Rebirth in the Apocalypse: Third Time's a Charm



"That's the problem, Sweetheart, this is our last life. If we don't succeed 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 my last 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, plant 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," she laughed 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 plate was rudely taken from me.

"No, Precious," said Bin An Sha as he handed the plate 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 plate 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? Balance in everything, right?" he continued, and I almost felt bad for him.

Then again, he stole my cake, so he had it coming.

"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, coming 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 relationship 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 muscular 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 my last life.  "Sorry about that."

"Definitely not your fault," Liu Wei said as he placed a kiss on my forehead. "But you know how Chen Zi Han gets when it comes 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 is completely 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 place 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 was completely 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 my last 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.