Chapter 1: A Rebirth into the Past

“Ugh…”

Drenched in sweat, I jolted awake from a nightmare, shooting upright in bed.

Raising a hand, I wiped the cold sweat from my forehead, then consciously calmed my ragged breathing.

In the apocalypse, such loud gasps would be a death sentence.

They would undoubtedly draw the attention of zombies, leading to a grim end in their stomachs.

This was a fundamental rule every survivor knew, yet I had nearly committed such a rookie error.

But wasn’t I dead?

Warily, I scanned my surroundings, the sight before me both familiar and utterly foreign.

The room featured minimalist decor, a computer positioned opposite the bed, and a bookshelf brimming with manga. Scattered across the floor were items like a football and a skateboard, all unmistakably defining the space as a teenage boy’s sanctuary.

The small desk lamp cast a dim glow, and in its soft light, I noticed the computer screen nearby was still illuminated.

A computer, still glowing…

It had been nearly a decade since I’d seen anything like it. After the apocalypse, all I ever encountered were the corroded, unrecognizable husks of what used to be computers.

As my gaze lingered on these once-familiar objects, an involuntary frown creased my brow.

A chilling suspicion was forming in my mind, yet I dared not believe it. ‘Could I truly have gone back in time? To a time before the zombie virus erupted?’

To confirm if I had truly been reborn into the past, I quickly turned on my side and reached under the bed to my right. My fingers had barely extended when they brushed against something hard.

Suppressing a surge of shock, I retrieved the phone still charging on the floor.

I’d always had a habit of charging my phone under the bed at night. This, then, was undeniable proof: I had truly been reborn!

Immediately, I unlocked the screen with my right thumbprint and quickly checked the time displayed.

“February 3rd, 2018, 11:55 PM.”

My face went blank as I stared at the date and time.

I didn’t even register the phone slipping from my hand, simply standing frozen as a deafening roar filled my mind.

I had clearly survived ten grueling years in the apocalypse.

Ten years filled with countless life-or-death struggles, agonizing food shortages, and the bitter betrayals of former companions. And now, I was being told I had been reborn?

Was this some kind of sick joke?

If I had known that simply jumping off a building could grant me rebirth, I would have done it years ago…

With that thought, I defiantly snatched the phone from the duvet, swiped the screen open again, browsed through the apps, and directly logged into Weibo.

As soon as Weibo finished loading, the very first post on my feed startled me profoundly.

“Recently, a mysterious virus has infiltrated the United States, causing over half the population to suffer from symptoms such as chest tightness, headaches, and anorexia, prompting grave concern from international health organizations…”

As I read the Weibo post, my hands began to tremble uncontrollably.

This was it!

Back then, less than a week after this very post appeared, the mysterious virus had already infiltrated China.

Soon after, the majority of humanity became infected, transforming into ravenous, flesh-eating zombies.

The curtain of the apocalypse had, at last, been drawn.

Though I understood the grim significance behind the post, I still compelled myself to check its timestamp. Only when I saw it had been posted ten minutes ago did a sigh of relief escape my lips.

Having survived ten years in the apocalypse, the thought of facing it again so soon after rebirth, before even a moment of respite, was something no one could accept.

However, now…

Even if I had to face the zombie apocalypse once more, at least I would have seven days to prepare.

But what if the zombies, what if all of it, was just a dream?

With that thought, I gritted my teeth.

Since I couldn’t be sure, I decided to test it right now.

Even though I hadn’t yet awakened my abilities, and thus couldn’t be certain if they had returned with my rebirth, it was always worth a try. Perhaps it would succeed!

I extended my left hand, palm facing upward, while concentrating on the power I once wielded.

Instantly, an egg-sized white orb of light materialized from my palm.

This companion, which had stayed with me for ten long years, had truly reappeared.

A wave of conflicting emotions, both joyous and bitter, washed over me.

Joy stemmed from the return of my ability, yet bitterness came with the stark realization that the apocalypse was truly upon us once more.

With my emotions running high, sleep was no longer an option. I simply rose and got out of bed.

I swiftly changed out of my sweat-soaked pajamas into a fresh, dry set. Then, slipping into my slippers, I opened the door and headed downstairs.

It was summer, and the combination of my tumultuous emotions and the stifling heat made my chest feel heavy and constricted.

