“Rong Yuxuan! Get in the car!”
Lin Qingtang shoved the door open and shouted at the man still standing outside. Her voice was sharp with urgency, her eyes filled with unmistakable panic.
Rong Yuxuan stood beside the SUV, his mental energy completely drained.
His vision faded in and out. Every limb felt unbearably heavy, as if all strength had been stripped from his body. A splitting pain hammered against his temples, threatening to tear his skull apart.
But when he looked at the zombie horde rapidly closing in behind him, he knew they couldn’t leave just yet.
If the horde caught up to them, their vehicle wouldn’t stand a chance.
Grinding his teeth, he squeezed out the last trace of strength he had left.
His remaining psychic power burst forth, locking onto the few zombies blocking the road within ten meters.
“Stop…”
His voice came out as a hoarse growl.
A faint red glow flickered in his eyes as an invisible wave of psychic force enveloped the zombies, violently disrupting their consciousness.
The crazed undead froze mid-charge.
Then, as though they had suddenly changed targets, they turned and slammed into the horde surging behind them.
The zombies crashed into one another, clawing and tearing at anything in front of them, creating a temporary bottleneck that slowed the advancing tide.
The moment it was over, Rong Yuxuan’s body gave out.
Every ounce of strength vanished.
Darkness swallowed his vision as he pitched forward toward the ground.
“Brother Xuan!”
Li An cried out and lunged toward him.
With the last flicker of consciousness he had left, Rong Yuxuan stumbled forward, grabbed the passenger-side door handle, yanked it open, and collapsed into the seat.
“Go… Hurry… Take the back road…”
Before the final word had fully left his lips, his head tilted sideways.
He blacked out completely.
“Brother Xuan!”
Li An quickly checked his breathing and pulse before letting out a relieved sigh.
“He’s alive. He just pushed his abilities too far and passed out.”
Lin Qingtang stared at the unconscious man beside her.
His face was deathly pale.
His lips had lost every trace of color.
Cold sweat soaked his forehead, and the sharp, commanding features that normally radiated confidence were now tightly drawn with exhaustion.
A dull ache spread through her chest.
She couldn’t even describe what she was feeling.
“Stop staring and drive!”
Lin Shaoan looked at the zombies closing in again and barked,
“He didn’t buy us much time!”
Li An snapped back to his senses.
Without another second of hesitation, he floored the accelerator.
The SUV shot forward, swerved sharply into a narrow country road, and finally left the temporarily stalled zombie horde behind.
…
The SUV raced along the uneven dirt road beneath the cover of darkness.
Inside the vehicle, silence filled the cabin.
Only the engine’s roar and everyone’s uneven breathing could be heard.
Sitting in the back seat, Lin Qingtang couldn’t stop looking at Rong Yuxuan’s unconscious figure.
This man…
He always put her safety above his own.
Again and again.
Even if it meant risking his life.
Just as she lost herself in thought, Rong Yuxuan suddenly shuddered.
His brows knitted tighter.
His lips moved weakly as if trapped in a nightmare.
“…Qingtang…”
“…Qingtang…”
He whispered her name over and over.
Pain.
Regret.
Self-blame.
His voice trembled with barely restrained sorrow.
“I’m sorry…”
“I’m sorry I came too late…”
“I was wrong…”
“I should have found you sooner…”
“I avenged you…”
“Zhao Hongbin…”
“Long Juanli…”
“Long Junlong…”
“I killed them all for you…”
“Please…”
“Don’t leave me…”
Lin Qingtang’s eyes widened.
Her whole body froze.
Her heart began pounding wildly inside her chest.
Zhao Hongbin.
Long Juanli.
Long Junlong.
Revenge.
Too late.
Found her too late…
A terrifying thought exploded into her mind.
Could it be…
Could Rong Yuxuan… also have been reborn?
The possibility overwhelmed her.
She stared at his sleeping face, shock filling her eyes as her fingertips turned ice-cold.
Lin Shaoan had also heard the unconscious muttering.
His brows furrowed as he looked toward his daughter in confusion.
Lin Qingtang quietly shook her head.
Not now.
Don’t ask.
But the shock in her heart refused to fade.
Even Li An had heard everything.
His face was full of confusion, but he wisely kept silent, focusing only on driving toward somewhere safe.
Silence settled over the vehicle once more.
Only Rong Yuxuan’s broken murmurs echoed softly through the cabin.
Each sentence carried an obsession so deep that it stabbed into Lin Qingtang’s heart.
…
Nearly two hours later…
The eastern sky began to brighten.
Ahead stood an abandoned farmhouse.
Tall courtyard walls surrounded the property.
No zombie growls.
No signs of survivors.
