On a distant planet, stars shimmer, and a meteor plummets down.

Li Yu wakes up from his dream with a start, his hand reflexively clenching the short dagger at his chest.

But he finds in his hand an iPad instead, playing a movie.

A loud "bang!" of a gunshot makes Li Yu spring up from the sofa, looking around somewhat neurotically for the source of the sound.

Another gunshot draws Li Yu's attention to the iPad that had slipped onto the carpet, with the sound emanating from it.

"Where is this?" Li Yu is a bit confused. He distinctly remembers being in a basement of an abandoned house.

Looking around, the bright room with its natural wood decor, clean and tidy, made Li Yu feel somewhat bewildered.

Isn't this the house I rented in M city before?

Excitement grips Li Yu as he picks up the iPad to see that it still displays May 2022.

He roughly estimates that there are still 6 months until the end of the world.

???

I...

Have I been reborn? Reborn from 2027 back to five years ago.

Li Yu had fantasized more than once in the apocalyptic world, if he could be given another chance, he certainly wouldn't choose to stay in M city.

Each time he thought of the relatives he failed to see again because he had not decided to return to his hometown in time, he blamed himself more than once, crying in the depths of many nights.

Without the support of his family, every day for Li Yu in the apocalyptic world was like being among the walking dead, living in a daze.

With that thought, Li Yu's eyes reddened, and clenching his fists, he silently vowed: This time, I must make up for my regrets.

Back then, due to various reasons, he didn't return home before the apocalypse erupted.

And the coming of the apocalypse showed him it was a terrifying era,

An era that could truly starve many people to death,

An era where order was completely in disarray,

An era where a piece of bread could trade for a human life.

When the real apocalypse arrived, in the first few months, order had not yet collapsed, but with the continuous expansion of the zombies and the relentless depletion of resources, it finally descended into absolute chaos.

Li Yu looks at the time displayed on the iPad. It's still early, but he needs to hurry and buy a ticket to return home.

With that thought, Li Yu shakes his head and immediately opens the ticketing app, only to find that getting a ticket is extremely difficult.

Through a scalper, paying triple the price, he finally snags a train ticket for 23:00 tonight.

Not wanting to waste time, Li Yu quickly packs his luggage, as he had just graduated a year ago and did not have much.

Soon, Li Yu has everything packed.

Looking at the stockpile of food in the refrigerator, Li Yu swallows hard.

Five years, do you know how Li Yu survived these five years?

Spending two hours, Li Yu indulgently turns all the ingredients from the refrigerator into an array of delicious dishes.

Looking at the seven dishes on the table: braised pork, scrambled eggs with chives, stir-fried pork with garlic sprouts, braised chicken in soy sauce, stir-fried spinach, stewed eggplant, and spicy shredded potato.

Gazing at the feast before him, Li Yu can't help but smile bitterly. He admits his culinary skills are decent, but after the apocalypse, he never had the chance to show them.

Like a whirlwind sweeping through leaves, Li Yu quickly devours the food before him.

Patting his belly, he fishes out a cigarette from his pocket, greedily smells it, and takes a deep drag.

Now this is life!

For all these years, this is the most delicious meal he has had.

Such bliss.

Checking the time, it reads 18:00.

Not much time is left, Li Yu thinks to himself.

Maybe first he should call home.

With that thought, Li Yu opens his contacts.

Seeing the familiar numbers on his contact list, his throat tightens a bit. Five years.

His hand trembles as he dials the number.

"Hello, Mom..." Li Yu begins with a choked voice.

Hearing the sob in her son's voice, Liu Fanghua speaks, "Yu, how are you doing over there? Are you short on money? I heard things have been much better there lately."

"No, it's okay... I just miss you guys, and I want to come back," Li Yu says.

Silence hangs for a moment...

Liu Fanghua sighs with mixed joy and concern, "We always told you not to go so far away for university and work. Your father and I don't expect you to make a lot of money, we just want you to be happy!"

"We're all worried about you, come back soon."

"And hey, make sure to bring your things with you, don't leave anything behind. Your ID, charger, check everything before you leave, and have you canceled your rental and all that..."

Listening to his mother's familiar yet unfamiliar nagging, Li Yu doesn't block it out rashly or get irritated as he did in the previous life. Instead, he listens quietly, feeling an overwhelming sense of happiness inside.

Liu Fanghua spoke for quite a while and noticed that Li Yu didn't hang up impatiently like before.

She asked a bit strangely, "Yu, are you still listening?"

"I'm listening, I got it all. I'm taking the train tonight at 23:00, should arrive tomorrow morning." Li Yu said.

"Be careful with everything. ….."

...

After hanging up the phone, he checked his balance. Besides the 1200 spent on the train ticket, he had less than forty thousand left.

Li Yu made a direct call to the company leadership. The company where Li Yu worked wasn't large, just a few people, and his leader was the company boss.

