Volume One Chapter One The Eve of the Apocalypse

On the brightly lit city streets, crowds surged endlessly, the clamor tinged with an uncanny calm.

"Li Hexuan, I’ve made myself very clear—we are not from the same world! You can’t give me the life I want. Stop pestering me!"

The cold, piercing voice stabbed into his ears. Li Hexuan faltered for a moment, then suddenly sobered. Ignoring the furious girl before him, he hastily pulled out his phone to check the time—

December 17th, 2022, 7:24 pm.

"As I thought... I really am back!"

He looked up at the woman who had once reduced him to dust—Jia Shuwen. Her face was twisted with disgust, as if he were some repulsive piece of trash.

Memories crashed over him like a tide.

In his previous life, he had groveled before Jia Shuwen for three years, only to be betrayed by her when the apocalypse struck—she had joined forces with his nemesis, Chen Hao, to orchestrate his death. Now, reborn, how could he possibly make the same mistake again?

"Li Hexuan! Are you deaf?!" Jia Shuwen’s voice grew shriller as he remained silent.

Smack!

A loud slap landed on her cheek. Jia Shuwen clutched her face, staring at him in disbelief. "You... you dare hit me?!"

"That slap is what you owed me." Li Hexuan’s voice was icy as he turned and walked away.

He had no time to waste on someone like her.

"Li Hexuan! Just you wait! How dare you hit me? I’ll make sure your reputation is ruined!"

Jia Shuwen immediately began plotting to ruin Li Hexuan’s name, already devising schemes to put into action.

Not even her parents had struck her since she was a child—yet Li Hexuan, the sycophant, dared to hit her! Just wait. One day, you’ll pay for this slap.

If looks could kill, Li Hexuan would have been flayed alive by Jia Shuwen a thousand times over.

But right now, he had no intention of wasting another moment on her.

In just one month, the apocalypse would arrive. Floodwaters would engulf City E, and even worse, monstrous mutated fish would emerge from the deluge. He had to act quickly.

The mutant fish lurking in the floodwaters were as terrifying as zombies.

Because it was graduation season, the dormitories were deserted. Li Hexuan sat alone in his empty room, fiddling with his computer.

Over the next days, he used every means he knew to amass as much money as possible—borrowing at high interest, taking out online loans, even mortgaging his house to gamble on the World Cup finals. Thanks to his foreknowledge, he accumulated a staggering fifty million in less than two weeks.

Meanwhile, Jia Shuwen was tirelessly slandering him with her connections, and one of her admirers even threatened to cripple him.

Li Hexuan, however, neither knew nor cared about any of this.

"Sir, are you really sure you want to buy this villa?" the saleswoman asked in disbelief, astonished that anyone would pay full price for a villa that had stood vacant for ten years.

This villa was uniquely situated—perched atop the highest mountain on the outskirts of the city, with Green Forest Park at its base. To reach it, one had to climb over six thousand steps. The place was notorious for its oddity: its previous owner was a war veteran who, traumatized by the battlefield, had fortified the villa like a bunker, rendering renovations impossible.

"I’m sure. And I want to move in today, if possible," Li Hexuan replied, glancing at the sky outside, where dark clouds had begun to weep.

The signs of the apocalypse had begun.

Because time was of the essence, Li Hexuan completed the payment quickly, moving in even before the formalities were done.

The villa was old and thick with dust. Standing there, Li Hexuan’s breath came fast.

"I hope the rumors I heard in my last life weren’t wrong."

He pressed on, heart pounding, until he found a hidden door to a secret room in the basement.

In his past life, a powerful survivor team had emerged from this villa after the flood, growing rapidly in strength. The reason wasn’t just the location—it was...

Seeing the cache of guns and ammunition stored in the secret room, Li Hexuan let out a cry of joy.

He was right! The villa really did contain weapons and ammo. With these, he could develop rapidly in the early days of the apocalypse.

"Chen Hao, just you wait. If I don’t make you kneel and call me father in this life, I’m not Li Hexuan!"

He loaded a pistol, eyes burning with hatred.

Last time, he had saved Chen Hao and brought him into the shelter, only for Chen Hao to use cunning and flattery to become Captain of Team Four. Later, in a joint operation, Chen Hao and Jia Shuwen had conspired to frame him, resulting not only in his death but also in the annihilation of Team Two.

Remembering his comrades from his past life, Li Hexuan steeled his resolve. This time, no matter what, he would protect them and carve out a place for them in this ruined world.

Outside, the rain fell harder and harder. Taking advantage of the downpour, Li Hexuan began stockpiling supplies and transporting them up the mountain.