside me," he admitted.

    "Even if we looked the exact same?"

    "Even then."

 Chapter 501 This Couldnt Be Happening!

    ?

    I looked down at the man in front of me, literally on his knees, crying at the idea that this was nothing more than a dream that would vanish like smoke in the morning.

    The surprising thing was that he wasn''t wrong. Since we went through this cycle over and over again for thousands of years, there was no guarantee that we would wake up in the same puppy pile as we fell asleep in.

    "I think we are safe," I said slowly, not wanting to make any promises that I couldn''t keep. "We have learned from the past and will not make the same mistakes in the future."

    "Never," he said quickly as he buried deeper into my stomach as if he thought that if he held on hard enough, everything would be fine. "You are the only thing that makes this life worth living. I just hate myself for taking so long to realize that."

    "It''s not entirely your fault," I assure him, enjoying the quietness of the evening, just the two of us alone to talk things out. "You are War. There is no denying that. And as much as I hate it, I now understand that you need to let that part of you out to be truly happy."

    I held up my hand when he opened his mouth to interrupt. "I understand that now. I saw the four of you in the Reaver encampment when you guys did what I created you to do. I can''t im to love you and not ept every aspect of you. That is my fault, and I am sorry about it."

    "I don''t feel the need to answer the calls," said Wang Chao. "It is like after letting loose in the encampment, I felt a peace that I had never felt before."

    "Then this is what we will do. When you no longer feel that peace and the four of you can agree on which calls to answer, I will go with you. That way, I don''t feel like I am always being left behind, and you don''t feel guilty for answering the calls. Deal?" I asked, trying to find apromise that would work for us.

    "Deal," he said, and I could feel his relief. "But only after the twins are born and only if it is safe to leave them alone¡­ and only if you aren''t pregnant," he tacked on. I let out a low chuckle and pulled him up to his feet.

    There would always be fights and disagreements. In my opinion, any good rtionship has plenty of them. But it was how you worked through them that was the most important.

    "More kids? How about I have these two first, and then we can discuss it," I joked,ing to my toes so that he could give me a mind-blowing kiss.

    Once I managed to form a thought, I looked at the two people dead in the bed. Honestly, I hadpletely forgotten about them, but it was nice that Wang Chao cared enough about my feelings not to let any loose ends pop up in the future.

    I threw out my blue me, watching it engulf the two of them until there was nothing left. They weren''t worth my time or my worry.

    "Let''s get back to bed, okay?" I asked, looking up at him. "I''m still sleepy but can''t sleep without all of you in bed."

    "Sorry, little one," he said, cing a gentle kiss on my forehead before blinking us back into his room.

    "About time," grumbled Liu Yu Zeng, sitting cross-legged and hugging my pillow. "This is definitely not the same."

    I burst outughing as I jumped on him. The guyspletely freaked out, worried that I might hurt the babies if I did that. But I wasn''t concerned at all. I knew some would catch me before Inded.

    And I was right; Chen Zi Han plucked me out of mid-air and gently ced me in the middle of the bed. It wasn''t all that big, maybe only a king-sized one. However, we had ced both Wang Chao''s and Liu Wei''s mattresses together after taking out the actual bedframe out of the room. It was good enough for now.

    If the guys wanted to stay longer, though, we would have to change things around.

    "Rest now. Everything can wait for the morning," muttered Chen Zi Han, giving me a kiss on my forehead before pulling me into his arms. My giant. My killer. My caretaker. I loved him in a way that I never thought I would love anyone. He was my safety, but never once had he held me back from doing what I wanted to do. He just stood behind me, always ready to catch me if I fell.

    I buried my head in the crook of his neck, taking in a deep breath of his scent and letting it wash over me. No. This wasn''t a dream, and I refused to let it turn into one. This was my happily ever after¡­ even if I wasn''t the main character of the story.

    I moaned as I felt Liu Yu Zeng pressing up behind me, his arms wrapping around me as if I were his private body pillow. If Chen Zi Han was my safety, Liu Yu Zeng was my sky. My joker was more than willing to do anything, always up for a challenge or to just spend the day in bed. He never once pushed me beyond what I wasfortable with. He let me spread my wings and fly, making sure that he was flying right beside me the whole time.

