Rebirth: Leading Families to Survive in the Apocalypse

In Huaxia’s Y Territory, a motley crew of climbers was tumbling down the snowy mountain. They ignored the equipment they were littering everywhere, and no one even tried to pick up the precious life-saving oxygen mask when they dropped it.

A short man in a red down jacket was at the back of the pack. As he ran, he yelled at his friends, ” Brother Chen, what’s up with Old Jiang? Why is he suddenly biting us?”

Brother Chen panted as he ran up front. He turned to reply, “Who the hell knows what’s wrong with him? Just run! If you don’t, you’ll end up like Ding San!”

“What the f*ck! I f-finally made it up here, but we didn’t even get a photo to commemorate before sh*t hit the fan!” said the bearded man in the middle.

They had met on Tieba and agreed to climb to the top of Mount M together. There had been five of them, but now only the three of them were left.

For some reason, their companion Old Jiang had gone to use the washroom and returned behaving like a rabid patient. He tried to bite anyone he saw, and Ding San was bitten on the arm when he let his guard down. Within minutes, Ding San was displaying the same symptoms as Old Jiang.

Thankfully, it was cold on the mountain and all of them were wearing thick clothing. Big Beard’s windbreaker had been slashed through, but they did not break his skin.

Once the remaining three realized things were going sideways, they abandoned their equipment and expensive cameras, running away as fast as their legs could carry them.

As they ran, the mountain paths turned treacherous. On the way up, they needed alpenstocks and an abundance of caution, so going down would only be even more dangerous. No matter how anxious they were, they had to take their time going downhill.

By then, however, Old Jiang and Ding San had caught up to them. Big Beard stood on the steep slope with no other choice but to swing his alpenstock at Old Jiang’s leg. Old Jiang was in front of Ding San, and the blow made him trip. The steepness of the mountain path meant he ended up tumbling right down.

Brother Chen did the same, picking up a branch from the ground to trip Ding San and send him falling down the mountain.

The three survivors’ hearts were pounding from fear and adrenaline. Did they just become murderers?

“Yeah, f*ck that! I’d rather kill someone than let them bite me! That’s disgusting,” Big Beard said angrily.

“If anyone asks once we get down, we’ll say that they accidentally fell off the cliff themselves. That way, no one will know, right? The three of us are the only ones left, after all.” Brother Chen had immediately thought of that plan, but he did not know if the other two would play along.

“Sounds good. I agree with Brother Chen, let’s stick with that for now. After all, dozens if not a hundred people die on this mountain every year.” Shorty was all in with Brother Chen’s suggestion, and then the two of them turned to look at Big Beard.

“What are you looking at me for? Let’s just get down in one piece first. Just so you know, the cops down there aren’t idiots. You can’t fool them so easily. If you get the details wrong, you’ll just get me involved too! I’d rather just surrender up front.” Big Beard did not think he did anything wrong. Even if they looked into what just happened, he had clearly been acting in self-defense. There was no reason for him to join in the two idiots’ little charade.

“Hmph, fine. Let’s just focus on getting down first.” Brother Chen and Shorty exchanged a look before replying to Big Beard. Big Beard was focused on examining his foldable alpenstock, so he did not notice the dark flash in Brother Chen’s gaze.

…

At the same time, there were other cases of suspected rabies in the North and South Poles.

The first case was a polar bear lying on top of a piece of floating ice. It had starved to death and was being carried through the water by the glacier, but after a moment, it somehow got back onto its feet. Its eyes were greyish-white, but since the rest of its fur was white as well, it was difficult for most people to notice the difference in the bear’s appearance.

…

Meanwhile, Su Jin and Lu Hao had brought Nie Qing to their grandparents’ place. They were planning to settle Nie Qing here for now, since their grandparents had a bungalow with empty rooms both upstairs and downstairs. Besides, the couple was going to move in here later anyway.

When they arrived, the family was already getting ready for dinner. Although it was just another normal dinner, almost the entire family was pitching in to help.

That was the harmonious scene that greeted Nie Qing as soon as he walked in. Su Jin’s grandfather Lin Yunguo was cooking the food, while his daughter-in-law Huang Yunxiang was chopping up the vegetables. Lin Cheng was peeling garlic in the living room, and Lin Xiuyuan was, uh, taste-testing the food as he snuck bits from the table.

