Rebirth in the Apocalypse: Third Time's a Charm



Wang Chao reached out and grasped Li Dai Lu's arm just as a shark shot toward her, barely missing her with its teeth. Pulling her closer into his arms, he swam to the surface, completely unimpeded by his heavy gold armor.

He spotted Liu Yu Zeng and the rest of her men swimming down, but he shook his head and pointed to the surface. Chen Zi Han shook his head in reply and continued to swim toward her. When he came up to her side, he took the oxygen hose from his own mouth and inserted it into hers.

It took him a few seconds to realize that she was not breathing on her own, and Chen Zi Han desperately tried to think about how he could save her underwater.  Removing the oxygen hose from her mouth, he placed a hand on her chest, trying to feel for the excess water in her lungs.

At first, he couldn't tell the difference between the water around them and the water in her that should not be there. But pushing aside his frustrations, he closed his eyes and tried to picture himself inside her body, like he did when he was trying to take the vitality out of the zombies. Once again, there was no change, but then his right arm slowly started to burn until it was in excruciating pain. Then he felt the bullet wound in his chest.

Slowly but surely, he sunk into Li Dai Lu's consciousness until he felt like the water was inside his own lungs. Using his power, he drained the water from her until he could only feel the burn of empty lungs. Returning back to his own body, he once again put the oxygen hose into her mouth. This time he could feel her ribs expanding as she took a breath.

He looked at Wang Chao and nodded his head as the three of them broke through the surface. "Is she okay?" asked Wang Chao, looking down at the woman in his arms.

"She is breathing," confirmed Chen Zi Han. "Which is more than I can say for the commander and the other Sea Dragons."

"I'll get the details later," agreed Wang Chao. "But let's get her out of the water first."

"Agreed." The two men swam towards the boat that looked like something out of a nightmare. The heads of more than a few zombies turned toward them, but once they realized whom they were holding, they ignored the two men in favor of the random limbs falling out of the boat.

Liu Wei and Liu Yu Zeng were already on board, the commander on his knees in front of them, missing chunks of flesh from his body. His right arm hung uselessly beside him.

Liu Yu Zeng turned away from the disgraced commander and walked toward where Wang Chao was trying to get up into the boat with Li Dai Lu. Reaching down, he grabbed the still unconscious Li Dai Lu from the other man's arms, letting Wang Chao and Chen Zi Han get up the ladder unimpeded. However, when it came time to return her to Wang Chao, Liu Yu Zeng refused, pulling his woman's body closer to his own.

"Save us!" demanded the commander as he saw Wang Chao coming closer. "And what the fuck are you wearing?"

"You are about to die, and you are worried about my choice of outfit?" smirked Wang Chao as he crouched down in front of the other man. "Want to tell me how my wife got shot?"

"She killed my men," replied the commander, a brief look of satisfaction crossing his face as he took in the unconscious body in Liu Yu Zeng's arms.

"I see," nodded Wang Chao seriously. "But here is the thing. If you hadn't done that, there was a smidgen of a chance that you would be able to live long enough to make it to shore. Unfortunately for you, you shot my wife. Please, let me repeat it because you don't seem to be understanding the seriousness of your crimes. You. Shot. My. Wife. And for that, you die."

Not giving the commander time to process his words, Wang Chao wrapped his hand around the other man's neck and stood up. Walking over to the side of the boat where the zombies were patiently waiting, Wang Chao threw the other man into the ocean with a loud splash.

"So, what did I miss?" he asked, looking around at the blood-stained deck. There was a single finger in one of the corners of the boat, rolling back and forth with the waves. Walking over to it, Wang Chao picked it up and tossed the offending digit overboard.

"A lot, actually," said Liu Yu Zeng. "But can we hurry up and get Sweetness here looked at?" he pressed. He laid a gentle kiss on her forehead, reminding himself that she was at least still alive and that the bleeding had stopped. "How did this even happen? Isn't she supposed to have like super fast healing?"

"I think that she needs all four of us around for that to happen," said Liu Wei as he adjusted his glasses. "And there was one of us missing if I remember correctly."

"Yes," admitted Wang Chao. There was no point in denying it. "But I have brought back Bin An Sha, so he should be able to help with the healing until she can take over on her own."

"No need for that," interjected Chen Zi Han. "Her wound is closing up as we speak."

"Oh, thank God," said Liu Yu Zeng with a sigh of relief. "Let's hurry up and get the members of Country M's military on board and then get back to dry ground. If I never go swimming again, it will be too soon," he continued with a shudder.

"Country M's military?" asked Wang Chao in confusion.

"Ya'll called?" came a drawl from the ladder. The four men turned around to see a wet blonde climbing up the ladder. "Who's the guy in the armor, and did ya'll have a party without us?"

"This is Lonnie," said Liu Wei by way of an introduction. "She makes Li Dai Lu happy."