    "I love you," I said out loud, the feeling building up in my chest and throat until it came out. "God, I love you so much."

    The men were silent, knowing that I needed to say the words, but I didn''t want any words in return. This was my confession to them, to all of them. So that they knew without a shadow of a doubt my feelings for them. Just like I knew theirs for me.

    "Good night, Trouble," said Wang Chao from the other side of Chen Zi Han.

    ----

    Morning light streamed in much sooner than I was willing to wake up, but there was still a lot of stuff to do.

    The first thing to do was to make sure that the Healer was being looked after. Hopefully, she would be awake by now, but if not, that was fine too. I was asleep for almost a week before I woke up.

    After that, I needed to know what was going on in the city. I had sent the zombies this way all those years ago, and it was almost time for them to arrive. If the city was worth saving, I would. If not, I would let it copse like a house of cards.

    Finally, I would need to talk to the guys to see what they had in mind for the future. Would we continue to travel around? Would we return to the ranch with everyone else? Or would we go back to the cabin in the mountains, away from everyone else?

    "All that is well and good," said Chen Zi Han, picking me up from the mattress and carrying me out of the room. Setting me down on the couch with a nket over myp, he gave me a quick kiss on the cheek. "Whatever is in your head will happen, but first, breakfast. What do you want?"

    "I''ll take pancakes with hash browns, bacon, sausage, a fruit sd, and a cup of orange juice," said Liu Yu Zeng, strolling in behind us and making himselffortable on the couch by my feet. Picking up one in his hand, he started to massage out the kinks.

    There was a brief smack as Liu Wei followed his bother into the living room. "No one cares about your order. You can get your own damn breakfast. However, our Queen needs a proper breakfast that not only agrees with her stomach but also is high in the vitamins and minerals that she needs."

    "One of us should run to a store and see if they have any prenatal vitamins, just in case. I have heard that folic acid is essential for the children''s development," muttered Chen Zi Han as he tied on an apron that Wang Chao had hanging on a hook in the kitchen. I couldn''t help but smile at the most feared enforcer in the country wearing a pink apron with a blue teddy bear sewn into the corner.

    "Good idea," muttered Liu Wei, pulling out his notebook. "I''ll head out now to see if I can find anything. In the meantime, freshly squeezed orange juice, pancakes with strawberries, and bacon should be okay."

    Liu Yu Zeng and I shared a look while the other two were deep in discussion over what I should and should not be eating. Honestly, it was pretty adorable. Pulling out two pieces of chocte cake from my space, I handed one to the man beside me and dug into the other. Pancakes and bacon sounded great, but what I was really craving was sweets.

    I took my first bite of the choctey goodness and almost puked all over the ce. No¡­ this couldn''t be happening!

 Chapter 502 Itâ€™s Over, Understood?

    ?

    I brought the fork up to my mouth again, willing myself to fight against the nausea, but it was just not happening. The babies apparently didn''t appreciate chocte cake as much as I did. I gritted my teeth and vanished my slice, ring at Liu Yu Zeng, who was enjoying his.

    This wasplete and utter bullshit. Life was not fair, I tell you!

    "No go on the chocte cake?" asked Liu Yu Zeng, and I could see the pity in his eyes as he looked at me. I let out a low growl as I conjured a cup of coffee. I was able to drink it just fine yesterday, thank God. If I didn''t have coffee for the next few months, I couldn''t guarantee that the guys would be willing to put up with me. Even if it was their fault for all of this.

    I wrapped my hands around the mug, not at all caring what it said, and brought it up to my nose to inhale the aroma of nature''s most perfect bean.

    Only to feel the nausea swell up and start choking me.

    I looked at the man beside me, tears running down my face as I handed him the mug before bolting to the bathroom to be sick. Fuck my life. This could not be happening.

