Rebirth in the Apocalypse: Third Time's a Charm



"Bodies?" asked Mao Jing, cringing. He looked at the three men who just seemed to have realized that he was standing in front of them. 

"Explain," snarled the quiet one. Mao Jing looked up at the man, realizing for the first time just how huge he was. 

"The zombies are ours," stuttered Mao Jing, looking everywhere but at the three men. "I mean, the Boss is now claiming them as hers. She has said that she was going to set them free once she dealt with something outside, but until then, she needs to feed them. Maybe we should ask for bodies so that we have a food supply for them."

"Good thing," nodded Liu Wei. "But you are missing a few important factors in that suggestion."

Mao Jing looked blankly at the man, not sure what he was talking about. 

"First, by stating bodies during the negotiation, you are offering to dispose of any already dead bodies for him. This is more of a benefit for him than it is for you. Zombies also will not eat things that are already dead, so you just gave the man you were trying to negotiate with all the benefits," explained Liu Wei, once again adjusting his glasses.

"But the zombies have always been eating dead bodies. I think today is the first time I have ever seen them eating something that was still alive," interjected Mao Jing with a shake of his head. He was normally the one who had to feed the zombies, so he was highly qualified to know just how dead their food was.

"And they didn't revolt?" asked the man in the middle, a look of confusion passing his face.

"Why would they revolt? They were fed," answered Mao Jing. This conversation seemed to have taken on a really confusing spin to it. All zombies ate the dead. It wasn't like they were overly picky eaters or anything like that.

"You have a lot to learn," muttered Liu Wei with a shake of his head. "Depending on how long Sweetheart is planning on taking control for, we will do our best to help you. But I would like to point out more than just getting dead bodies out of the deal; we also don't know what kind of bodies they are offering. It would kill our Queen if an innocent was killed just to meet a quota for her."

"It has to be something other than dead bodies," muttered the quiet one. 

"Money," said a woman's voice, and the sound of footsteps could be heard coming across the main lounge. "The father will pay through his teeth for his oldest son, or he will no longer have one."

"You doing okay?" asked Liu Wei, coming up quickly beside Mao Jing's new boss.

"Come, sit down," added the quiet one as he approached her other side, and the two of them escorted the woman who could control zombies to one of the booths like she was a fragile piece of glass.

Mao Jing just blinked as the three men who had made him want to piss himself bent over backward for his boss. He could only hope that if she had that much power, he hadn't inadvertently pissed her off and signed his own death warrant. 

"You need to get going," said Li Dai Lu as she turned to look at him. Straightening up, he nodded his head. "Of course," he responded. 

"Take Wang Chao and Liu Wei with you. Watch what they do and remember it. Next time, you might not have them around," she continued. Two men stood up from where they were crouched around her and walked over to him.

Wait—

"Wang Chao? As in the most influential man in the country and head of Phoenix Conglomerate?" demanded Mao Jing, turning to the only man in front of him whose name he didn't know. If he had the opportunity to study under Wang Chao, there would be no reason why he couldn't crush his father.

Wang Chao nodded before he and Liu Wei started to walk toward the door and the stairs to the outside.

Man Jing turned around to look at Li Dai Lu for a moment, and once he received her permission, he bolted after the other two men. 

He caught up to them just as they stepped out into the light of day. There were three bikes parked over to one side, and Mao Jing watched as they approached them. Confused, he followed silently behind.

"I would like it noted that I am protesting this bullshit," came a voice, and Mao Jing looked around to see where it could be coming from. He didn't recognize the accent, so the person could be from around here. 

"So noted, but we aren't walking, and the Queen wants us to keep him with us," said Wang Chao as he got onto one of the motorcycles. "Are you going to be the one to tell the Queen that you didn't do as she requested?"

There was silence after that, and Mao Jing realized that Wang Chao was actually talking to the motorcycle beside him. Had the prince of City A gone insane at the end of days? It wouldn't surprise Mao Jing if that was the case. A lot of people couldn't adapt to their new reality and had lost it; he just couldn't picture that happening to Wang Chao.

"He isn't even one of us," came the voice again. Mao Jing spun around in a circle, looking for the person, but no one was around.  "See?!?"

"Bin An Sha wasn't one of us either, and you still let him ride you," pointed out Liu Wei as he got his helmet on. "Now, we are wasting time. If you aren't going to take him, I will ask Cerberus to do so. You can deal with the consequences on your own."

"Fine," grumbled the voice. "What are you waiting for? A fucking invitation? Get on!"

"You serve the Queen," said Wang Chao, looking at Mao Jing. "Sit on the bike and show us where we need to go. If he gives you attitude, remind him that you serve the Queen."

"Who is the Queen?" asked Mao Jing, more than a little confused. Was the bike really talking? He shook his head as he swung his leg over the seat and got comfortable. He put on the helmet and reached for the handlebars.

"Don't do anything stupid. Just tell me where we need to go and then sit there," grumbled a voice echoing in the helmet. 

"Shut up, Murder," growled a new voice. "You either take him, or you go back home, and Cerberus will take him. You heard W—Wang Chao. He serves the Queen."

"Fine," sneered the bike… Murder? What kind of name was that for a bike? 

Mao Jing took in a deep breath. He could either fight what was right in front of his face, or he could accept it, just like he accepted all of the other changes in his life. If he wanted to prove his father wrong, if he wanted to live the life that he was destined to live, then he needed to accept things, no matter how improbable.

Giving the directions, he held onto the handlebars tightly as the bike under him took off in the direction of Gong Ling Xin's home. 

"You'll get used to it," said Liu Wei, his voice coming through his helmet just like Murder's had. "They are a bit of a pain in the ass until they get used to you."

"He will not be on me long enough to 'get used to' me," grumbled Murder, and Mao Jing could feel the bike revving the engine under him like he was trying to drive in neutral. 

"I appreciate the ride," he said, hoping that a bit of politeness would smooth things over. 

"Of course you do," said Murder, a sneer in his voice, but the ride itself smoothed out.

Letting out a sigh of relief, Mao Jing kept his mouth shut the rest of the way, sending up a quick prayer that he wouldn't have to walk back to the club once the errand was complete.

---

"What do you want?" asked a middle-aged man when Mao Jing knocked on the door of the Gong residence. 

"Mr. Gong," he said confidently, "I am Mao Jing; I am here to talk to you about your son."

"I know exactly who you are," sneered the man, getting ready to close the door in the faces of the three men standing at his door. "But you are not going to use me and my son to get back into your father's good graces."

He was about to slam the door when a hand shot out the block the way. "That's too bad; I guess we can just feed him to the zombies, then, since you don't seem to care about what we have to say."

Gong Hao Zhi sneered at the man whose arm was blocking the way. "Are you threatening me? Do you have any idea who I am?"

"No," replied the third man, drawing Gong Hao Zhi's attention to him for the first time. "You are not worth knowing. However, I am here to offer you a deal in exchange for your firstborn."

"Are you blackmailing me?" growled the older man, looking at the three men before him. 

"No," scoffed the one still holding the door open. "This isn't blackmail. This is a ransom demand."