Su Jin had always been an opinionated girl. Her father watched as her plane slowly took off beyond the railing, rubbing the tears off his eyes. He never expected his beloved daughter to just leave on a whim like that. Now no one knew when they would next meet.
Behind him, Lin Xiuyuan was leaning on the car, having just completed a round of Honor of Kings. He rolled his eyes and said, "Seriously, Uncle, Sis Su Jin is only going overseas on a business trip. It's not like she's moving away for good. She'll be back next month, jeez."
Su Jin's father, Su Xiangzhe, sighed again. "Yes, it's just a business trip, so why do I feel so uneasy?" Su Xiangzhe did not know if he was worrying too much or if there was something else at play here. All he knew was that he had not been able to rest easy for a second since his daughter said she was going abroad for a trip. That was why he insisted on sending her off today.
As he watched the plane disappear into the distance, though, that ominous feeling he had came back with a vengeance.
"Do you want to stay and watch a little longer? I don't mind playing one more round," Lin Xiuyuan said carefully.
"No, no, that's enough. You only came with me so you could skive off on studying, didn't you? Little brat." Su Xiangzhe turned his annoyance into laughter. This nephew of his was great; his only flaw was how much he hated studying.
Lin Xiuyuan had insisted on seeing his cousin off today when he heard that Su Jin was going abroad, saying that it was out of familial devotion, but the truth was he just wanted an excuse to get away from his textbooks.
Whatever, senior year was tough on high schoolers these days. Su Xiangzhe sighed and tossed his phone at Lin Xiuyuan. "You can play on the way back, but you'd better get back to studying once we're home."
"Yes, sir." Lin Xiuyuan happily caught the phone and gave his uncle a military salute, promptly diving into the passenger seat and back into the world of his game.
Su Xiangzhe laughed. The discomfort in his chest after sending his daughter away finally lessened slightly.
He had rarely received any salutes like that since he retired from the military. A glance at his watch told him that they would probably be back home right in time for dinner. They were gathering at his in-laws' place for dinner again that night, and Su Xiangzhe immediately began looking forward to his father-in-law's cooking. Feeling considerably more cheerful, he drove back home.
On the plane, Su Jin's eyes abruptly flew open. Her forehead was covered in sweat, and she looked around only to see that she was sitting in a plane as though nothing had happened. The middle-aged man next to her was flipping through the travel magazine provided by the crew.
Su Jin then looked down at her arms. There were no needle marks there, and her fingers were slender and soft. They looked nothing like the hands of someone who had lived in a zombie apocalypse for two years.
She should be on the way to G Province for a business trip right now. Her company had sent her to an exhibition at G Province, where she was supposed to serve as an interpreter at the same time. There was no helping it, since she was the only employee in the company who scored Band 8 in her foreign language classes. Although Su Jin preferred to stay at home, she knew she had a responsibility to the company, so she agreed.
Was that all a dream then? Had she dreamed that up after falling asleep on the plane?
Su Jin was confused. If it was a dream, it was way too vivid!
She had a window seat, so she looked at the blue sky outside her window. If it was a dream, what was this damn feeling of relief? She felt as though she had just climbed out of hell.
In her dreams, she had died. Her husband Lu Hao's insane worshipper had kidnapped her and experimented on her, turning her into a zombie.
After she died, was that woman still leading Lu Hao by the nose? She had no idea.
Once she got off the plane, she was determined to tell Lu Hao about her dream and make him pay her a huge sum in apology. It was his fault for having such a rabid fan in her dream.
Then again, she remembered how they had just gotten married, yet she had left for a month-long business trip before they could even go on their honeymoon. When she thought about it that way, she realized that she was not exactly a model wife either.
When Lu Hao heard that she was leaving for such a long time, he nearly fell into a depressive slump. If it were not for his terrible sense of directions and the fact that something came up with his team, he would definitely have seen her off with his father-in-law.