    Puking up absolutely nothing because the little brats hadn''t let me eat anything yet, I moaned in dismay. If this was what life was like, pregnant, then I was never going through it again. I thought the twins were little angels, not making themselves known or causing me any difort, but apparently, they were just biding their time to really hit me.

    Wang Chao walked into the bathroom and gathered my hair in his hands as my stomach continued to cramp up, trying to get everything out. He kissed my head and muttered sweet nothings into my ear until this round stopped, and I was able to flush the toilet. Folding my arms over the top of the seat, I let my head drop down.

    "This sucks," I muttered, not at all happy with life.

    "I know," he answered softly. "Let''s hope it is because you overdid it yesterday."

    "They wouldn''t let me even eat chocte cake! Or coffee! How am I to live for the next eight months or so without chocte cake and coffee?" I asked, the tears in my eyes coursing down as I looked up at him.

    "We''ll find a way," he promised just as there was a loud knock on the door. I moaned, not at all willing to deal withpany this early in the morning.

    "One of the others will deal with it," he assured me. His fingersbed through my hair, patiently untangling the knots. "You just concentrate on getting better."

    "Oh fuck no," growled Liu Yu Zeng. Wang Chao and I exchanged a look before I was trying to shoo him out of the bathroom. That didn''t sound good, and knowing Liu Yu Zeng, if whoever was at the door pissed him off enough, he would be more than happy to shoot first and deal with the consequencester.

    "It''s not a bad n," said Wang Chao, clearly reading my mind. I red at him and picked myself up off the floor.

    "I am going to bed," I replied. "I don''t want to deal with a dead body on the floor when I wake up, do you understand?"

    The asshole simply chuckled, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with my statement. Rolling my eyes, I went back to the bedroom and crawled into bed. Hopefully, things would be better when I woke up.

    ----

    "Oh fuck no," groaned Liu Yu Zeng as he opened the door. Standing outside in the hallway was Wu Bai Hee, and she looked just as happy to see him as he was to see her.

    "What are you doing here?" she demanded, pushing herself into the condo.

    "I think the better question is: what are you doing here? Seeing as this is my condo and all," answered Wang Chao as he entered the living room and studied the clearly pregnant woman in front of him.

    "Your condo? Don''t you mean Liu Wei''s condo?" sneered Wu Bai Hee, not once bothering to manipte either one of the men standing in front of her. She looked around, trying to find Liu Wei, but noticed that he was nowhere to be found.

    "Out," grunted Chen Zi Han, stepping out of the kitchen. "And you are not wee here."

    "Since when can a lowly enforcer tell me what to do?" sneered the woman. She only remembered at the moment that the Goddess wanted her to make nice with all of the men, but she really couldn''t lower her standards to do it.

    "Since he is wee and you are not," replied Wang Chao. He was originally nning on leaving her alone, seeing as she was pregnant and all. Still, she was yet another loose end that needed to be dealt with. As Liu Wei''s soulmate, she could not be allowed to live.

    Which begged the question¡­ "How are you alive?" he asked cocking his head to the side and studying her. Liu Wei was so sure that he had killed her and Death would know. So, how was she still alive and kicking?

    "I am blessed by the Gods," smiled the woman, but the smile didn''t reach her eyes. "But that doesn''t matter. Let''s face it, you can''t kill me."

    "I beg to differ," grumbled Liu Yu Zeng, holding up his gun and pointing it at her head. "I am sure that if I kill you enough times, you will eventually stay dead."

    "You can''t, not here. This is my city, and if you so much as give me a bruise, everyst person would rise up and rip you apart," she smirked, more than happy to let the three men know just how important she was in the grand scheme of things. City A was her yground, and no one would make it out alive if she decided that they should die. It really was as simple as that.

    "Is she crazy?" asked Liu Yu Zeng in a loud whisper. His gun never wavered once as he looked over his shoulder at Wang Chao. "I mean, she has to be¡­ right?"

    "Not crazy, just highly maniptive," shrugged Wang Chao. He was not above killing a pregnant woman, especially one as disgusting as the woman in front of him.