Li Yu spoke concisely, saying straight that he wanted to resign.

The company leader was a middle-aged woman going through menopause, and there were endless nuisances at work.

Upon hearing Li Yu's resignation, she instantly flared up at him: "Quitting? Don't want your salary anymore? Did you finish the work I asked you to do this morning?"

...

After a barrage of ranting, Li Yu remained very calm inside. Salaries were normally paid on the 20th of each month; the smaller the company, the more disgusting it tended to be.

Li Yu didn't engage with the menopausal woman, but when he began to hear some ungraceful words spouting from her mouth,

He hit where it hurt, saying, "I know you're messing around with Xiao Han from the company. If you don't give me my salary, I'll tell Mr. Zhou."

Mr. Zhou is the menopausal woman's husband, and they opened this company together. Little did they expect, not only was there a plethora of petty issues despite the company's small size, but the relationships among the personnel were even more complex.

The menopausal woman was instantly silenced, like a duck caught by the throat, unable to speak.

After a while, the menopausal woman said in a softer tone, "Uh... Li, don't be rash. You're talking about resigning, right? What are your plans?"

"There's no need to test me; I want to go back to my hometown to develop. Don't worry, just give me my salary, and I'll leave cleanly. I won't blab," said Li Yu, exposing her mask directly.

"Um... Okay, fine. Make sure you do as you say," the woman's tone had a touch of uncertainty, but also a sense of relief after a narrow escape.

"Rest assured, just transfer the money! Do it quickly. Oh, and I seem to have 40,000 yuan in expenses! You never gave me the thirteenth salary you promised! Plus, for several months my social insurance and housing fund haven't been paid, turn all those into cash and give them to me!" Li Yu said all in one breath.

Although he couldn't quite remember how much he had for expenses, he was sure it wasn't that much, but what he did remember clearly was the fact that social insurance and housing fund hadn't been paid for several months.

"Fine! I'll transfer 100,000 yuan to you. We've got a deal, alright."

When Li Yu saw the 100,000 yuan arrive in his bank account via mobile banking, he wasn't the least bit anxious.

Although his salary was normally less than ten thousand, this situation, even though a little fraudulent, was driven by his need for money now.

But Li Yu wasn't afraid at all, even if the menopausal woman sued him, he could counter-sue the company for not paying social insurance and housing fund on time. Besides, she was the one who offered 100,000 yuan. Furthermore, the apocalypse was nearly upon them.

Who would be scared in such times?

The amount of 100,000 yuan was also roughly what he had expected internally, given the small size of the company and their modest income. To avoid burning bridges and stirring up unnecessary troubles that could affect his preparations before the apocalypse.

100,000 yuan was just right.

Li Yu then made another call to his landlord, who was a good person. According to the lease, there was still one month left, but considering the early termination, it amounted to a breach of contract. Still, the landlord refunded half a month's rent to Li Yu.

So he said an extra word, advising the landlord to stock up on supplies at home, stressing that having supplies would mean more stability in case anything happened.

He said it, but whether it was heeded or not was another matter.

During the five years of the apocalypse, Li Yu's heart had turned as cold as the fish trimmed at a supermarket for a decade.

In this life, his kindness was reserved for his family alone. Beyond that, he no longer wished to trust anyone else.

...

Embarking on his journey home, Li Yu gazed out of the train window, pondering.

If he wanted to protect his family before the apocalypse, he had to build a strong base.

Money!

Even though money was useless during the apocalypse, it was useful now, very useful.

Constructing a base, purchasing supplies, it all required money. With less than 140,000 yuan in hand, it definitely wouldn't suffice, even if his family contributed. But what reason could he give them?

Troublesome!

He definitely shouldn't tell, for explanations were too cumbersome and could lead to endless complications if leaked.

Determined, with that in mind, he opened his Smartisan Notes.

He proficiently entered a series of numbers: 12 15 20 26 30 33 16.

Yes, these were the winning numbers for the double-color ball, the winning numbers for May 28th, in the 202nd year of the Cosmic Calendar.

When the apocalypse came, Li Yu had dreamed more than once about going back to six months before it all happened, fantasizing about the preparations he'd make if he returned to the starting point.

During those dark days without a glimpse of sunshine, what sustained him was the indulgence in his own fantasies.

So, rebirth for him meant he had already made thorough preparations.

He had even thought about which items to buy.

Where to build the base.

How to quickly get money to fund the construction of the base.

So, during the last apocalypse, he had memorized these numbers.

Never did he imagine that he would really be reborn half a year earlier!

Thinking about a bunch of messy issues, his head started to ache, so Li Yu placed his bag in front of his chest, facing the aisle. He leaned on the bunk bed's headboard and started to sleep.

Years of habit allowed Li Yu to quickly enter a light sleep state. Adopting this sleeping posture was because it allowed him to wake up quickly in response to any sudden situations.