Rewriting My Fate in the Apocalypse

The words echoed throughout the underground chamber.

For a moment, no one moved.

Even Chief Gao stopped struggling inside the mist barrier. He stared at Leng Pan as if he had just heard something he could not understand.

Sonny and Vanish looked equally confused.

They knew that Leng Pan had secrets, but they had never expected an alien creature to claim she came from another world.

Only Lu Zhen understood what those words meant.

His expression darkened as he stepped closer to Leng Pan, shielding her with his body.

"How do you know about her?" he asked.

The queen did not answer him.

Hundreds of red eyes continued staring at Leng Pan.

The mechanical voice sounded again.

"Identity confirmed."

"Leng Pan."

"Water-based evolutionary subject."

"Threat level: immeasurable."

"Capture priority: absolute."

Leng Pan raised her eyebrows.

"Evolutionary subject?"

She had been called many things since the apocalypse began, but that one was new.

She moved slightly to the side so that she could see the queen around Lu Zhen’s shoulder.

"Since you seem to know so much about me, why don’t you explain what that means?"

The queen’s circular mouth opened.

A strange clicking sound filled the chamber.

"You should not exist in this timeline."

Leng Pan’s gaze sharpened.

Lu Zhen’s flames grew hotter.

The temperature inside the chamber rose so quickly that moisture began evaporating from the stone walls.

"You still haven’t answered my question," Leng Pan said.

"You died."

"I got better."

Vanish stared at her.

Even in this situation, she could still answer so casually?

The queen seemed unable to understand her response.

Several of its eyes blinked at different times.

"You died during the final battle."

"The last human defence collapsed."

"The cleansing wave consumed your body."

"No biological matter remained."

This time, Lu Zhen’s expression changed.

The fire surrounding him flickered violently.

He remembered that battle far too clearly.

He remembered Leng Pan standing outside the city gates while the combined army of aliens, zombies, and mutated creatures rushed towards her.

He had tried to go back.

He had begged her to open the gates.

But she had used the last of her strength to seal him inside.

Then, the wave came.

It swallowed everything.

Enemies. Ruins. The battlefield.

And Leng Pan.

Even after recovering his memories, there were nights when Lu Zhen would wake up and reach for her just to make sure she was still beside him.

He knew that they had returned to the past and changed many things. He knew that Leng Pan was alive.

But knowing did not erase what he had experienced.

Leng Pan noticed the change in his breathing.

She reached out and held his hand.

"I am here," she said softly.

Lu Zhen tightened his fingers around hers.

"I know."

"You don’t look like you know."

"I just don’t like hearing that thing talk about your death."

"Neither do I."

Leng Pan turned back towards the queen.

"So, how do you know about something that hasn’t happened in this timeline?"

The queen’s roots shifted along the walls.

"The information was preserved."

"By whom?"

"The High Command."

"Which High Command?"

No answer came.

Leng Pan was beginning to lose patience.

She did not know whether the queen lacked permission to reveal more or was deliberately avoiding the question.

Either way, she would not allow it to control the conversation.

"You said I was a water-based evolutionary subject," she continued. "What does that mean?"

The queen’s blue crystal pulsed.

"You absorbed the cleansing source."

"You evolved beyond the limits calculated for humans."

"You destroyed the harvesting army."

Leng Pan frowned.

The cleansing source might refer to the crystal shard she had found, or it could refer to the spiritual spring inside her space.

The aliens clearly knew much more about the special meteorites than humans did.

Perhaps they had even caused some of them to fall.

"The harvesting army?" Sonny asked from behind them. "Is that what you call the forces that attacked humans?"

The queen ignored him.

Its attention never left Leng Pan.

"You must return."

"Return where?" Leng Pan asked.

"To the designated path."

"What designated path?"

"The world must proceed as recorded."

Leng Pan almost laughed.

She had already escaped one predetermined story.

She had no interest in following another path designed by aliens.

"What if I refuse?"

"You cannot refuse."

"That sounds like a challenge."

The queen’s roots moved.

The chamber shook as thick tendrils pulled away from the walls.

Several sacs containing captives swung dangerously.

Sonny and Vanish moved to support the nearest ones, preventing them from crashing into the stone floor.

Lu Zhen released Leng Pan’s hand and stepped forward.

"Stay behind me."

Leng Pan gave him a sideways glance.

"Do you really think I will do that?"

"I had to try."

"If you are worried, you could stay behind me instead."

Lu Zhen looked at her.

Then, despite the danger around them, the corner of his mouth lifted.

"No. We can stand together."

"That sounds better."

Chief Gao stared at the couple in disbelief.

Were they really flirting in front of the Mother?

He had seen the creature tear powerful ability users apart. He had watched it drain hundreds of travellers until only dry skin and bones remained.

Anyone who saw it would either beg for mercy or lose their ability to speak.

Yet, these two were treating it like an inconvenience they could deal with at any time.

Perhaps Chief Gao should have realized something was wrong when they entered the village without fear.

Maybe he should not have targeted them.

However, it was far too late for regret.

The queen lowered its swollen body from the ceiling.

"Leng Pan must be captured alive."

"Other organisms may be consumed."

Sonny clicked his tongue.

"So generous."

Vanish wiped the blood from the side of his face.

"At least now we know where we stand."

"You two should move back," Leng Pan said. "You are injured."

"We can still fight," Sonny replied.

"I know. But the people in those sacs cannot protect themselves. Find a way to move them away from the centre of the chamber."

There were too many captives for Leng Pan and Lu Zhen to fight freely.