    "What the hell is going on?" asked a new voice. Turning to look at the door, Wang Chao snorted as Zhao Jun Jie strolled in as if he owned the ce. "Why do you have a gun pointed at my woman?"

    "Because she broke into our condo, and I am scared for my life," answered Liu Yu Zeng without blinking an eye.

    "A man like you scared of a tiny woman like her?" sneered Zhao Jun Jie, looking first at Liu Yu Zeng and then Wang Chao over. How could the two of them be so put together this far into the Apocalypse? They just arrived yesterday, and they looked like they had been here from the very beginning.

    For fucks sake, they looked better than he did, and he was the controller of the city.

    "Anyone with brains should be scared of a pit viper in their midst," said Liu Wei, maneuvering around Zhao Jun Jie and Wu Bai Hee and walking over to where Chen Zi Han stood. "I couldn''t buy any prenatal vitamins; apparently, they are only to be sold to the princess of the city over there, but I did manage to get my hands on some folic acid. Hopefully, that will do for now."

    "I should be able to supplement a good portion of the rest through her diet," muttered Chen Zi Han, the two menpletely ignoring everyone else in the room.

    Realizing that she was not the center of everyone''s attention, Wu Bai Hee stomped her foot, almost slipping in the process.

    "Liu Wei, I demand that you give me your attention," she said, turning to the man reading the back of the vitamin container.

    "Nope," replied Liu Wei; he wished that the Healer would have told him how much folic acid his Queen was expected to take per day instead of just telling them it was necessary.

    "Wu Bai Hee," growled Zhao Jun Jie. He was not nearly as enamored with her as he used to be, but that didn''t mean he would let his woman unt herself at some other man, especially not when she was pregnant with his child. "Compose yourself."

    "Don''t bother," said Li Dai Lu,ing out of the bedroom. She still looked half asleep and more than a little cranky. "She will not die. The child is a precious gift, one that is free from the sins of its parents. Kill her after she gives birth."

    Zhao Jun Jie opened his mouth to demand who the woman was but quickly shut it again when the gun swung over in his direction. Pulling Wu Bai Hee''s arms, he dragged her out the door.

    "This is not the end," screeched the woman, frantically trying to fight Zhao Jun Jie''s hold.

    "It really is. You are no longer our problem. Go be someone else''s," waved Li Dai Lu before turning to look at the men. "It''s over. Understood?"

    The four men nodded their heads. If she said it was someone else''s problem, then they would ept it.

 Chapter 503 Do You Understand Now?

    ?

    Knowing that I needed a break from everything, I blinked into my space. Demeter came to me while I was sleeping and asked me to spare Wu Bai Hee''s life. Since Demeter was off making someone else''s life a living Hell, she was too busy to bother with me. Might as well make sure that her y toy lived long enough to experience a fate worse than death.

    My biggest issue right now, besides not being able to have chocte or coffee, was that everything that I had in my head to do when I was first reborn back into this life was done. So, where did I go from here?

    Would the guys be happy going to the cabin for the rest of their lives¡­ their very, very long lives¡­ or would they want to go back to the ranch and live near City A? Wang Chao still had his sister and her family around¡­ maybe he wanted more time with them.

    What about our children? Would I want them to live at the ranch with everyone else, or did I want to raise them without the pressures of everything? Would we stop at just the twins? Would we have more? Did I want more? What was it that I wanted?

    I froze when I realized that I had no idea how to even answer that question. I had to want something. There should be a picture in my head about what the future would look like¡­ and yet¡­ there was nothing.

    I slowly made my way up the old wooden steps and into my bedroom. Everything was exactly how I remember it, down to the overlyrge ck cat sitting on the foot of my bed.

    "Hello, old friend," I said, going to sit down carefully beside him. He purred as my fingers stroked through this fur. "Are you happy?" I asked, staring at the first being to make friends with me when I came here. I still remember how small he was when I first saw him¡­ only fitting in the palm of my hand.

    He looked at me thoughtfully as if understanding my words and nodded his head.

