Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Jiang Nian remembered clearly. In the records of major events in his past life, March 2036 saw a sudden drought sweep across the globe, lasting over five months. By late August, meteorological stations predicted heavy rain following the prolonged drought.

The forecast was accurate, but the rain brought catastrophe to humanity.

On August 27, 2036, the drought ended with a downpour of toxic rain—what people called it in the post-apocalyptic world. Those exposed to the rain would contract an unknown virus and die.

By September 1, those who had died from the toxic rain virus began to revive as zombies.

Driven by their instinct to feed, the zombies attacked humans. Anyone bitten or scratched would also become infected and turn into a zombie. And so, the apocalypse began.

This unprecedented catastrophe spread worldwide.

Though, in response to this disaster, humans under extreme pressure developed special Superpowered abilities.

However, the apocalypse brought not only zombies but also various natural calamities:

Freezing cold, blistering heat, storms, earthquakes, and toxic floods… each took turns ravaging the already devastated land.

Humans scraped by, trying to rebuild their lives. Over two years into the apocalypse, Base S’s research institute achieved a breakthrough in developing a vaccine for the zombie virus.

After experts from various bases gathered at Base S for discussions, they announced that a vaccine would be ready within a year. Those infected could still be saved as long as they hadn’t completely lost their sanity.

Subsequently, Base S reached out, recruiting skilled survivors from all walks of life. Their plan was to begin environmental purification and reclaim the polluted lands once the vaccine was completed.

Those with power and resources gradually flocked toward Base S, especially from smaller bases, which were the first to be abandoned. His own family had done the same in his past life.

He had survived over two years in the apocalypse, two of which were spent locked in the basement of Base Z. Whether good or bad news, he learned it all from others—until he was left behind to die…

"Wuu…"

Tears welled up uncontrollably. Jiang Nian lowered his head and buried his face in the blanket, his quiet sobs turning into loud, ragged weeping. He vented all his grievances, resentment, fear, helplessness, and fury in the most direct way possible.

The cramped rental room was filled with gut-wrenching sobs as he recalled the events of this period in his past life:

It was summer vacation. He was about to enter his senior year of college, and the entire break had been spent caring for his gravely ill mother.

After her death, once he recovered from his own illness, he went to the southern district to find his father—who had lent him twenty thousand yuan during his mother’s illness, saying he could repay it later when he had the means.

With nowhere else to go, he stayed with his father temporarily, waiting for the new semester to begin—until the apocalypse struck.

Though they lived in the same city, his parents had divorced when he was less than a year old. He had stayed with his mother, raised solely by her all these years. His strong-willed mother never even sought child support.

Even though his father occasionally reached out after he entered middle school, Jiang Nian refrained from judging the adults’ past. Yet, they interacted like strangers.

His father had quickly remarried after the divorce, remarrying into a new family. Though he became successful in his career, he also had a pair of twins—Chen Yue and Chen Lin—just two years younger than Jiang Nian.

When the apocalypse arrived, it was in that home that he was plunged into hell.

In his past life, the day after the toxic rain, he came down with a sudden high fever. After three days of fever, the zombies emerged—and he awoke with a Superpower.

Soon, satellite broadcasts began reporting the emergence of Superpowered individuals worldwide.

The moment he awakened his ability, he told his family.

Unfortunately, compared to combat-oriented Superpowers, his purification ability seemed nearly useless at the time—a disappointing, near-useless ability.

It wasn’t until later, when they were driving with a rescue team toward a base and were ambushed by a zombie horde, that Chen Yue got scratched.

To save Chen Yue, he used his purification ability on the wound on a whim. Though it didn’t heal the injury, it miraculously stalled the progression of the zombie virus. From then on, he became Chen Yue’s lifeline.

With the help of Chen Yue’s girlfriend Xia Weiwei, Chen Yue’s family managed to enter the central district of Z Base, bypassing the base’s health screenings.

To ensure Chen Yue’s safety, they kept his superpowered status hidden from the base.

Xia Weiwei even used her connections to bring in a private medical team for Chen Yue, covertly researching his abilities to develop medication for him.

At first, he was willing—after all, Chen Yue was his half-brother. But by the time he realized something was wrong, it was too late.

With his father and stepmother complicit through silence and the Xia family egging it on, he became Chen Yue’s personal lab rat, imprisoned in the basement:

Blood draws, drug trials, injections, biopsies…

It wasn’t until the experiment on core transplantation succeeded and S Base made a breakthrough in its virus vaccine research that his power core was secretly removed and transferred to Chen Yue. Afterward, he was discarded like trash.

