Rebirth in the Apocalypse: Third Time's a Charm



Wang Chao walked up to the first set of gates and looked up at the city. They had come full circle and then some, he mused a slight smile on his lips. His thoughts drifted off to their first meeting, the misunderstandings, and all the times she had gone with what they wanted simply to make them happy.

He closed his eyes and stretched out his neck, trying to loosen the tense muscles in them. If something happened and they had to start all over from the beginning, he knew every last thing that he would change, starting at the moment Liu Wei walked into his office, letting him know that the ranch had been sold to some prissy second-generation.

He pictured how that would play out in his head. Would he get down on his hands and knees at that moment to beg for her forgiveness, or would he have gifted her the ranch and all the supplies she needed?

He definitely wouldn't have hung the need for weapons over her head or let Liu Wei get ahead of him by offering his own. He thought about what he would have done with his cousin if he woke up with all the memories of this life. Would he have killed him right off the bat? Completely ignoring the wants of his grandfather? Or would he have locked him in a dungeon so that Li Dai Lu would be able to have that final blow?

He definitely wouldn't have helped the military, dragging her around from place to place, never really letting her experience what home felt like. No, if there were such a thing as a reset button, he would make a lot of changes, but they would all be for her.

'You stupid man,' came a frustrated voice inside of his head. 'I don't want to keep repeating myself over and over again, so listen carefully. I do not regret a single thing in this life. If we hadn't left right before the EMP hit, we never would have met Liu Yu Zeng and Chen Zi Han. And I would never be whole. If we hadn't gone in search of the Rear Admiral, or whatever his name is, I wouldn't know how strong I really was. Every step in the journey has served its purpose, and I am not upset about the outcome at all. So do us all a favor and stop with the pity party. It is pathetic for a cold-blooded CEO like yourself.'

'Of course, My Queen,' replied Wang Chao, letting out a sigh. There was no woman on this planet like Li Dai Lu, and she belonged to him.

'More like you all belong to me. Now, stop dawdling and get us into the city,' came the immediate response, forcing Wang Chao to bite the inside of his mouth or risk bursting out into uncontrollable laughter.

But she was right. He and his brothers belonged to her… body, mind, and soul. For all eternity.

The guard, finally noticing him, quickly approached. "You are not supposed to be here. If you are looking to gain entrance, then you must go down the street. If you are a power user, you will be assigned to a team; if you are not, then you might as well go try one of the other sanctuaries. City A only takes the best of the best."

Wang Chao smirked at the man standing in front of him. There was not much keeping him from destroying the entire city; in fact, knowing that they turned his Queen away in a past life was enough cause to create a war inside that would bring it down to its foundations. 

But right now, all his woman wanted was to get someone to look at the Healer, which meant that he couldn't bring it down… or at least… not yet.

"Do you know who I am?" he asked softly, staring at the man. It was clear that he was not military. He didn't have the level of calm confidence that came from being trained and trained well.

"Nope," responded the guard. "And if you are suffering from amnesia, I suggest that you go looking elsewhere for answers."

"I assume you were a comedian or maybe a clown before you rose to the rank of guard?" mused Wang Chao, the slight smile on his face never dropping.

Before he could say anything else, another guard noticed the two of them talking and came over to investigate. "Is there a problem here?" he asked, not bothering to look at Wang Chao.

"Yeah, he is refusing to move," sneered the first guard, nodding his head in Wang Chao's direction. The second guard, understanding the situation better, turned his attention to the other man. He froze, his mouth dropping open for a fraction of a second before straightening up and saluting.

"General," he said, his posture perfect.  Inside his head, he was cursing out the idiot beside him for not recognizing Mount Tai. "I am glad to see you alive and well. Please, come in."

"I would love to," answered Wang Chao, looking down at his nails briefly before looking up at the soldier in front of him. "However, I have been told that I am only welcome if I am a power user or have checked in down the road. So sorry for the misunderstanding."

"Not at all, Sir," said the second guard, turning to glare at the other man. "This is your home. There is no need to go through all those procedures. Please, come in."

"And the rest of my team?" he asked, studying the second man. His heart was pure and in the right place. It was too bad that he was connected to the taint of City A.

"They can come in too," the guard assured him.

"Thank you. Is Bin An Sha here by any chance? We have need of him," said Wang Chao. It was a shot in the dark, but Bin An Sha was too much a creature of habit. Bad for an assassin, great for a doctor. After they left City H, he should have made his way back here."

"He is," assured the guard. "He is the private healer for the princess, but I am sure if you asked her, she would be willing to lend him to you. She is generous in all things; I am sure that it will be fine."

"Princess?" asked Wang Chao, raising an eyebrow. "I didn't know that we had any other royalty in the city."

"Wu Bai Hee," blushed the guard. "She hates it when we call her princess, but that is what she is. She is the fiancé of the leader of the city, Zhao Jun Jie."

"Ah yes, him," nodded Wang Chao slowly. It was nice to know that the information that Bai Long Qiang's team managed to gather was still accurate.

"I assume you will be taking over now that you are here?" asked the guard, a hopeful expression on his face.

"We'll see." Wang Chao was not about to commit to anything without Li Dai Lu's express approval. He doubted that she would want to stay here, but that was not his call to make.

"Of course, Sir. If you want to call your team, I'll escort you into the city."

"Thank you," Wang Chao nodded, satisfied with the outcome. With a quick message to Liu Wei, he waited at the gate with the guards while the rest of the team came up.

"This isn't right," said the first guard, his eyes widening as he saw the eleven people walking toward them. "They need to enter through the proper procedures. And what the fuck is wrong with her?" he continued, pointing his finger at the Healer.

Rip let out a low growl, not at all impressed by the guard. If his arms weren't full with his woman, then he would have ripped the other man in half without a second thought. As it stood, Wang Tain Mu was much more important, and he didn't trust anyone else to hold her right now. He could wait and rip him apart later.

He memorized the guard's face, making sure that the next time they met, it would be a much different outcome.

"She was—" started Bai Long Qiang before Li Dai Lu interrupted him.

"She fainted from hunger. We just want someone to look over her to make sure that she doesn't need anything more than rest and food," said his Queen, and Wang Chao turned to glare at the other man. If the Healer wanted others to know her story, she would tell them, it wasn't his place to spill all of her secrets to complete strangers.

Maybe Li Dai Lu was right; not everyone deserved a second chance.

"And the blood?" demanded the first guard, pointing to the obviously dried blood on her clothes.

Rip cursed himself for not thinking about that, but besides washing her face and hands while she was asleep, he didn't dare do anything more. He could just imagine the panic she would feel to wake up with different clothes on, not knowing what happened, or, God forbid, waking up in the shower completely naked.

"She's a healer."