Chapter 5: The Apocalypse Begins

This man was even more alert than she was.

Jiang Si smiled faintly. The man restrained his aura and nodded slightly.

She buckled her seatbelt and closed her eyes to rest.

She couldn’t tell if it was a result of ten years of post-apocalyptic instincts, but she had a constant uneasy feeling that his gaze was secretly probing her the whole time.

Feeling uncomfortable, Jiang Si turned away slightly. Only when she heard the subtle sound of the man reclining in his seat did she finally let out a breath.

After getting off the plane, Jiang Si hailed a taxi straight home.

The driver glanced at the address and muttered,
“Miss, this place is pretty far out.”

Jiang Si nodded,
“I know. It’s fine.”

He gave the usual warning, and seeing her unconcerned, the driver relaxed.

The taxi drove out of the city center, into Baijiang County, and familiar streets started appearing.

Her family lived halfway up the mountain inside a forest conservation area. As the car wound through narrow roads and one-ways, she noticed a vehicle tailing them.

She glanced back. The driver noticed and laughed casually,
“That taxi behind us looks like it also came from the airport.”

In such a remote place, someone else coming from the airport at the same time?

Was she being followed?

She had been very careful while purchasing supplies and using her space ability…

As they approached the village entrance, Jiang Si suddenly told the driver:
“I’ll get off here.”

She stepped out, and the car behind her stopped as well. A man stepped out—

It was that strange man from the plane.

She took her luggage from the trunk, and the man retrieved two suitcases from his.

Could this really be a coincidence?

It was too much of one.

Jiang Si stayed alert, pulling her suitcase while keeping him in her peripheral vision.

Just then, a woman named Li Cui from the village saw Jiang Si and came striding over like a wolf spotting meat:
“Sisi, you’re back! That’s a huge suitcase—what goodies did you bring your parents?”

Everyone in the village was somewhat related. Technically, Jiang Si should call her “Auntie.”

But in her past life, Li Cui had incited the village chief, Lin Jiangyuan, to lead a mob to smash their home, causing her grandfather to be seriously injured.

She no longer saw her as family.

Jiang Si’s expression turned cold:
“Went out to work but didn’t earn anything. Can’t afford gifts.”

Li Cui’s attempt to fish for favors failed, and her face fell. She looked past Jiang Si to the man behind her and sneered:
“Oh? Your boyfriend all wrapped up in this heat? Is he too ugly to show his face?”

Jiang Si glanced back at the man. His eyes were hidden behind sunglasses, unreadable.

She replied coldly,
“Watch your mouth, or his girlfriend might come and rip it off for you.”

Li Cui’s face twitched with anger:
“Is that how you talk to your elders? Off working for a few years and you forget your manners?”

Jiang Si lifted her eyelids lazily,
“Elder? You think you deserve that title?”

Li Cui’s eyes widened in disbelief:
“You—you—! I’m going to ask your parents what kind of daughter they raised!”

“None of your business.”

“Aaaaagh—!”

Furious, Li Cui lunged at Jiang Si.

Jiang Si effortlessly dodged, and Li Cui tripped and fell into a ditch, mouth full of mud.

From the ground, Li Cui wailed,
“Jiang Si’s back and she’s attacking her elders!”

But it was sweltering, and village homes were far apart. No one came out to watch the drama—she was yelling into the void.

Jiang Si stared down at her like a knife poised to strike.

Li Cui shivered and scrambled to her feet, spitting mud,
“Just wait, I’m telling your grandmother!”

Grandmother? Ha.

In her past life, while she was out doing missions at the Northern Base, her grandmother Sun Xiu and stepfather Shen Fu cut flesh from her mother’s leg to trade for food, and even tried to sell Jiang Si herself.

In this life, she had no grandmother.

Li Cui, oblivious, stomped off to tattle. Jiang Si sneered, dragging her suitcase to a fork in the road. The man followed closely behind.

She finally lost patience and asked,
“Why are you following me? What do you want?”

The man paused, glanced at her face for a few seconds, then pointed at an abandoned house next to hers.
“My home.”

“…?”

Jiang Si froze.

His home?

He wasn’t supposed to be here. In her past life, he never showed up at all!

Was this the butterfly effect?

She tested cautiously:
“Are you Qin Shen?”

“Mm.” He nodded.

It really was him!

In her past life, he’d been a beaten-down nobody hiding in a haystack—a total contrast to the sharp, aloof man standing before her.

“I’m Jiang Si from next door. We probably met when we were kids. Are you staying long?”

Qin Shen gave a cool nod, clearly not interested in neighborly conversation. He walked straight past her toward the broken house.

Jiang Si stood there, face twitching slightly.

Did he think she was hitting on him? Was that why he was so guarded?

Her phone suddenly rang, breaking the awkward silence.

She answered:
“Hi Dad, I’m almost home—”

Before she could finish, the line cut off.

Phone died?

No—she’d just charged it before boarding. The battery had been full.

She tried turning it back on. Still black.

Suddenly, a commotion erupted from the nearby convenience store.

Several men burst out, shouting as they dropped their poker cards:
“Hey! Why’d the power go out?”

“Probably tripped the breaker!”

“Fix it quick! It’s roasting in here without AC—and I was winning that hand!”

“Wait… doesn’t feel like a normal outage.”

A woman climbed onto the roof of the house next door and yelled,
“Did anyone else lose power?”

The villagers responded immediately:

“Yeah! No electricity!”
“Someone call the power company!”

But then someone shouted in panic:
“Hey—my phone’s dead! Won’t turn on!”
“Same here!”
“Mine too!”

Phones suddenly dead.

The only time she had seen this happen was during a global electromagnetic blackout in her past life.

Jiang Si’s heart dropped.

Today was supposed to be May 7th. The global blackout hadn’t happened until three weeks later…

But this was a new life. If she could return from the dead, then the end could definitely come early.

Suddenly—

BOOM——

A thunderous roar echoed from the clouds above.

Everyone looked up.

A passenger plane was plummeting from the sky at terrifying speed, the noise so loud it felt like the world itself was tearing apart.

It streaked across the sky, passing directly overhead. The gust of wind and debris blinded everyone.

BANG——

A massive explosion shook the mountain. Thick black smoke rose from the forest.

The villagers blinked through dust and wind, stunned:
“Holy crap… It crashed!”
“Someone call 119!”
“Call?! Phones don’t work!”

“Then drive to the fire station!”

Someone jumped in a car, but moments later climbed back out, stunned:
“The engine won’t start… Was it affected by the crash?”

As the villagers debated forming a rescue team, another roar filled the air.

Village chief Lin Zhonghua pointed to the sky, trembling:
“Another one! Another plane!”

Before they could react, a second plane fell from the sky in flames.

Still in shock, the villagers hadn’t processed what was happening.

Jiang Si rushed forward, grabbing her father’s arm:
“Dad! We have to go home now!”

No one would survive the crashes. The survival rate for those was zero.

Even if there were survivors, with no communication, no transport, they were as good as dead.

Their home wasn’t fully fortified yet.

Sunlight—or worse—would arrive soon.

She had to warn her family immediately:

The apocalypse had begun. And helping strangers would only get them killed.