“It looks safe,” Li An said as he slowly stopped outside the gate.
“Let’s rest here.”
After confirming the surroundings were clear, Li An and Lin Shaoan carefully carried Rong Yuxuan from the passenger seat.
Supporting him from both sides, they entered the courtyard and placed him gently onto a clean bed in the innermost room before covering him with a thin blanket.
“Let him sleep,” Lin Shaoan said quietly as he looked at Rong Yuxuan’s pale face.
“He pushed himself far beyond his limit.”
Lin Qingtang stood silently beside the bed.
Looking at the deep crease between his brows, her emotions became increasingly complicated.
She nodded softly.
“Let’s leave him alone.”
The three quietly left the room and gently closed the door behind them.
Li An stood guard outside the courtyard.
Lin Shaoan searched the kitchen and nearby buildings for water.
Meanwhile, Lin Qingtang sat quietly in the yard.
Every so often, her eyes drifted toward the bedroom.
His dream-filled whispers replayed over and over in her mind.
She could almost say with certainty now…
Rong Yuxuan had been reborn too.
But since he hadn’t admitted it himself, she couldn’t ask.
For now…
She buried the secret deep inside her heart.
…
Rong Yuxuan slept until late the following morning.
Warm sunlight streamed through the window.
Slowly, he opened his eyes.
His head still throbbed, though the weakness throughout his body had mostly faded.
His strength was returning.
Supporting himself with one hand, he sat up and rubbed his aching temples.
The only thing he remembered was forcing himself to control the zombies…
Then everything had gone black.
Just then, the bedroom door opened softly.
Lin Qingtang walked in carrying a cup of hot water.
When she saw him awake, a faint ripple passed through her eyes.
“You’re awake.”
“How are you feeling?”
She walked over and handed him the cup.
Her tone sounded calm, revealing nothing.
“Much better.”
“My head still hurts a little, but my strength has mostly recovered.”
He accepted the water, his gentle gaze lingering on her face.
“Thank you.”
“If it weren’t for you, none of us would have escaped last night.”
Lin Qingtang looked at him quietly.
Rong Yuxuan smiled.
“I already told you.”
“Protecting you is what I should do.”
After a brief silence, Lin Qingtang decided to probe him.
“You once said…”
“When we were children, I gave you a coat.”
His hand tightened almost imperceptibly around the cup.
Warm nostalgia softened his eyes.
“When I was fifteen…”
“I sold roasted sweet potatoes on the street.”
“It was winter.”
“I barely had any clothes.”
“I was freezing.”
“The coat you gave me…”
“It was the warmest, nicest piece of clothing I’d ever worn.”
“It was the first kindness I’d ever received.”
“It became…”
“…the greatest blessing of my life.”
His voice was quiet.
But every word carried years of unwavering devotion.
Lin Qingtang looked at him gently.
“You’re only twenty-two.”
“Why talk as though your whole life has already passed?”
“You still have a long future ahead.”
“There will be many more warm days waiting for you.”
The moment those words fell…
An overwhelming sorrow flooded Rong Yuxuan’s eyes.
It wasn’t the despair of the apocalypse.
Nor the pain from his exhausted body.
It was the grief of someone who had already lived through death…
Who had lost everything…
Who had nothing left to hope for.
Lin Qingtang’s heart trembled.
She understood.
He had remembered his previous life.
Rong Yuxuan looked at her.
His lips parted slightly.
He wanted to tell her…
Qingtang…
Your previous life wasn’t long at all.
Mine wasn’t either.
After you died…
There was no meaning left in my life.
No future.
No reason to keep living.
My life ended the day you left.
But he couldn’t say any of it.
He couldn’t expose the truth.
He couldn’t force her to relive the pain of her previous life.
Suppressing the grief surging inside him, he gave her a gentle smile.
“My future is still long.”
“And…”
“I’ll walk it with you.”
“You’ll live well too.”
“You’ll stay safe.”
“You’ll stay healthy.”
“This time…”
“I’ll protect you until you live to be a hundred.”
“I’ll never let anyone hurt you again.”
Lin Qingtang looked into his eyes.
Countless emotions churned beneath her calm expression.
Then she smiled softly.
“Alright.”
“Let’s both survive.”
“Let’s stay safe…”
“And make it all the way to the end together.”
Rong Yuxuan nodded firmly.
His eyes were filled with warmth and unwavering determination.
Across two lifetimes…
Two lives of longing.
Two lives spent searching for one another.
This time…
They were both alive.
They were together.
And that alone…
Was enough.
Golden sunlight poured through the window, bathing them both in its warmth.
For a brief moment…
It drove away the cold inside the room.
And softened the endless desolation of the apocalypse.