To Rise Again In The Apocalypse

Xue Jun entered his car after leaving the Li household. Since Xue Rui and Xue Liang occupied the seats on the back, he can only sit on the passenger seat beside the driver. The driver tacitly began to drive towards the Xue family ancestral home.

Xue Jun glanced at Xue Rui and Xue Liang through the rear mirror and when he saw Xue Liang's state, he let out a heavy sigh. 'Maybe I was too harsh...' he thought to himself as he took out his phone and called for his family's doctor. Xue Jun didn't waste time explaining and only told the doctor to come over to his place as soon as possible.

"Feeling guilty?" Xue Liang's voice sounded out, breaking the silence in the car.

"The one who should feel guilty is you. Taking advantage of Xiao Rui's foolishness to take advantage of another person. Do you have no shame?" Xue Jun asked.

"Shame? Why would I need to feel shame? Someone who lives in the light won't understand how I lived these past few years! Compared to the things I've done in the past, these are not even the tip of the iceberg," Xue Liang told Xue Jun. "Grandfather doesn't even care what I did as long as he benefits. What makes you think he'll care now?"

"Because I said so," Xue Jun replied.

Xue Jun's reply made Xue Liang scoff. "You're saying grandfather listens to you?"

"That's right."

"Jun- ge , your confidence baffled me. You're telling me you've already seized the Xue family power from grandfather?"

Xue Rui who heard this eyed his eldest brother worriedly. He can only stay silent all this time because he didn't want to agitate his two brothers even further. Somehow, he felt that not only Xue Liang will get in trouble the moment they reached home.

"From others' point of view, grandfather still held the power of the Xue family. But a year ago, I completely seized them. Why do you think that your movement became, even more, smoother recently? It's because I've been helping you covering your track... but it seems that it was a big mistake for me to do so," Xue Jun said the last sentence and his tone didn't hide his disappointment.

"You helped me cover my track? Don't lie! If you do, then why did you decide to act against me now?" Xue Liang asked. "What I did shouldn't be conflicting against your interes-... wait... Ge , could it be, I've touched your bottom line?" Xue Liang asked.

Xue Jun just glared at Xue Liang through the mirror and Xue Liang then understood. Xue Liang laughed, his body shook with each laughter that escaped his lips. "Indeed, we are from the same egg in the first place. Falling for the same person... it must be fate playing with us! At the very least, in this race, I've won against you two. After all, I've already tasted the meat while the two of you haven't!"

"Xue Liang, I suggest you shut your mouth until we arrive home. Lest I do something we all end up regretting," Xue Jun warned his brother in a dangerous, cold tone. Both of his hands clenched into a fist, his nails digging into his palm and drew blood.

Sensing that his brother was seriously angry, Xue Liang didn't say anything anymore. He felt that if he did, Xue Jun would truly do something dangerous. 'I'm not strong enough yet...' Xue Liang thought as he remembered how his brother landed a series of punch on him. 'Just how did he grow so strong this fast anyway?!' Xue Liang glared at Xue Jun, dissatisfaction was clear in his eyes as if the whole world was unfair to him.

The rest of the ride to the Xue ancestral home was quiet and the drivers whose task was to drive them felt uncomfortable with how tense the atmosphere was.

* * *

Li Xinwen returned to the living room after sending Xue Jun off. Li Jinghua patiently waited for him inside and Li Xinwen simply went over to sit down beside her. "Hua- jie , I won't beat around the bush so I'll ask this straight away. Is Xue Jun someone important in the future?"

Hearing his brother's question, Li Jinghua only nods her head. "At the beginning of the apocalypse, everyone depended on the military for protection. Major General Xue was tasked to rescue and evacuate the civilians. He was well known and he always succeeds. Whenever he's on missions, his casualty rate is always the lowest. And... he did it with Min Xiaoyu by his side. He was supposed to come and rescue us in this residential district next but something seemed to come up because just when we thought we would be saved, the military pulled back. They only brought those whom they had managed to save."

When Li Xinwen heard this, he can't help but frown. "How far in the apocalypse was this?"

"Two weeks into the apocalypse. Since they pulled out, we can only stay here and try to survive on our own..." Li Jinghua replied. As she remembers her past, she can't help but feel sorrowful.

Li Xinwen noticed this so he quickly pulled Li Jinghua into a hug. "It's alright, Hua- jie . With you here, we'll survive," Li Xinwen comforted the young female. "Anyway, Xue Jun was doing so well but he suddenly retreated. Something must've happened. Based on his action tonight, he appears to be an upright man. Maybe his superiors told him to pull back?"

"Might be. Because a few months after, news of the largest military survivor base was released and most people decided to move. We were also supposed to move, but Xue Rui who had disappeared for a while sent us a message to wait until things have calmed down before making our move. Then two weeks later, he came to pick us up," Li Jinghua murmured in a soft voice.

"When was this?"

"The sixth month into the apocalypse..."

"Xue Rui... did he change then?" Li Xinwen asked.

Li Jinghua only nods her head. Li Xinwen now had a suspicion in his heart. "What about Xue Jun? After... Xue Rui came to pick us up, was there any news about him?"

At this, Li Jinghua tried to look through her memories before answering. Only then did she realize that after Xue Rui came to pick them up, there was no news of Xue Jun, as if the guy had disappeared. Even when Min Xiaoyu created the medicine to fight against the zombie virus, there was no news of Xue Jun at all. 'Did he die?' Li Jinghua can't help but think of this.

Meanwhile, Li Xinwen's suspicion rose even more. He let out a heavy sigh before he turned to Li Jinghua once more. "It's now late, Hua- jie . Let's go and rest. About Xue Jun, maybe if we can get close to him, we'll be able to follow him to the base earlier."

"No. We can't go to that base," Li Jinghua quickly shakes her head. "Because of the large number of survivors, it'll attract a zombie tide every three months. It is actually not safe there."

"Then, do you have any plan?" Li Xinwen asked.

"En... I plan to build a base of our own. It might sound crazy but I believe that this is the only way we can survive the apocalypse. If we were to stay under someone else's banner, when things goes bad we'll be thrown away to ensure their own survival. But if it is our own base, we can have better control of our own lives," Li Jinghua explained to Li Xinwen.

"Building your own base, huh?" Li Xinwen entered deep thought. 'It might not be such a bad idea. I wonder if this is why Li Jinghua needed a huge amount of capital in the first place... because she plans to create her own base.'

"Hua- jie , do you have a place in mind?" Li Xinwen asked.

"I do. But at the moment, there is nothing we can do for it. The place I'm thinking about... can only be accessed on the second year of the apocalypse."

"Why is that?"

"Because on the second year, the world will change again."