While waiting for Jiang Heng to respond, Xu Wanning glanced around the internet café and quietly identified three of Jiang Heng’s future teammates from her previous life—including the attendant at the front desk.
Right now, they still looked youthful and immature.
When she had met them in her previous life, all traces of youthful innocence had long since vanished. They had become numb, the kind of people who seemed to be living solely for the sake of surviving another day.
Every single one of them was someone she intended to recruit into her team.
In the apocalypse, the most important quality in a teammate wasn’t strength.
It was loyalty.
And honestly, recruiting them might be easier than expected.
Most of them were a little chuunibyou at heart. If she told them they were going to save the world together, they would probably be all in.
Just then, a sleepy voice came from inside the room.
“Who is it?”
A moment later came the sound of slippers dragging across the floor.
The door opened slightly, revealing a weak-looking young man with dyed blond hair peering through the gap.
When he saw Xu Wanning, he froze.
“Who are you?”
Xu Wanning smiled.
“Jiang Heng, I need your help with something important.”
“I know you’re extremely skilled.”
Jiang Heng’s expression immediately turned serious.
Wait a second.
That isn’t right.
Nobody should know about my real abilities.
How does this beautiful older sister know?
“Let’s talk inside.”
Xu Wanning placed a hand on the doorknob.
Jiang Heng scratched his head.
“Come in.”
Under the curious gazes of everyone outside, Xu Wanning entered the private room and closed the door behind her.
Jiang Heng opened a cup of instant noodles and poured hot water into it.
“Alright, what’s this about?”
Xu Wanning looked at him.
Then she waved her hand.
The computer desk, chairs, and even the instant noodles sitting on the table vanished instantly.
Only the kettle in Jiang Heng’s hand remained.
“Holy shit!”
His eyes bulged so wide they looked ready to pop out.
“H-How did you do that?”
“Magic?”
Xu Wanning shook her head.
“No.”
“This is an ability.”
“A spatial ability.”
With another wave, everything reappeared exactly where it had been.
Jiang Heng clenched his fists excitedly.
His puppy-like eyes practically sparkled.
“So there really are cultivators in this world?!”
“Did you see my extraordinary talent and come to take me as your disciple?”
“No.”
Xu Wanning pushed him gently back into his seat.
“This isn’t cultivation.”
“The apocalypse is coming.”
She then told him everything.
Three months from now, a massive acid rainstorm would descend upon the world.
Two-thirds of humanity would become infected and transform into zombies.
Of the remaining third, some would awaken supernatural abilities.
Most would remain ordinary humans.
Jiang Heng’s playful expression disappeared.
“You’re saying the apocalypse is coming?”
“And zombies too?”
Xu Wanning nodded.
“That’s right.”
Jiang Heng instantly looked like his entire world had collapsed.
He was only eighteen years old.
He hadn’t even started living yet.
“Then… why are you telling me all this?”
Xu Wanning smiled warmly.
“Because in my previous life, we were friends.”
“And you became a powerful psychic-type ability user.”
Jiang Heng immediately straightened his back.
“Wait.”
“I was a psychic ability user?”
“And a powerful one?”
“Hahaha!”
“I knew it!”
“There was no way I’d end up as some useless nobody!”
Xu Wanning nodded seriously.
“That’s right.”
“In our previous life, you escaped with twenty-six brothers from this internet café.”
“By the time we met, only three remained at your side.”
“You once told me that was the greatest regret of your life.”
“You said that if you ever got another chance, you wanted to help them all survive.”
“So… here I am.”
Jiang Heng jumped to his feet.
“What?!”
“Only three left?!”
“That’s way too tragic!”
“My brothers aren’t weak!”
“How could almost all of them die?”
Xu Wanning looked up at him.
She understood his shock.
Just as she had never expected to watch her own teammates die one by one.
“Because most of them were ordinary people.”
“And because they were loyal.”
“Many of them died trying to save their brothers.”
Tears immediately streamed down Jiang Heng’s face.
“I get it now.”
“If I survived until the end, then some of my brothers must have died protecting me.”
“I let them down.”
“But… but we don’t have any money.”