Guided by memory, I walked to the refrigerator in the kitchen.

When I opened the refrigerator door, it was fully stocked with vegetables, fruits, desserts, and cooked dishes. The sight made me involuntarily swallow.

In the apocalypse, even a single fresh vegetable leaf was a rare treasure. Yet here, my refrigerator held an abundance of everything!

Suppressing the urge to feast, I pulled a bottle of icy mineral water from the fridge.

I twisted open the cap and chugged a large mouthful.

‘Ah, how good life was before the apocalypse!’

After the apocalypse, the severe scarcity of food and water forced people to subsist on murky groundwater, rationed to mere drops each day.

Countless individuals succumbed to thirst and illness.

However, this grim reality applied only to ordinary people. Powerful ability users were exempt, as the water generated daily by those with water manipulation powers was funneled directly to the market and distributed exclusively to the strongest for consumption.

Some powerful individuals even used this precious, clean water to wash their hands and feet, a sight that always struck me as utterly wasteful.

To use clean water for washing hands and feet – what an absolute extravagance!

If I had that water, I could sustain countless survivors in the base. It would also spare me the constant annoyance of those hangers-on, always trailing behind me, demanding this and that!

A wave of melancholy washed over me, and I shook my head.

I had been reborn; there was no point dwelling on the past.

While I had consumed water produced by water ability users, it simply couldn’t compare to the natural mineral water I now held.

It made me sigh once more, ‘Life before the apocalypse was truly wonderful!’

After finishing the water, I screwed the cap back onto the bottle.

Just then, a sudden thought struck me: I wanted to test if my ability had changed. After summoning the small white orb of light in my left hand, I tossed the mineral water bottle directly into it.

Ten years ago, when I first discovered my ability, this white orb of light had been no larger than a needle tip.

Now, however, it was nearly as powerful as it had been ten years into the future.

An ability manifesting without any prior awakening, yet already as formidable as it had been a decade later.

This inexplicable phenomenon had bewildered me for quite some time.

Then, with a mental command, I retrieved the mineral water from within.

Only after repeating the experiment several times did I nod in satisfaction.

Yes, my superpower was a space-type ability.

It was this power that had saved me from starvation in the apocalypse.

My spatial ability allowed me to store items and even halt time within, preventing decay. This meant I could accumulate vast reserves of supplies.

Especially after a few years into the apocalypse, as my ability level increased, the spatial dimensions expanded, allowing me to store an ever-growing quantity of items.

For a time, I even became a black-market merchant, reselling supplies.

This also served as an opportunity to gather a group of companions…

A sense of nostalgia for the apocalypse years washed over me, and I shook my head. Retrieving the mineral water from my space, I reached out and closed the refrigerator door.

“Brother, what are you doing?”

The sudden voice startled me, and I instinctively gripped the mineral water bottle, ready to strike the newcomer’s head.

When dealing with zombies, a headshot was always the simplest and most direct method.

Fortunately, my hand had barely risen halfway when my eyes registered the person standing beside me: my sister, Bai Xia. My movements instantly froze.

Then, awkwardly, I used the bottle still suspended in mid-air to slowly tap my own back.

“Nothing, just came down for a bottle of water.”

My sister and I were the same age, though I was a month older. Our appearances, however, were worlds apart; compared to her beautiful face, I was strikingly ordinary.

“Hmph! I don’t believe you just came for a bottle of water!”

Since my sister was standing to my right, her view had been obstructed by the refrigerator door when I opened it, preventing her from seeing me use my spatial ability.

Yet, her suspicious gaze clearly indicated she didn’t believe a word I said.

‘I truly just came for a bottle of water…’

I offered a small smile, not intending to respond further.

Perhaps because I always felt like an outsider in this family, my sister’s attitude towards me was rarely kind. She always seemed to target me, treating me like an adversary.

In the past, this might have upset me.

But after ten years of tempering in the apocalypse, such matters now felt utterly insignificant.

“Hey, I’m talking to you! Why aren’t you answering me!”

Seeing that I didn’t offer the usual explanations, my sister unhappily took a few quick steps forward, then extended both arms to block my path.

She pouted in annoyance, her slender, well-proportioned figure subtly outlined beneath her thin pajamas.