    "Thank you for everything," I whispered, bending over so that my face was nted in his coat. "Thank you for taking this journey with me, even if I forgot about you more than half the time." I rubbed my face in his tummy, enjoying the feeling of him as he let out a huff.

    He gently smacked me on the head, letting me know that he had enough, and I sat back up. I was not going to risk his wrath by continuing with what I was doing. He had already been more than patient with me so far.

    Letting out a chuckle, I stood up and slipped out of my clothes, happy to no longer have the pressure against my stomach. Ugh, I was really starting to hate pants with zippers and buttons.

    Turning on the shower, I got in, taking my time to enjoy the sensation of having the water running down my body. I washed my hair more than a few times, getting the grime out of it. I then moved on to the rest of my body and face, taking my time. There was no way I was getting out of here before I absolutely had to.

    Probably half an hourter, I turned off the water and quickly dried myself off. Standing in front of my closet, my hair up in a towel, I looked at my clothes and wondered what I should wear. I was no longer worried about the world outside of my space. There was nothing there that was dangerous enough to hurt me, so I didn''t have to stick with pants and a shirt. I walked down to thest item in my wardrobe and pulled it out. It was absolutely perfect.

    Dropping my towel, I put on my chosen undergarments, an actual bra and underwear. It would be a cold day in Hell before I put on another sports bra. Those things were a bitch to get on and off. And the girls no longer had to be stered to my chest.

    The white cotton dress that I had chosen slipped effortlessly over my head and hugged every curve. The material was soft, flowy, and very feminine.

    Drying off my hair and slipping on a pair of soft, white skippers, I made my way past the ck cat and downstairs to the kitchen. Looking around at my safe space, I let out a long sigh. I pulled an apron on over my dress and got to work on my chores.

    It took me more than a few hours to collect the apples from the orchard and the eggs from the chickens. And that didn''t include the time it took to make sure that everyone was fed. There were six more horses than I was expecting in one of the pastures, but I really didn''t mind. Hopefully, Cerberus and the rest of them could enjoy their days out in the pasture and not as vehicles in the modern world.

    Walking back inside, I washed the apples and put them into the fruit bowl to be usedter. The eggs went into another bowl on the counter where they, too, would be used for something in the near future.

    I stared out of the window onto the farnd of my space. My hands gently rubbed my belly where two precious bundles of joyy, growing big and strong with every passing minute. I didn''t know what the future held, and that was¡­ exciting.

    "Do you understand now?" asked Violence,ing up to stand beside me. It felt like I hadn''t seen her in forever, and yet I knew she was always there inside of me.

    "Which part?" I asked, not bothering to turn around to look at her. I watched as four horses ganged up on a much smaller mare, nipping her in the hind quarters. The fifth horse simply shook his head, not wanting anything to do with it.

    "The part that I am Hades, Goddess of the Underworld? The fact that nothing exists outside of the world that I am currently in? That the humans were nothing more than the souls released from the Underworld? That the zombies were my minions, sent after the humans to bring them back? Or the fact that I destroyed both Heaven and Hell when I shattered over a thousand years ago?" I asked, keeping my eye on Cerby to make sure that he was okay.

    "Well, it seems like you have a good handle on everything then," said Violence after a pause. "But I didn''t really expect you to remember everything."

    "For the most part, I didn''t," I answered with a shrug of my shoulders. "It wasn''t until I realized that the guys were willing to suppress a part of themselves to make me happy at the Reaver encampment that I truly understood and remembered everything."

    "Huh," grunted Violence, picking up an apple from the fruit bowl beside her and starting to munch on it. "So, you know that they are now stuck in limbo along with everyone else while you are here staring outside a window?"

    "Yup," I answered with a nod. "Because the ''real world'' was created by me as a way to rebuild. Nothing happens there unless I want it to. And I can reset it any time I want."

    "I am sure that the other Gods are going to want to dip their fingers into your world. Demeter''s son is still living in it after all."

    "Let her try," I shrugged, not at all worried about my bitch of a sister. It was enough of a blessing that Bin An Sha was no longer obsessed with me and had apparently moved on to a new interest. However, I had learned my lesson well enough to not let her mettle in the affairs of my kingdom. I hope that Wu Bai Hee will keep her busy for a while or, at the very least, out of my hair for the foreseeable future.