Su Jin closed her eyes and continued to rest, but then she heard a beep on the plane intercom. The air stewardess' gentle voice informed everyone that the plane was experiencing some bad weather and there would be a little turbulence, so everyone should just put on their seatbelts and not panic.
The middle-aged man reading the magazine next to Su Jin took off his seatbelt, intending to use the washroom. Su Jin wanted to tell him that he would only be able to use the washroom later, but before she could say anything, the plane suddenly shook violently. The middle-aged man lost his balance and fell toward Su Jin.
As she watched his large body falling over her, Su Jin instinctively held up her hands to shield herself. The man felt as though he had hit some netting, and he bounced off of it, falling to the ground instead.
Thanks to the arrangement of the seats and the angle of the man's body, the passengers in the seats around them and opposite the aisle did not see anything amiss with Su Jin.
All they saw was the middle-aged man landing on his behind in the aisle without squishing anyone. They heaved a collective sigh of relief.
By then, the plane had stabilized. Two air stewardesses hurried to check on any possible casualties. Thankfully, the middle-aged man seemed fine, and the girl next to him looked unhurt as well. The women then comforted the surrounding passengers, reassuring them the plane merely experienced some strong air currents and nothing more.
After the two air stewardesses left, the middle-aged man apologized to Su Jin, saying that he had lost his balance earlier, and that he had not meant to crash into her. Su Jin told him that she did not mind, especially since she was unharmed.
However, she then looked down at her hands. What was up with those vines that randomly appeared earlier? Why were they exactly like the special ability she had in her dream? Had she really come back to life?
In her dream, her entire family had died almost as soon as the zombie apocalypse began. Was that true, too?
Su Jin finally realized something, and goosebumps ran down her entire body uncontrollably…
The middle-aged man next to her saw that she had fallen deep in thought, staring at her own hands. There was nothing else he wanted to say to her, and he just remembered that he was heading to the washroom, so he carefully stood up and walked to the front of the plane.
It was the first day of Su Jin's business trip. That meant there was one more month until the zombie apocalypse she had experienced before she died.
This time she was determined to save her family and her husband with his terrible sense of direction.
When she thought of Lu Hao, Su Jin's feelings were somewhat complicated. Lu Hao was the captain of a police squad, with great reflexes and amazing physical capabilities. His only weakness was his nonexistent sense of direction. If it were not for his exceptional case-solving record and other notable arrests, they would not have arranged him his own private driver.
His driver was an older cop who sincerely admired Lu Hao's abilities. The old man's daughter, Chen Xiarong, had been Lu Hao's fan since before the apocalypse. After the apocalypse began, she awakened to her earth-type ability and began harboring inappropriate feelings for Lu Hao, who for his part was searching for his wife since Day One. That was how Su Jin eventually met her tragic fate.
'You'd better not let me catch you this time, Chen Xiarong,' Su Jin thought, gritting her teeth.
The plane landed safely, and Su Jin texted her family group to tell them she was safe. She then sent Lu Hao a private message telling him that she had arrived so he did not have to worry. After that, she quickly bought a return ticket at the airport, set for seven days from now.
The apocalypse would begin one month from now! Yes, she had her job responsibilities, but her life was more important, right? Besides, her family took priority over everything. This time, she was not going to leave her family in harm's way.
Why seven days from now, though? Su Jin had her own plans. G Province was a bustling hub of commerce, much better than the small city she came from. She could buy everything she needed here.
She still intended to join the exhibition, because she found out quite a lot of secrets at the exhibition in her past life as well. The shock of those revelations meant that she still remembered them quite clearly. The exhibition was supposed to display AI machines, but if she was not mistaken, she could even buy weapons there. There were plenty of solar-powered devices for sale too.
Su Jin was both excited and a little disappointed. Those devices were not cheap. Even if she spent everything she had, she probably would not be able to buy it all.
Still, she could worry about that later. Her first priority now was to find the company employee sent here to pick her up. Su Jin picked up her luggage and walked toward the exit, her aim clear as day.