Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Noticing his unease, Cheng Jing lowered his head to kiss his cheek and softly reassured him:

"Considering how cooperative I’ve been, will you tell me? Trust me, no one else will ever know."

He wasn’t trying to be difficult—he just wanted to protect Jiang Nian better, which meant understanding the source of his fears.

Jiang Nian looked up at him:

"I’m afraid you won’t believe me..."

Cheng Jing chuckled lightly:

"I believed that crazy dream story. What wouldn’t I believe?"

"Sometimes the truth is even more unbelievable than a dream."

Jiang Nian sighed helplessly, but after a moment, under Cheng Jing’s encouraging gaze, he finally spoke:

"Brother Jing, I died once."

His tone was calm, but Cheng Jing’s face fell.

Before Cheng Jing could say anything, Jiang Nian continued:

"...Like in some outlandish novels, I died and was reborn. All of this, I’ve already lived through once in my past life."

"..."

Cheng Jing looked dead serious. This was definitely more unbelievable than a dream, but upon reflection, it was the only explanation that made sense.

Jiang Nian took a breath to steady himself, shifting into a more comfortable spot in Cheng Jing’s arms. Starting from his mother’s death to the apocalypse’s arrival, and finally his own tragic demise, he laid it all out.

Though it sounded like he had endured over two years in the apocalypse, in reality, most of that time was spent imprisoned, leaving little to say beyond the daily grind of being a lab rat.

"..."

This time, Jiang Nian didn’t cry. After taking a few deep breaths at the end, he looked up at the man whose eyes were rimmed red and smiled:

"You said to come find you, so I did..."

Ever since reuniting with Brother Jing, the ghosts of his past life had faded. Since he’d been given a second chance, there was no need to let the pain of his past life continue to haunt him.

"..."

Cheng Jing held him silently for a long time, his hot breath puffing against Jiang Nian’s neck:

"I should have sought you out myself. I’m sorry... I’m sorry..."

He shouldn’t have dug in his heels and refused out of pride, ignoring the ache inside that urged him to find him.

Fighting back tears, Jiang Nian laced their fingers together and said:

"It’s not your fault, Brother Jing. It was my own choice. See? After messing up last time, I fixed it. Aren’t things better now?"

He had taken the hint, never getting cocky just because he was someone who came back.

"Mm."

Cheng Jing’s voice was muffled as he refused to lift his head, holding Jiang Nian tightly to his chest while his broad hand repeatedly stroked the back of his neck.

“Brother Jing, let’s work hard together and get through the apocalypse safely.”

Jiang Nian guessed he might be crying, but men cared about their pride, so he stayed quiet and let him hold him, letting him be comforted like stroking a cat’s fur.

“We will definitely be okay.”

Cheng Jing’s tone was firm and left no room for doubt.

“Yeah.”

After revealing the truth, Jiang Nian felt an immediate sense of relief. Carrying that secret had made him hesitant in everything he wanted to do or say, always needing flimsy excuses to cover up.

Having bared their hearts in that conversation, Jiang Nian became even more shameless, his words and actions fully embodying acting spoiled. The natural consequence was that their intimate moments became far more frequent.

What could Cheng Jing do? Of course, he put up with it without a word.

...

Thanks to Jiang Nian’s knowledge of what was coming, and with the advantage of their Superpower in these early stages, Cheng Jing led his team to gather supplies at the fastest possible speed, using the safest routes to fill up their teammates’ safe houses.

After all, their teammates weren’t as prepared as they were, so it was better to avoid dipping into savings unless they had to.

At the same time, they could show their squad how to take down zombies as Jiang Nian had suggested—aim for the head—it worked best.

Their reaction speed was quick, so by the time others started moving out—some alone, some in teams—Cheng Jing’s squad had already secured enough supplies.

Of course, the biggest organized efforts belonged to the official teams.

But a toxic rainstorm hit, and the ones who suffered the heaviest losses were frontline workers—those who had worked and trained in the rain, standing on the frontlines when chaos erupted, leading to some departments being wiped out entirely.

Now, the official team in Qingyun City was a unified rescue team formed from all remaining departments: firefighters, police, and local troops, totaling only about half their original numbers. They were collectively called the Rescue Police, with the city government building serving as the rescue command center.

As reports of Superpowered individuals emerged from various regions, the command center called on them to team up, collecting and distributing supplies to civilians.

Before the military arrived, they needed to do whatever it took to stay alive.

Ensuring their own supplies and safety first, Cheng Jing led his team to assist the official operations and volunteered that he’d developed a Superpower.

Since their squad was security guards to begin with, and with their captain now Superpowered, the entire team was issued firearms and assigned to carry out rescue missions alongside the Rescue Police.

Jiang Nian wanted to join, but Cheng Jing made him stay behind to hone his Superpower instead.

Half a month later, on September 16th, Qingyun City's districts began experiencing water and power outages.

Within just two days, the entire city—except for the command center—went dark, and cell service cut out.

Only satellite radios and phones still worked, but ordinary civilians had no access to these.

The weather remained scorching, and amidst the chaos, deaths continued as zombies overran the streets. The roads were strewn with mangled bodies and bloodstains. With supplies running low, panic and the stench of decay soon enveloped the entire city.

Jiang Nian had to pull the curtains shut before daring to quietly turn on a light to cook indoors.

Though their neighborhood was sparsely populated and Cheng Jing secretly cleared out zombies, the occasional growls in the pitch-black night still made his skin crawl.

The security guards and property staff had either been eaten or turned into zombies. With no one left to guard the area, passing zombies would now follow the scent of living humans and wander inside.

Today Cheng Jing's squad was on duty, joining others to distribute supplies to residents in the new district. They wouldn't be home until very late.

The schedule was one day on, one day off, and they were paid in supplies—after all, money had become worthless in times like these.

Fortunately, someone within the official organization had developed a spatial superpower encompassing dozens of acres, which made things run much smoother.

Although they weren’t short on supplies, Cheng Jing still brought some back when too many eyes were watching—you never knew about people. In the apocalypse, it was especially important not to show off your wealth.

At 10:30 p.m., Jiang Nian turned on the battery-operated fan, opened a bag of chips and the spicy chicken feet, and began crunching while texting Cheng Jing.

This was a satellite phone Cheng Jing had given him—it looked like a dumb phone, black in color, heavy and sturdy, with waterproof buttons. Under normal use, the battery would last six months, though it could only dial certain numbers and send messages.

After every mission, Cheng Jing would check in with him.

Brother Jing:

"Probably another hour before I get home. If you're tired, go to sleep first."

Jiang Nian, crunching on chips, typed rapidly:

"No, I'll wait for you."

Cheng Jing:

"Mm."

This was their usual exchange lately—always the same words, a little childish perhaps, but they never tired of it.

Bang bang bang—

Suddenly, the reinforced outer steel door shuddered under violent pounding, jarringly loud in the dead of night.