    I turned my attention back to the window and my little space of Heaven within the Underworld. Looking back at this life, I wouldn''t have changed a thing. Even trusting the men from the very beginning, leaving before the EMP hit, rescuing Liu Yu Zeng and Chen Zi Han. Nothing. I would have done it all over again since it brought me to this point right now.

    Once again, rubbing my stomach, I smiled at my thoughts. Things had a really weird way of working out.

    "Why did you trust the guys so fast?" asked Violence, leaning against the counter and watching the horses y.

    "Part of me, one that I didn''t even know existed, wanted to," I replied with a soft smile. I couldn''t exin the draw that I had to the guys when I first met them¡­ all I knew was that they were worth throwing out all of my steps for.

    "That was probably Romance trying to get things moving faster," nodded Violence, an answering smile on her face.

    "Maybe, or maybe it was because of a quote I had read once, a few lifetimes ago."

 Chapter 504 Third Timeâ€™s A Charm

    ?

    "And what was that?" asked Violence, intrigued. It was weird to see her so dressed up and yet perched on my butcherblock counter. The apple corey next to her, changing back into an apple right in front of my eyes.

    Here, death meant nothing¡­ just a momentary pause in the cycle of rebirth.

    "Use those you trust, trust those you use," I answered.

    When I was first brought back into this life, it was so much different than what I was expecting. It was like going back to Canada, only knowing that shit was going to hit the fan.

    No one was scared, fighting for their life with every breath they took; instead, everyone wore smiles on their faces, their true intentions hidden.

    I had no idea what to do.

    Looking back, I could honestly say that I had done the best that I could do back then. Telling the guys what was going to happen was a test, pure and simple. By telling them the truth, I could see their reactions. Besides, it would have been much too tiring to have to hide what wasing while prepping for it at the same time.

    If they had proven that they couldn''t be trusted, then that would have been the end of it. And it almost was for Wang Chao. Let''s face it: Liu Wei managed to pull him out of the fire more than once with me.

    "Use those you trust, trust those you use," mused Violence, pulling me out of my thoughts. "So, no regrets?"

    I burst outughing over that idea. "Absolutely none," I assured her, watching as the four stallions surrounded the mare as she daintily nibbled on the grass. No. I had no regrets.

    "I am d," she said as she stood up straight and turned to look at me. "If you have no regrets, then I have none. My time here is done. May you forever rule with bothpassion and vengeance for the souls that are brought to you. May the Four Lords of the Apocalypse forever stand by your side until the very universe copses and time and space are no more."

    "Thank you, my friend," I replied, pulling her into my arms and hugging the one aspect of my personality that I could always depend on. "Rest in peace."

    "I will," she responded, a smile on her face as she wrapped her arms around me. "I have worked hard and deserve some peace and quiet after all these centuries. Never forget who you are again, please, Your Majesty."

    "Meh," I answered with a shrug of my shoulders. "At least if I do, you''ll get to take over again."

    "No. There is only one High Lord of Hell, and that is you. Leave me the fuck alone," groaned Violence right before she disappeared into thin air. My arms dropped to my side as I stared for a moment at the spot where she was before returning to the window. Thest piece of the puzzle clicked into ce, and I could take my first deep breath of air in a long time. The heaviness of my mind and body vanished in an instant.

    "Let''s go home, you two," I said with a content smile on my face, rubbing my stomach. There was a light kick in response, and I didn''t know if it was because of my words or my voice, but either way, I would take it as approval. Turning my back on the scene outside of my window, I closed my eyes.

    I knew without a shadow of a doubt what I was going to do next.

    ------

    "I am so telling on you!" shouted a little girl as she ran across the meadow in front of the cabin. I looked out of the window and watched as a little girl, no older than five years, sprinted across the tall grass. Half of her body was hidden within the des, but I was not worried about her at all. There was nothing here that could hurt her. I had made sure of that.