Lin Tianzhen and Mao Zhihang were peeling vegetables on the couch, as Mao Qiqi sat on the playmat on the floor, playing Aeroplane Chess. She had retrieved the colorful crystal Aeroplane Chess set Lu Hao had bought her from the trash can. After Lu Hao cleared up the misunderstanding that day, she had spent the rest of the day crouched in front of the trash can.

What should she do? Mommy said children should not go through the trash. Mao Qiqi had thought to herself, distraught, as she hugged her knees.

Lin Tianzhen saw Mao Qiqi crouching next to the trash can for such a long time without a word. The girl never went through the trash before, so Lin Tianzhen asked her what was wrong.

Mao Qiqi pointed at the Aeroplane Chess in the trash can and said, “Mommy, I think we can still save it~”

Lin Tianzhen, “…”

Eventually, an exasperated Mao Zhihang helped her retrieve the pieces and washed them thoroughly before returning them to her.

Mao Qiqi adored the Aeroplane Chess set. Little girls tended to like shiny things, and she had mourned the set for a long time when she threw it away.

Su Xiangzhe was also washing vegetables at the tap. Meanwhile, Su Jin’s grandmother Li Xiuying and Lin Tianhui were eating sunflower seeds and watching television on the couch with the two peeling vegetables.

Nie Qing did not know what heaven on earth was like, but he felt that what these people had was close to it.

The family had noticed Su Jin and Lu Hao coming in, followed by a dazed older man behind them. They greeted Nie Qing warmly; even Grandma and Su Jin’s mother stopped eating sunflower seeds and got to their feet.

In fact, Su Jin’s mother Lin Tianhui straight-up ignored Su Jin and Lu Hao, giving Nie Qing a warm welcome and offering him a handful of sunflower seeds.

Nie Qing was stunned by their enthusiasm, holding the seeds as he repeatedly said, “Thank you, thank you kindly.”

Su Jin pouted. She had informed her family in advance that they were bringing a guest who also happened to be Lu Hao’s master, but they did not have to ignore her like that.

That was right, she was the only one being ignored. As soon as Lu Hao walked through the door, Mao Qiqi had dragged him away to play Aeroplane Chess on the mat with her.

Hmph, after she praised her family in the car on the way back too.

Just then, her aunt Lin Tianzhen finally noticed Su Jin pouting in a corner. With a laugh, Lin Tianzhen dragged Su Jin over and stuffed some unpeeled vegetables into her hands.

Su Jin, “…”

She did not want to peel vegetables either!

Lin Yunguo, Su Xiangzhe, and Huang Yunxiang ran back into the kitchen as soon as they greeted Nie Qing. They had to keep an eye on the stove, after all, or else the food would burn and the family would not have anything to eat for dinner.

“Uncle Nie, so you’re my brother-in-law’s master?” Lin Xiuyuan approached Nie Qing and put a cup of water in front of him.

“This– I am.” Nie Qing was so caught off-guard by the family’s enthusiasm that he nearly called himself ‘this old man’ again.

Although Lin Xiuyuan did not know what this Uncle Nie could do, he was polite enough not to ask. He could see that Su Jin and Lu Hao really respected the old man, which meant that he was one of their own now. Lin Xiuyuan was always respectful to their own.

“Oh, master schmaster. Since you’re here now, you’re part of our family now,” Lin Tianhui said with a laugh. Her daughter had told her that this Master Nie was truly a master of his craft. Although she did not know what craft that was, the entire family had been speculating for ages before they arrived. They were just surprised to see how young this master was.

“Yeah, yeah, Master Nie. Just stay with us, don’t be shy.”

Li Xiuying did not know how to address Nie Qing. Su Jin had said that Nie Qing was older than all of them, but she did not say how old he was. Since he looked so young, Li Xiuying did not know how to address him anymore and settled with Master Nie.

“The lass has told me much about you, extolling your praises, and you have lived up to her praise. I am honored to meet you, truly!”

Nie Qing was being fully sincere. The family’s warmth toward him was pure and untainted, such that even his heart of stone was pounding happily in his chest right now.