“…”

After crying his heart out and calming down emotionally, Jiang Nian walked into the bathroom to wash his face and brush his teeth. Catching his reflection in the mirror after so long, he froze in place:

A 21-year-old young man, though weakened by illness and grief over his mother’s death, still had healthy skin and naturally smiling peach blossom eyes still bright with life.

His looks were above average—183 cm tall, with a gentle, bookish air that made even his anger seem harmless.

Though not devastatingly handsome, he belonged to the tall, well-built, charming category—the kind both elders and children naturally warmed up to. Since adolescence, he’d never wanted for attention.

Perhaps because of this, Jiang Nian never took interest in those who pursued him, preferring to chase after hard-to-get types:

Cheng Jing was one such conquest—two years older, someone he met during an inter-school sports competition in high school.

Back then, teenage cockiness led him to target Cheng Jing, who was famously unapproachable and impervious to charm.

Later, he ended up attending the same university as Cheng Jing in Qingyun City. They officially got together just before his freshman year.

By then, Cheng Jing, already a junior, had moved out of campus and rented an apartment between their two schools.

But after Jiang Nian succeeded in winning him over, Cheng Jing’s cold, untouchable persona shattered. The reserved and disciplined man turned clingy, possessive, and borderline controlling—

No smoking, no drinking, home by 10 PM, advance notice for school matters, mandatory check-ins for weekend outings, and absolutely no bars or nightclubs. Worse than his own mother.

Yet aside from the overbearing rules, Cheng Jing treated him incredibly well—doting, accommodating, and endlessly attentive.

But not long after, his mother was diagnosed with stomach cancer. Just as Jiang Nian was about to confide in Cheng Jing, the latter blindsided him with news—he was taking a leave from school to enlist in the military.

Swallowing his words, Jiang Nian waited until Cheng Jing’s first call from boot camp to call it quits without discussion. Cheng Jing refused, seething through the phone, but Jiang Nian changed his number and disappeared.

With no way to reach him, Cheng Jing was left hanging. Their first love ended without closure.

As his mother’s condition worsened, he hired a caretaker and scrambled between odd jobs to keep the household afloat.

Between school, work, and daily calls to his mother, he had no energy for anything else. He only caught wind of Cheng Jing’s doings secondhand:

After completing his military service, Cheng Jing returned to finish his studies while launching a security firm with well-connected comrades. The business flourished, racking up wealth and clout, leaving peers in the dust.

After their breakup, they never saw each other again.

Even when his mother passed, Jiang Nian’s first thought was Cheng Jing—to tell him, to seek him out. But in the end, he bit his tongue.

Never thought our next meeting would be our last goodbye.

In his previous life, he died at 23, while Cheng Jing was 25 and seemed to be doing well even during the apocalypse.

Now he’s 21, starting his senior year of college, worn out from his mother’s illness, nothing like the bold, carefree kid he’d been in high school.

Cheng Jing, now 23, had already become one of the school’s shining examples in the alumni group.

*Splash—*

Cool water splashed onto his face. The memories stopped there. Jiang Nian forced himself to shake off the sadness from his past life.

Since fate had given him a second chance, he would cherish it. The edge he’d bought with his life couldn’t be wasted.

With his mother gone, he was free. With the world ending anyway, he’d just go find Cheng Jing—whatever happened, he’d give it a shot first.

After washing up and cooking a simple breakfast of egg noodles, the simple joys of rebirth made him happy. But sadness remained—he hadn’t been able to see his mother one last time.

Once he finished eating and got his feelings under control, Jiang Nian picked up his phone again and dialed the number.

Though two years ago he ended things on his own and changed his number and phone, memories couldn’t be erased.

Besides, ambitious people rarely changed their contact details—their social circles were also future business contacts.

So, he gambled that Cheng Jing’s number was probably still in use.

The phone rang three times before the call connected.

A voice that was familiar yet strange came through:

“Hello, who is this?”

“Hi, is this Cheng Jing?”

Jiang Nian instinctively lowered his voice, his tone tight with excitement and nerves.

“…”

The person on the other end seemed to think for a moment before replying:

“Yes, it’s me. Who are you?”

“It’s me… Jiang Nian.”

He tried to sound natural, but his trembling voice gave away his fake calm. His grip on the phone tightened.