Rebirth in the Apocalypse: Third Time's a Charm

"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 tension coming 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 slapped 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 more comfortable. "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 the commune 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 outcome 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 playing 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 glasses 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, please come 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 blank gaze of the fake Chen Zi Han stared across the room at the head. 

"Sorry about his lack 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?"