Rebirth in the Apocalypse: Third Time's a Charm



The head of the commune 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 the commune 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 quite compelling. "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 blanket 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 place 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.