“At most we could buy a few boxes of instant noodles and sausages.”
“How are we supposed to survive?”
Technically, he was a hacker.
But he’d never made money from it.
He simply enjoyed poking around other people’s computers and breaking through firewalls for fun.
Xu Wanning placed a self-heating hotpot on the table.
“I have supplies.”
“I want to build an apocalypse team.”
“Would you and your brothers be willing to join me?”
“I’ve always believed that there’s strength in numbers.”
“If everyone contributes their greatest strengths, we’ll survive far better this time.”
Jiang Heng slapped the table.
“Join?”
“Of course we’ll join!”
“I’ll tell the guys right now!”
He charged toward the door.
The moment he yanked it open—
Crash!
A pile of young men who had been secretly listening outside nearly fell on top of him.
The boys awkwardly scrambled to their feet.
“Heh… heh…”
Embarrassed smiles covered their faces as they looked at Xu Wanning.
She wasn’t annoyed in the slightest.
“You heard everything?”
The group nodded sheepishly.
“Was all that true?”
“Is the apocalypse really coming?”
“Does that mean we won’t be able to play games anymore?”
Questions erupted from every direction.
Jiang Heng looked toward the front-desk attendant.
“Brother Zhang.”
“Close the door.”
“Turn off the cameras.”
“I’ve got something important to tell everyone.”
The owner of the internet café was actually Jiang Heng himself.
Since he was still underage, he had hired Zhang Shan to manage things on the surface.
Zhang Shan wasn’t much older than the others, but he was built like a tank, and very few people dared mess with him.
“Got it.”
Making an OK gesture, Zhang Shan shut the door and unplugged the surveillance system.
Soon, twenty-six young men gathered together.
Exactly twenty-six.
Jiang Heng looked toward Xu Wanning.
He clearly wanted her to give another demonstration.
Xu Wanning stepped forward.
“My name is Xu Wanning.”
“In my previous life, I was Jiang Heng’s friend.”
Then she waved her hand.
Everything inside the internet café disappeared.
Instantly.
A chorus of shocked screams erupted.
“Holy shit!”
“Holy shit!”
“Holy shit!”
The exclamations echoed nonstop.
Only after they finally calmed down did Xu Wanning continue.
“This is a spatial ability.”
“I know most of you don’t have much money.”
“I’ve already prepared some supplies.”
“Right now, the most important thing for you is physical training.”
“In the early days of the apocalypse, both ability users and ordinary people will have to rely on melee weapons to fight zombies.”
“Physical fitness is everything.”
“Who knows?”
“You might become the future saviors of humanity.”
“When that day comes, everyone who looked down on you will be forced to look up at you instead.”
“And the parents who have been disappointed in you will finally be proud of you.”
The moment she said that, the boys became visibly excited.
Images filled their minds.
People praising them.
Parents looking at them with pride instead of disappointment.
Especially those parents who constantly criticized them.
“Big Sis Ning!”
“We’re in!”
“It’s only three months!”
“I won’t slack off for a single day!”
“That’s right!”
“Let’s do it!”
The room instantly erupted with enthusiasm.
Even Jiang Heng raised his fist.
He wanted to prove to his parents that he wasn’t some good-for-nothing.
He simply hated studying.
That was all.
Xu Wanning pulled out her phone and opened her QR code.
“Jiang Heng, let’s add each other on WeChat.”
“It’ll make communication easier.”
“Sure!”
Jiang Heng immediately scanned the code.
“We want to add you too!”
“Me too!”
“Me too!”
Zhang Shan and the others hurriedly pulled out their phones, afraid they might miss the opportunity.
After everyone had added her, Xu Wanning stood up.
“I should get going.”
“Remember—don’t tell your families about this yet.”
“If the news spreads accidentally, you could get arrested for spreading panic.”
“Got it!”
Everyone answered in unison.
Zhang Shan opened the door for her.
The moment Xu Wanning stepped outside, her gaze landed on a black SUV parked across the street.
She recognized it instantly.
In her previous life, she had seen that vehicle countless times.
She had ridden in it many times as well.
It belonged to Lu Chengyue.