    I washed my hands free from the light dusting of flour that covered them. I was spending the day in the kitchen while the kids yed outside, making food for my family. I closed my eyes just as I heard the voice of her older brother chasing after her.

    "No one likes a tattle tale," he growled, trying to catch up, but it was like she had wings on the bottom of her feet. Or wind, for that matter.

    "Dad! Daddy! Papa! Father!" screamed my oldest, running as fast as her legs and her powers could carry her. "Help!"

    Chen Zi Han was the first one to appear in front of her. "What''s the matter, princess?" he asked, picking her up midstride. Yeah, that was the shitty part of having a daughter. I was no longer his princess. However, I would always be his Queen, so I was willing to go with the upgrade, albeit with a bit of bitching.

    "He''s being a jerk," she pouted, pointing to her younger brother, who had finally caught up. Chen Zi Han looked down at the little boy, a frown marring his face.

    "Huang Chao," growled my giant. "What did you do?"

    "I did nothing, Papa," said my son, looking down at his feet. He might be only five, but he was big for his age. There was no denying who his father was.

    "He said that I needed to be protected because I am shorter than him," pouted Zhen Zhen in Chen Zi Han''s arms.

    "I don''t see where he is wrong," said Wang Chao, materializing beside the other man. In his arms was a sleeping child, one of the quadruplets born two years ago. I seemed to keep giving birth in multiples of two. I was not the biggest fan, but the guys seemed to take great pride in the matter.

    I rubbed my hands dry on the dish towel, my very pregnant belly sticking out so far that I had to waddle around everywhere. Opening the front door to our cabin in the mountains, I walked over to my family.

    "Your father is right," I said to Zhen Zhen. "There is nothing wrong with being protected. Look at your dads; they always protect me, don''t they?"

    "Well, yeah, but that''s because you always have my brothers growing inside of you," pouted my little princess. I paused as I took in her words. She wasn''t wrong. It seemed like I was always pregnant.

    And the poor girl was the only girl in six children.

    "Just because you are protected doesn''t make you weak. You are protected because you are important," I said softly, running my fingers through her ck hair just as Liu Yu Zeng and Liu Wei popped in. Liu Yu Zeng was holding another sleeping child, while Liu Wei had two in his arms, both of them bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.

    He gently put them down in the grass, and two small colts appeared beside them, keeping an eye on them.

    Yes, it seemed that while Zhen Zhen inherited her powers from Chen Zi Han and Wang Chao, her brother was all Liu Yu Zeng and Liu Wei. On the other hand, the quads were very much going to step into their father''s shoes, their horses already choosing them at the moment of their birth.

    It was about as busy and hectic as you could get when you were outnumbered by kids and animals¡­ and yet, I wouldn''t change it for anything in the world. My men had literally created Hell on Earth for me, and there was nothing that made me happier than spending it with my family.

    Zhen Zhen huffed, not at all impressed with my words. "That is stupid. I am the oldest. I am the strongest. I need to be the one to protect everyone!" she said, sliding out of Chen Zi Han''s arms and stomping her foot, making the Earth beneath us tremble.

    "You leave the protecting to us," said Liu Wei, picking up.

    I smiled and went up onto my toes to kiss my man, ignoring the sound of disgusting from Zhen Zhen and Huang Chao. Chen Zi Han, now that his arms were empty, scooped me up in them, not even letting out a grunt at how much I weighed. I burst outughing as one arm wrapped around his neck and the other one rested on my belly.

    The Healer would being with her men in the next few hours to check me over. I would have to warn Hades ahead of time so that he could hide from Rip. He still hadn''t forgiven me for that time all those years ago when I threw him at the monster.

    "Happy, My Queen?" asked Chen Zi Han softly against my ear. I turned to look at him, easily seeing the love and devotion in his eyes.

    "How could I not be?" I asked with a smile. I had my family, my house away from everyone, and all the supplies that I could possibly want. The guys still went off every so often, but they weren''t called nearly as much as they had been before.

    The world was finally at peace, and so was I.

    "Apparently, the third time really is the charm."

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